It is no secret that New Jersey courts have a tendency to treat insurance policies different from standard contracts, at least in part because the insurance industry is heavily regulated and affects the public interest. In its ruling in State of New Jersey v. Goodwin, No. A-20 (N.J. Jan. 19, 2016), the New Jersey Supreme Court has drawn a definitive hard line in the sand in the fight against insurance fraud. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that a defendant can be convicted of …
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Insurers Not Liable To Third-Party Beneficiaries to a Homeowners’ Insurance Policy for Property Damage as a Result of Migration of Oil
The New Jersey Supreme Court considered whether the plaintiffs’ claims for private nuisance and trespass, in an action for damages resulting from the migration of heating oil from an underground storage tank on a neighboring property, were properly dismissed in Ross v. Lowitz, et al., No. A-101-13 (N.J. Aug. 6, 2015). In the same matter, however, the court also considered whether the plaintiffs could maintain claims as third-party beneficiaries against the insurers that provided homeowners’ coverage to the former and current owners of the …
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