Mealey's (July 25, 2016, 11:47 AM EDT) -- ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A faulty workmanship exclusion precludes coverage for collapse damages caused by an insured’s actions related to the excavation of a basement coupled with the failure to install underpinning to secure the building's foundation, a Virginia federal judge ruled July 21, finding that the ensuing loss exception fails to restore coverage because no independent and covered peril contributed to the collapse other than the insured’s excluded conduct (Taja Investments LLC, et al. v. Peerless Insurance Co. a/k/a Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., No. 15-01647, E.D. Va.; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95760)....