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Insurance Coverage Blog

Commentary on Insurance Coverage Litigation in New York
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
Posted: September 23, 2019

Issues of Fact Preclude Summary Judgment on Insured’s Breach of Duty to Cooperate

On September 13, 2019, Justice Borrok of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Colony Ins. Co. v. International Contr. Servs., LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 32717(U), holding that issues of fact precluded summary judgment on a liability insurer’s disclaimer based on the insured’s failure to cooperate with the defense. In the underlying personal injury litigation at...

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Posted in CGL Policies, Duty to Cooperate
Posted: September 20, 2019

Claim for Bad Faith Claims Handling Dismissed As Duplicative of Breach of Contract Claim

On September 17, 2019, Judge Hurd of the NDNY issued a decision in Lohnes v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., Case No. 19-cv-00068, dismissing a claim for bad faith claims handling for failure to plead “specific conduct” by the insurer distinct from the underlying breach of the policy. As previously discussed on this blog (see here, here, and here), New York...

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Posted in Bad Faith Claims Handling
Posted: September 18, 2019

Declaratory Judgment Premature Where Duty to Indemnify Depends on Issues to Be Determined in Underlying Lawsuit Against The Insured

On August 27, 2019, Judge Pauley of the SDNY issued a decision in Gemini Ins. Co. v. Titan Construction Servs., Case No. 17-cv-8963, dismissing a declaratory judgment claim as premature because the lability insurer’s duty to indemnify would depend on facts to be developed in the underlying lawsuit against the insured. Judge Pauley explained: It has long been well-established that...

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Posted in CGL Policies, Duty to Defend