In Rosano v. Freedom Boat Corp., a boat owner brought suit against a marina and its insurer, American Modern Insurance Group, Inc. (“American Modern”), for damages to the boat he leased to the marina. The owner brought causes of action for breach of contract and failure to pay a claim against American Modern, claiming that he was an insured under the policy issued to the marina. After reviewing the policy language, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York held that the owner was not named as an insured or additional insured and entered summary judgment
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Archives for Insurance Law
North Carolina Federal Court Will Address Builder’s Faulty Workmanship in Coverage Dispute
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company recently filed a declaratory judgment action in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina to obtain a ruling that its commercial general liability policy does not cover the insured builder for faulty workmanship. In Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company v. Hyde, Nationwide requests a declaratory judgment that coverage is not owed to a builder who was sued by homeowners for property damage that occurred as a result of the insured constructing the home on top of improperly compacted fill soil. The homeowners were awarded $350,000.00 in damages in an underlying suit against
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New York Court Holds Life Insurer Must Pay Claim After Failing to Strictly Comply With Statutory Notice Requirements Regarding Policy Termination
A New York court found that Allstate Life Insurance Company was required to pay the proceeds of a life insurance policy because it had failed to properly notify the insured of the termination of the policy. In Rivera v. Allstate Life Insurance Company of New York, the Suffolk County trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the insured and found as a matter of law that the insurer must pay the $100,000 policy limits for failing to comply with the notice requirements of Insurance Law § 3211. The court noted that its decision was in line with public policy
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New York Court Holds Life Insurer Can Deduct Unpaid Premiums from Policy’s Death Benefit
Applying New Jersey law, the the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York held that the John Hancock Life Insurance Company was entitled to withhold unpaid premium payments from a life policy’s death benefit. In John Hancock Life Insurance Company v. Katzman, the policy was in default when the insured died. Interpreting the words of the policy and finding no ambiguity, the court held that the policy allowed the insurer to subtract the unpaid monthly premiums from the policy’s death benefit as a matter of law. The facts and procedural history of the Katzman case are
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Insurers Challenge Amtrak’s Wind Claims In Sandy Litigation – Read More Here
Insurers Say Amtrak Can’t Force Wind Claims Into Sandy Suit Share us on: By Joe Van Acker Law360, New York (June 30, 2015, 7:37 PM ET) — Excess insurers told a New York federal judge on Tuesday not to undo a recent decision dismissing them from Amtrak’s suit seeking compensation for rail damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, claiming that Amtrak has contradicted itself by trying to shoehorn wind-related claims into its suit. Arch Specialty Insurance Co., Lexington Insurance Co., Steadfast Insurance Co. and others said Amtrak changed course after the court granted their motion for summary judgment by claiming that
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New York Appellate Court Extends Additional Insured Coverage to Real Estate Manager’s Parent Company
In GMM Realty, LLC v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, the New York Appellate Court addressed a situation where the parent company of a real estate manager of the insured brought a declaratory judgment action against the insurer seeking defense and indemnification as an additional insured for a personal injury suit. After examining the Complaint and the relevant policy language, the Court held that the allegations of the Complaint suggested a reasonable possibility of coverage that triggered the insurer’s duty to defend. The underlying personal injury suit arose after the plaintiff slipped and fell near the entrance of
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LAW360 Publishes Interesting Insurance Cases To Be Decided In Second Half of 2015
Here is the article: Insurance Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2015 Share us on: By Jeff Sistrunk Law360, Los Angeles (June 19, 2015, 3:21 PM ET) — Attorneys are eagerly awaiting the California Supreme Court’s decision on when policyholders can transfer insurance rights during mergers and corporate restructurings, and anticipating guidance from New York’s high court on complex allocation and exhaustion issues in asbestos lawsuits. Here are five cases that insurance attorneys will be tracking in the second half of the year. Fluor Corp. v. Superior Court The California Supreme Court is mulling over whether to disturb
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NJ Appeals Court Rules Mold in Attic Caused by Condensation Not Covered by Mold Endorsement
The New Jersey Appeals Court recently addressed the interplay of a mold exclusion in a homeowners insurance policy with a Mold Endorsement that allowed limited coverage for mold damage caused by “fortuitous direct physical damage or destruction.” In Kavesh v. Franklin Mutual Insurance, the Court examined the language of the mold exclusion of the policy, as well as the Endorsement providing limited coverage and found the provisions to be unambiguous. Based on the facts of the claim and the mold damage to the insureds’ home, the court held that Plaintiffs failed to prove that the mold growth was a result
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NJ Court Denies Insured’s Attempt to Reform Policy Post-Accident to Increase UI/UIM Benefits
In Drysten v. Chiesa and USAA, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court found that the insurer was immune from suit under the New Jersey statute governing immunity for insurers based on the insured’s election of motor vehicle coverages. While the insured attempted to gain additional benefits by having the policy reformed post-accident, the court determined that the insurer’s strict compliance with the statutory requirements and the insured’s breach of her duty to read insurance documents and alert the insurer as to any inconsistencies in coverage, resulted in a finding of immunity for the insurer. Plaintiff was injured
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Finds Coverage Under Employer’s Liability Exclusion of CGL Policy Due to Ambiguous Meaning of “The Insured”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently addressed the interpretation of an employer’s liability exclusion in a commercial general liability policy to determine its scope in excluding coverage when the policy applies to more than one insured. In Mutual Benefit Insurance Company v. Politsopoulos, the Court determined that the term “the insured” does not signify “all insureds” in cases where a commercial general liability policy makes varied use of the definite term “the insured” and the indefinite term “any insured.” The Court concluded that the use of the definite and indefinite articles created an ambiguity, such that “the insured” may be reasonably
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