New York

New York (Insurance Coverage) State of Mind (NY)

In City of New York v. Fleet General Insurance Group Inc., the Eastern District of New York addressed the causal link required to trigger an insurer’s duty to defend an additional insured. This case arises out of a state-court lawsuit, filed against the City of New York, for millions of dollars in property damage, that allegedly occurred when a section of Northern Boulevard in Queens collapsed...Read More

A Synysta Labor Law Case (NY)

Volodmyr Synysta v. 450 Partners LLC, NY Slip Op. 50508(U), 2021 WL 2213821 (Kings County, May 20, 2021) is a Labor Law action. Plaintiff brought Labor Law §§240(1), 241(6), 200, and common law negligence claims against various parties for injuries sustained after falling from a scaffold at a construction site. In the instant motion, Plaintiff sought summary judgment on his §§ 240(1), 241(6)...Read More

Call Your Next Witness – Aisling Jumper of Trans Re

Aisling Jumper had a “typical” introduction into the insurance world — by working at a call center in County Galway, Ireland, speaking Spanish to international travelers on holiday.   You know — “typical.” Aisling ended up going to law school, and has been involved in the insurance world ever since, whether at a law firm, with a third-party administrator,...Read More

Bad Weather Is Insufficient To Establish Actual Or Constructive Notice (NY)

On January 3, 2019, Plaintiff slipped and fell while shopping at Defendant Von Muar’s retail store located in Eastview, New York.   Approximately four months later, Plaintiff filed suit alleging that she was injured due to Defendant’s negligence in causing, creating, or permitting a dangerous condition within its premises.   After discovery was completed, Defendant filed a motion for summary...Read More

New York Court of Appeals Expands the Term “Immediate Family”

On February 18, 2021, the New York Court of Appeals expanded the term “immediate family” to include grandparents in claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED). The decision is the result of a heart-wrenching case involving the death of a 2-year old child. In Greene v. Esplanade Venture Partnership, 2021 WL 623832 (2021), the child and her grandmother were struck by pieces of...Read More

No Notice Means No Recovery in NY

In Barreto v. 750 Third Owner, LLC, 2021 NY Slip Op 02868 (1st Dept. 2021), the plaintiff slipped and fell in a commercial building’s lobby due to rainwater. Defendants argued that they had no constructive or actual notice of the defect on the floor because a record search did not show any complaints about water on the lobby floor prior to the accident. The defense further argued that a...Read More

Does a Property Owner have a Duty to Protect against a Driver who Jumps a Curb and Crashes into Their Building? (NY)

In Collins v. Delaware Ave. Enters, Inc., the Appellate Division, Second Department addressed whether the defendant was entitled to summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff brought this cause of action when a motor vehicle jumped a curb and sidewalk and crashed into a strip mall owned by the defendants. At the time of the crash, plaintiff was inside of the building when...Read More

Slippery When Wet: Defendant Fails to Gain Summary Judgment Because Water Did Not Come From Pool but Leaky Pipes (NY)

In O’Brien v. Asphalt Green, Inc., the plaintiff allegedly was injured when she slipped and fell on a wet condition on the pool deck at an indoor swimming facility, which was operated by the defendant, Asphalt Green, Inc. The defendant moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, contending that the plaintiff assumed the risk, and that it cannot be held liable for the...Read More

Call Your Next Witness Podcast – Brian Gibbons Interviews Dan Solinsky of Edelman Krasin & Jaye PLLC

Check out the newest episode of the Call Your Next Witness podcast, where Brian Gibbons interviews plaintiff’s attorney extraordinaire, fellow Bronx County District Attorney’s Office & St. John’s University School of Law alum, and all around good guy, Dan Solinsky of Edelman, Krasin & Jaye PLLC. Dan and I discuss our career paths, which began as prosecutors in the...Read More

This and That–and a Significant WCM Appellate Victory for Jeweler’s Block and Fine Art Insurers Everywhere

As background to this important win in Crown Jewels Estate Jewelry, Inc. d/b/a Stephen Russell v. The Underwriters at Interest at Lloyd’s London  (a claim in which Crown sought indemnity for over $2 Million in stolen jewelry), I remind our readers of the wise admonition of the late Supreme Court Justice Scalia:  Never present to an Appellate Court the question to be decided as an actual...Read More