Coverage

NJ Appellate Division Continues National Trend Rejecting 6 Plaintiffs’ Claims for Business Income Loss as a Result of COVID Mandates

The national trend rejecting pandemic business income loss claims continues. In a consolidated appeal, on June 20, 2022, the New Jersey Appellate Division decided against six companies that sought insurance coverage for business income losses sustained after New Jersey Governor Murphy’s Executive Orders required them to limit or close their businesses in the early days of the COVID pandemic....Read More

Nazi Art Disputes Still Kicking 80 Years Later (NY)

In 2015, a suit known as Reif v. Nagy was filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court Commercial Division over the rightful ownership of two Egon Schiele paintings that were allegedly stolen by the Nazis. The suit commenced after the two paintings were spotted at a 2015 art show exhibit run by Richard Nagy, a London-based art dealer. The plaintiffs included the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, a Jewish...Read More

New Life For Failing To Waive Contractual Notice Requirement For Life Insurance Policy (NY)

On May 31, 2022, the Eastern District of New York issued a Memorandum & Order in Herman Brettler v. Allianz Life Insurance of North America. In 2016, Herman Brettler (“Herman”), as trustee of the Zupnick Family Trust 2008 (the “Trust”), commenced an action against Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (“Allianz”), seeking a declaration that a life insurance policy issued by...Read More

Gist Of The Action Remains Useful In PA Motion Practice

In Moravia Motorcycle, Inc. v. Allstate Insurance Company, plaintiffs brought the following claims in connection with damage sustained to a motor home: (1) negligent misrepresentation; (2) breach of contract; and (3) bad faith. Allstate moved for summary judgment on Counts I and III. The claim arose from a curious scenario, as the plaintiffs’ motorhome was parked in a lot they owned when a...Read More

Intrafamily Exclusion In Auto Policy Ruled Unenforceable (NJ)

On May 6, 2022, a New Jersey appellate panel upheld a policyholder’s win in a coverage dispute with Travelers Insurance Company, holding an intrafamily step-down exclusion acted as a “hidden trap” in a family’s auto policy where not reflected in the policy declarations page. Specifically, in Cristina Dela Vega v. The Travelers Insurance Company, et al., (No.:...Read More

An Arbitrator’s Award In Excess Of Policy Limit Constitutes Grounds For Vacatur (NY)

New York Appellate Court holds once an insurer has paid the full monetary limits set forth in its insurance policy, the insurer’s duties to the policyholder under the policy cease. Accordingly, where an arbitrator’s award directs payment in excess of the monetary limit of a policy of insurance, the Appellate Division, First Department has held that the award is subject to vacatur. In Allstate...Read More

D&O Policy Language Mandates Advance Of Limits For Criminal Defense Case (PA)

In the insurance coverage case, Dougherty v. Nat39, l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh PA., plaintiff petitioned for a special injunction seeking an advance to cover his criminal defense costs and expenses under a policy issued by defendant to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 98 (“Local 98”). Relevant here, Dougherty was indicted for alleged financial improprieties...Read More

“Other Insurance” Provision Allows Insurer To Cap Limits (PA)

In Meyers v. Travelers Insurance Company, 2022 WL 1028705 (E.D. Pa. 2022), the plaintiff sued one of her auto liability insurers for extensive damages sustained in an automobile accident. This common occurrence led to a rather uncommon insurance coverage issue. The plaintiff recovered funds from her own primary auto insurance, plus two additional uninsured motorist (“UIM”) insurance policies....Read More

All Risk Insurance Policy Does Not Cover Restaurant From Covid Loss (PA)

In a recent case from the Eastern District of PA, Humans & Res., LLC v. Firstline Nat’l Ins Co., the court granted the defendant’s summary judgment against the plaintiff who sought coverage under an all-risk property policy. Finding that COVID-19 related loss did not fall under an all-risk property policy and did not give rise to the expectation that it would.  The plaintiff in the case...Read More

Fire Insurance Policies Must Follow The Standard Policy (NY)

The Supreme Court of New York, Niagara County, recently rejected an attempt by a property insurer to rely on an exclusion not included in New York’s standard fire policy. In Niagara BYG Capital, LLC v. Leatherstocking Coop. Ins. Co., the plaintiff property owner hired a company to manage and renovate a multi-family home. The property manager hired several workers to perform certain work at the...Read More