News & Of Interest

Suffolk County (NY) Operating Protocols – Effective February 22, 2021

As COVID-19 numbers seem to be at least be trending in the right direction, NY courts are preparing to resume in-person proceedings.  (For the time being, remote appearances will remain the norm, but it makes sense to be prepared for in-person litigation.)   Suffolk County has issued new protocols, which you can review here.  Effective February 22, 2021, the new protocols include the...Read More

Wait Too Long, and Exclusions May Disappear (NY)

In the recently decided case of City of New York v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company, the Southern District of New York held that dragging your feet on correcting errors, in a disclaimer, could bar insurers from relying on exclusions as a bar to coverage. In brief, the City sought coverage from its insurer, Philadelphia Indemnity, for an underlying case regarding general welfare and...Read More

NJ Supreme Court Holds that NJ Transit is held to Heightened Duty of Care to its Passengers

On February 17, 2021, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Maison v. New Jersey Transit Corporation held that NJ Transit, which is a public common carrier of passengers, is held to the same heightened duty of care regulating private carriers. By way of background, the case involved a young woman whose forehead was severely injured after teenage passengers threw a bottle at her face. The teenagers...Read More

NJ Court Finds That Endorsement Limiting Scope of “Coverage Territory” Governs

The interplay between various endorsements in a policy is not always clear. This is especially the case where multiple endorsements state they are “replacing” the same provisions. A New Jersey federal judge rejected an attempt by an insured to expand coverage beyond the scope of the policy’s plain terms. In so doing, the court reaffirmed that a policy endorsement’s restriction of coverage to a...Read More

Pennsylvania Upholds Consent by Registration Personal Jurisdiction Statute

In Michael Data, et al. v. A.O. Smith Corporation, et al., the Western District of Pennsylvania recently upheld the constitutionality of the consent-by-registration statute of Pennsylvania, which requires any corporation or entity that registers to do business in Pennsylvania consent to personal jurisdiction in Pennsylvania such that the corporation can be “dragged” into Pennsylvania Courts....Read More

Saw You Slipping In The Lobby (It Wasn’t Me) (NY)

Kwan v. Confucius Plaza Tenants, et al, No. 154794/2015, 2021 WL 419041 (NY Cty. Sup. Ct. Feb. 5, 2021) is a personal injury case, wherein Plaintiff alleged damages after a slip-and-fall in the lobby of her residential premises, which was owned and managed by defendants. Kwan was decided on summary judgment in favor of defendants, who were able to prove: “It wasn’t me.” How? Surveillance...Read More

ALL BARK NO BITE-A Dangerous Dog Registry is Among the Bills to be Voted on by Nassau County Legislature Next Week (NY)

Legislator John Ferretti proposed a bill entitled, “Benny’s Law” to help protect people and pets within the community. The bill was inspired after the lawmaker’s 1-year old terrier, Benny, was attacked by a neighbor’s dog. Although the dog who attacked Benny is currently on probation, the Ferretti fears that since the dog was returned to its owners, other incidents between...Read More

No Bad Faith, No Consequential Damages! Florida Supreme Court Denies Insured’s Attempt To Recover Extra-Contractual Consequential Damages in a First-Party Property Claim

A recent decision from the Supreme Court of Florida punctuates well-established federal precedent that consequential damages in insurance disputes are not recoverable absent a separate action for bad faith.  In Citizens Property Ins. Corp. v. Manor House LLC, et al, Manor House, owner of rental apartment buildings, filed an action against its property insurer for breach of contract and fraud...Read More