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Extra-Contractual

Northern District of New York Grants 12(b)(6) Motion Dismissing Extra-Contractual Damages

On March 30, 2020, Judge Lawrence E. Kahn of the Northern District of New York granted a carrier’s 12(b)(6) motion seeking dismissal of the insured’s extra-contractual claims.  The case was filed by a homeowner seeking payment for alleged water damages at her home.  She alleged that the water damage loss occurred January 6, 2017, but acknowledged that she had not reported the claim until a year later. 

Plaintiff alleged that the carrier wrongfully denied her claim, although the carrier pointed out that it never actually …

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Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability

Venue Matters: Evaluating the Applicable Standard for Bad Faith Claims in New York

The insurance market has a strong interest in minimizing extra-contractual claims against it. These issues are often decided summarily at the pre-answer motion to dismiss stage or after discovery on summary judgment. Notably, however, since 2018, New York courts have articulated varying standards in evaluating a policyholder’s claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith seeking consequential damages against its insurer in the context of these motions.

Insurers have traditionally defended themselves against these extra-contractual claims by advancing two main arguments:

  1. They are
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General / Uncategorized

New York Courts Continue to Differ on Interpretation of Primary and Noncontributory Clauses

Most insurance professionals encounter additional insured coverage issues on a daily basis, and priority of coverage is sometimes part of an additional insured analysis. Policies issued by insurance carriers contain primary and noncontributory language on an increasing basis, and that language is sometimes located within a separate endorsement or may be part of the additional insured endorsement. Generally speaking, a primary and noncontributory provision modifies the policy’s other insurance provision to specify that coverage provided under the policy to an additional insured will be excess …

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General / Uncategorized

Illinois Federal Court Refuses to Extend NY Insurance Law 3420 to Policy Not Issued or Delivered in New York

An Illinois federal district court in Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company v. The Hockey Cup, LLC held that an insurer was excused from its defense obligations due to late notice, since the court found that New York Insurance Law Section 3420(a)(5)’s requirement that insurers show prejudice to deny coverage based on late notice did not apply because the policy was not issued or delivered in New York. 

The underlying lawsuit, in which the National Hockey League was one of the plaintiffs, alleged the insureds, A&R Collectibles, …

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Duty to Defend

The Evolving Impact of Burlington v. NYC Transit: In New York, is Proximate Causation Necessary to Trigger the Duty to Defend an Additional Insured?

In previous blog posts this year, and to keep up with how courts are interpreting the New York Court of Appeals 2017 decision in Burlington Ins. Co. v. NYC Transit Auth., 29 N.Y.3d 313 (2017), we discussed the trial court’s decision in M & M Realty of New York, LLC v. Burlington Ins. Co. and the First Department’s reversal in the same case. Recently, a New York Supreme Court Judge decided American Empire Surplus Lines Ins. Co. v. Arch Specialty Ins., No. 655234/2018, …

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Other Insurance

The Duty to Defend Additional Insureds in Post-Burlington New York

Anyone with a connection to the insurance coverage world in New York knows about the New York Court of Appeals 2017 decision in Burlington Ins. Co. v. NYC Transit Auth., 29 N.Y.3d 313 (2017), which held that “where an insurance policy is restricted to liability for any bodily injury ‘caused, in whole or in part’ by the ‘acts or omissions’ of the named insured, the coverage applies to injury approximately caused by the named insured.”  At the time the decision was rendered, it was …

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Automobile Coverage / Legislative Update

New York Appellate Court Permits Use of Extrinsic Facts to “Clarify Ambiguous Pleadings” and Establish the Applicability of a Policy’s Auto Exclusion

On October 23, 2018, our Global Insurance Services group hosted an interactive webinar discussing states’ varying interpretations of what is considered “loading and unloading” in the context of a liability policy’s “Aircraft, Auto or Watercraft” exclusion. During that presentation, we identified inconsistencies in the courts’ application of this provision when assessing an insurer’s duty to defend, particularly in New York. Ironically, that same day, a New York Appellate Court analyzing the application of a the “Aircraft, Auto or Watercraft” exclusion relied on facts extrinsic to …

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Commercial General Liability

New York Court Finds Insured Failed to Establish its Broad Discovery Demands Might Lead to Evidence Relevant to the Application of an Exclusionary Provision in Commercial General Liability Policy

In Northfield Insurance Company v. Golob, an insurer issued a commercial general liability policy to owners of a residential construction project. The policy contained an exclusion titled “Contracted Persons” exclusion, which barred coverage for bodily injury sustained by any person “employed by . . . any organization that . . . [c]ontracted with [the named insured] or with any insured for services” where the injuries “[arose] out of and in the course of employment by that organization.”

As a part of the construction project, …

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Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability

New York Appellate Division Split on Claim Preclusion of Bad Faith Action

By decision dated June 8, 2018, the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, affirmed the trial court’s denial of an insurer’s motion to dismiss bad faith claims based on res judicata, in defiance of prior precedent from a separate Department of the Appellate Division.

Corle v. Allstate Ins. Co., N.Y.S.3d , 2018 WL 2751204 (4th Dept. 2018) arises out of an incident in which the plaintiff, Colin Corle (Corle) was shot by Jeoffrey lee Bauter Teeter (Teeter).  Teeter’s homeowners’ insurer …

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Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

A Divided Court Finds Additional Insured Coverage is Enforceable Across New York

On March 27, 2018, the New York Court of Appeals, in a matter of first impression for the state’s highest court, held that a direct contract was required to confer automatic additional insured status under common policy language. Gilbane Bldg. Co./TDX Constr. Corp. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 143 A.D.3d 146 (1st Dep’t 2016), aff’d, __N.Y.3d__, 2018 WL 1473553 (Mar. 27, 2018).

Many standard blanket additional endorsements often confer additional insured status on entities “with whom” the named insured has …

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