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Insurance Coverage Blog

Commentary on Insurance Coverage Litigation in New York
Posted: January 15, 2020

Insurer Ordered to Provide Defense Coverage in Copyright Infringement Action; Whether Infringement Was Intentional Cannot Be Determined in Coverage Action

On December 17, 2019, the First Department issued a decision in McGraw-Hill Education, Inc. v. Illinois National Insurance Company, 2019 NY Slip Op 08960, ordering an insurer to provide defense coverage in a copyright infringement action, absent a “judicial determination” that the infringements were intentional. ...

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Posted in Policy Exclusions
Posted: December 30, 2019

Where Parties “Clearly Intended to Cover a Risk,” Inadvertently Naming Incorrect Entity As Additional Insured Does Not Negate Coverage

Posted by Bradley J. Nash, Litigation Partner On November 20, 2019, Judge Ramos of the SDNY issued a decision in United Specialty Ins. Co. v. Lux Maintenance & Ren. Corp., Case No. 18-cv-3083 (ER), holding that property owners were entitled to additional insured coverage under a subcontractor’s CGL policy even though the subcontractor agreement misidentified the corporate names of the...

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Posted in Additional Insured Endorsement, CGL Policies, Construction
Posted: December 13, 2019

Insured Properly Pleads Claim for Consequential Damages Resulting from Insurer’s Refusal to Advance Business Interruption Coverage

Posted by Bradley J. Nash, Litigation Partner On December 5, 2019, the First Department issued a decision in Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s v. BioEnergy Development Group, LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 08779, reversing a trial court’s dismissal of a claim based on the insurer’s bad faith delay in providing business interruption coverage, explaining: The breach of the implied duty part...

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Posted in Business Interruption Coverage, Damages
Posted: November 26, 2019

Exclusion for “Intentional and Criminal Acts” Barred Defense Coverage for Parents Accused of “Negligent Supervision” of Minor Son Who Committed Sexual Assault

Posted by Bradley J. Nash, Litigation Partner On November 20, 2019, Judge Briccetti of the SDNY issued a decision in Metropolitan Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Comley, Case No. 18-cv-9259 (VB), holding that a liability insurer properly denied defense coverage, under an exclusion for “intentional and criminal acts”, for a lawsuit alleging “negligent supervision” of the insureds’ minor son,...

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Posted in Duty to Defend, "Occurrence"/"Accident", Policy Exclusions
Posted: November 18, 2019

Agreement Between Insurance Broker and Insurance Company Raises Issue of Fact as to Agency Relationship; Summary Judgment Denied As to Whether Notice to Broker Constituted Notice to Insurer

Posted by Bradley J. Nash, Litigation Partner On November 8, 2019, Judge Gardephe of the SDNY issued a decision in XL Specialty Ins. Co. v. Prestige Fragrances, Inc., Case No. 18-cv-733 (PGG), holding that issues of fact precluded summary judgment on this issue of whether an insurance broker was an agent of the insurance company such that notice to the...

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Posted in Insurance Brokers
Posted: November 7, 2019

CGL Carrier Has No Duty to Defend Consumer Fraud Claims Where Complaints Do Not Allege Bodily Injury or Property Damage

Posted by Bradley J. Nash, Litigation Partner On October 28, 2019, Justice Borrok of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am. v. ICCO Cheese Co., Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 33224(U), holding that a CGL carrier had no duty to defend consumer fraud class actions against Walmart because the complaints did...

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Posted in CGL Policies, Duty to Defend
Posted: October 28, 2019

Court Gives Narrow Construction to CGL Policy Exclusion for Claims Arising from “Construction or Renovation-Related Activity”

Posted by Bradley J. Nash, Litigation Partner On October 18, 2019, Justice Crane of the New York County Supreme Court issued a decision in Cookies on Fulton, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co., 2019 NY Slip Op 33111(U), holding that an exclusion for claims arising from “any construction or renovation-related activity except for janitorial or maintenance related work” did not...

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Posted in CGL Policies, Construction, Duty to Defend
Posted: October 10, 2019

Product Cannot Serve As Its Own Advertisement for Purposes of “Advertising Injury” Coverage

Posted by Bradley J. Nash, Litigation Partner On September 26, 2019, Judge Abrams of the SDNY issued a decision in Jovani Fashion, Ltd. v. Fed. Ins. Co., Case No. 17-CV-4518, holding that a complaint alleging that a fashion designer’s garment infringed the plaintiff’s copyrighted lace textile design did not trigger “advertising injury” coverage under the designer’s general and excess liability...

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Posted in Advertising Injury, CGL Policies
Posted: October 7, 2019

Liability Insurers Ordered to Share in Defense Costs; Facts to Be Determining In Underlying Litigation Would Determine Which Insurer Has Duty to Indemnify

On September 23, 2019, Justice Rodriguez of the New York County Supreme Court issued a decision in Wesco Ins. Co. v. Hellas Glass Works Corp., 2019 NY Slip Op 32848(U), holding that two liability insurers were required to share in paying defense costs where facts to be determined in the underlying personal injury lawsuit could trigger indemnity coverage under one...

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Posted in Duty to Defend
Posted: October 3, 2019

Insurer Fails to Establish Non-Cooperation Defense

On September 23, 2019, Justice Scarpulla of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Those Interested Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. AU Trading LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 32803(U), denying an insurer’s motion for summary judgment on a coverage defense based on claim of noncooperation by the insured in the investigation of the claim. The insured, AU...

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Posted in Duty to Cooperate