In Korn v. Federal Ins. Co., the District Court for the Western District of New York addressed a case in which an insuredbrought suit against his insurer seeking additional criminal defense costs under his Directors and Officers liability policy. Under the policy, the limits of liability were reduced by the payment of defense costs. The insured sued Federal Insurance Company after the policy limits were exhausted during six years of litigation by the defense costs and he owed defense counsel additional amounts. After analyzing the evidence submitted by both parties, which included the policy, emails exchanged by the parties, and
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United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Grants Summary Judgment to National Fraternity Organization and Local Fraternity Chapter in Survival and Wrongful Death Action
In Hall v. Millersville University, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted summary judgment to the Acacia National Fraternity (“Acacia”) and Acacia Fraternity, Millersville (“Chapter 84”) in a survival and wrongful death action filed by the estate of a student (“Hall”)who was murdered by her boyfriend (“Orrostieta”) in her university dorm after attending a fraternity party together. The court found that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had “unequivocally held that a national fraternity is not liable under the social host doctrine for acts of its chapters.” The court also found that although the social host doctrine
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Commonwealth Court of PA Affirms Commissioner’s Holding that PLHIGA Act Provision Authorizing PLHIGA to Make Assessments Against Medicare Parts C and D Premiums is Preempted by Federal Law
In Pennsylvania Life & Health Ins. Guar. Ass’n v. Pennsylvania Ins., the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania addressed an appeal by the Pennsylvania Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association (PLHIGA) of the decision by the Insurance Commissioner (“Commissioner”) to sustain the appeals of nine member health insurers and reverse assessments imposed by PLHIGA on the health insurers’ Medicare Parts C and D premium accounts. During the initial agency adjudication, the Commissioner determined that the assessments, which PLHIGA imposed on all member insurers pursuant to its enabling act, were preempted by federal law. The Commonwealth Court agreed with the Commissioner’s order and
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New Jersey Appellate Division Reverses Grant of Summary Judgment to Allstate in Declaratory Judgment Action to Determine Liability Coverage Under an Auto Insurance Policy
In Allstate New Jersey Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Estate of Sean McBride, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court reversed the trial court’s decision that summary judgment be granted to Allstate in a case seeking a declaration that Allstate was not obligated to provide liability insurance coverage to the Estate of McBride for claims arising from a car accident. The trial court had determined that no genuine issues of material fact existed and held that no coverage was available for McBride under the Allstate policy. The Appellate Division disagreed and found that there were genuine issues of material
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Suffolk County Court of New York Grants Summary Judgment to Homeowners in Suit Brought by Injured Roofer for Labor Law Violations
In Smith v. Dressler, the Supreme Court for the State of New York in Suffolk County addressed a personal injury case where an injured plaintiff brought suit against homeowners after he was injured when he fell from a ladder while performing roofing and siding work. In his Complaint, he alleged common law negligence and violations of Labor Law §§ 200, 240 and 241. Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the single-family homeowner’s exemption applies as to the Labor Law claims because defendants did not supervise, direct or control plaintiff’s work and did not provide him with any
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Southern District of New York Holds That Collateral Estoppel Prevents Injured Plaintiff from Re-Litigating Issue of Whether Driver Was Within Scope of Employment at Time of Accident
In Cianfano v. Village of Tuckahoe, the District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed a personal injury case where an injured plaintiff brought suit against the local township and its police department after his suit against the driver was dismissed. In his suit, he alleged violations of his rights under federal and state law. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the issue of whether the driver was working under the scope of employment had been raised, fully and fairly litigated, and adjudicated against plaintiff in the prior lawsuit. The court agreed with defendants and found
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USDC for Western District of New York Grants Summary Judgment to Homeowner’s Insurer in Property Coverage Dispute and Finds that Demolition Costs Should Be the Responsibility of the Property Owner
In Porter v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., the District Court for the Western District of New York addressed a case in which Plaintiff brought suit against her homeowner’s insurer following a fire that destroyed the insured property. Plaintiff sought coverage under the policy for replacement cost, rental income, personal property coverage and debris removal. The matter was assigned to a Magistrate Judge, who analyzed the coverage issues and submitted a Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) that the Court grant State Farm’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Plaintiff’s claims for replacement cost, rental income and personal property coverage and
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New Jersey Appellate Court Affirms Trial Court Ruling That A Tenant’s Insurer Has No Duty to Provide Coverage to a Landlord’s Real Estate Manager As An Additional Insured
In Diaz v. Chrys S. Norwood Family, LP, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to an insurer in a personal injury suit that included a declaratory judgment cross-claim by one of the defendants for insurance coverage. In this case, the Plaintiff was an employee of a tenant who was injured when he slipped on ice and brought suit against the landlord, the landlord’s property manager, and another third party. The property manager sought defense and indemnification from the tenant’s insurer as an additional insured on the basis that the tenant’s policy included coverage
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court To Review Superior Court Decision Regarding the Payment of General Contractor Overhead and Profit
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted certiorari in Wintersteen v. Truck Insurance Exchange to examine the appellate court’s holding that general contractor overhead and profit (“GCOP”) was not required to be factored into two homeowners’ actual cash value payments from their insurer for property damage. The appellate court reversed the trial court’s holding that GCOP was required by state law to be included in actual cash value payments. The Supreme Court granted review to address one issue: whether the Superior Court erred as a matter of law in finding that the limitation of payment of GCOP from actual cash value in
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New Jersey Appellate Court Reverses Trial Court’s Holding That Plaintiff Could Not Demonstrate Proximate Cause for Her Accident in Personal Injury Suit
In Winstead v. Yorkshire Village, the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to a landlord in a personal injury suit. Plaintiff brought suit against the landlord after she was injured by a malfunctioning automatic exterior entry door at her apartment building. The trial court determined that the malfunctioning door was not the proximate cause of Plaintiff’s injuries because Plaintiff did not have a reasonable fear of being struck by it. The appellate court disagreed and held that a genuine issue of disputed material fact precluded entry of summary judgment for the landlord. Plaintiff was
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