In J.H. v. R&M Tagliareni, LLC, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, examined a lawsuit regarding burns to an infant. The infant was staying at the apartment of his stepmother’s sister and sleeping on a bed next to a radiator. While sleeping, the infant rested his head against the radiator and suffered third-degree burns. The burns resulted in permanent scarring. The radiator was controlled by a shut-off valve, and became extremely hot once the valve was opened. There was no thermostat to control the temperature of the radiator. While some radiators in the apartment building had been covered several
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Monthly Archives March 2018
New York Court of Appeals Rejects “Unavailability of Insurance” Exception In Long-Tail Allocation Cases
In KeySpan Gas East Corp. v. Munich Reinsurance Am., Inc., the New York Court of Appeals examined an action against a liability insurer for indemnification of long-tail environmental damage. The plaintiff power company owned two manufactured gas plants that began operations in the late 1880s and early 1900s, and had remained in operation for several decades. After the plants had ceased operations, a state environmental agency detected long-term environmental damage at both sites arising from contaminants seeping into the ground and leeching into groundwater. The power company was required to perform expensive clean-up operations at both sites. The power company
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Washington Court of Appeals Holds That Statutory Bad Faith and Consumer Protection Claims May be Pursued Against Insurance Adjusters
In Keodalah v. Allstate Ins. Co., the Washington Court of Appeals reviewed an action against an insurer and an adjuster employed by the insurer for statutory insurance bad faith and violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act, concerning the allegedly improper settlement of an underinsured motorist claim. The trial court dismissed the statutory bad faith and consumer protection act claims against the adjuster, on the grounds that such claims could not be pursued against employees of the insurer. The Court of Appeals began its analysis by noting that the Washington insurance bad faith statute imposes a duty of good faith
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Southern District of New York Precludes Coverage Under Insurer’s Professional Liability Policy for Settlement of Claim Arising Prior to Inception of Policy
In Colony Ins. Co. v. AIG Specialty Ins. Co., the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York considered a claim under a professional liability policy brought by Colony Insurance seeking reimbursement for extra-contractual damages paid on a “claims made” commercial general liability policy. The underlying claim concerned a construction defect lawsuit against a number of defendants, including a Colony insured. In September 2013, the underlying plaintiffs’ counsel sent a demand letter to Colony, stating that unless it paid its $2,000,000.00 policy limits as part of a global settlement, the underlying plaintiffs and the Colony insured would
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New Jersey Appellate Court Holds That Invasion of Privacy Claim Based Upon Surreptitious Recording is Not Conditioned Upon Existence of Recording
In Friedman v. Martinez, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, examined a lawsuit brought by over sixty women alleging that a janitor surreptitiously recorded them through hidden equipment placed in an office building restroom. The women brought suit against numerous defendants, including the janitor, building owner, and management company. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking to dismiss the claims of thirty-five plaintiffs who did not appear in the approximately eight hours of recordings recovered by police during their investigation. The motion was granted, and the claims of these plaintiffs were dismissed. On appeal, the Appellate Division
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Clark & Fox Successfully Obtains Dismissal of Insurer in Bachir v. Lloyd’s of London, 2015-03060 (2d Dept. Jan. 24, 2018)
Affirming New York’s long-standing enforcement of insurance policy suit-limitation provisions, the Second Department upheld the dismissal of a group of Lloyd’s of London insurers from a lawsuit seeking payment for damages due to a fire loss at a Long Island restaurant. On January 13, 2008, a fire occurred at the Bayville Lobster House, a property insured by the London syndicates. The insured submitted a claim that was denied because the policy had been cancelled weeks prior to the fire due to late payment of the policy premium. In December 2010, the insured filed a Summons in the Supreme Court, Suffolk
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New York Federal Court Authorizes Deposit of Policy Proceeds in Interpleader Action Involving Priority of Liens
In Allstate Indem. Co. v. Collura, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York considered an interpleader action brought by a homeowners’ insurer. After determining the amount owed on a partial loss claim, the insurer learned that several parties were lienholders with potential entitlements to the insurance proceeds. The lienholders included the mortgagee, the bank to which the mortgage was assigned, the mortgage servicer, the United States government (which held tax liens), and a third party that asserted a claim against the policyholder. The insurer sought to deposit the actual cash value payment with the Court,
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New Jersey Appellate Court Holds That Additional Insured is Not Entitled to Coverage for Gross Negligence
In Moran-Alvardo v. Nevada Court Realty, LLC, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, addressed a liability insurance claim arising from a fall on snow in a shopping center parking lot. After the injured party filed an action against the shopping center owner and a tenant, the property owner filed a third-party indemnification action against the tenant and the tenant’s liability insurer. The trial court granted summary judgment in the tenant’s favor with regard to the indemnification claim, but granted summary judgment in the owner’s favor with regard to insurance coverage. Both decisions were reversed on appeal, as the
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