HNRK Coverage Corner

On May 25, 2018, Judge Furman of the SDNY issued a decision in American Ins. Co. v. Kartheiser, Case No. 17-CV-5545 (JMF), denying a motion to dismiss a subrogation action for failure to join the insured as a party.

In American Ins. Co., an insurer brought a subrogation action in federal court, seeking to recover amounts it paid to the insured for property damage caused by the defendant.  Joining the insured -- which was was separately suing the defendant in state court for amounts not covered by the insurer -- would have defeated diversity jurisdiction in the insurer's federal subrogation ...

On May 11, 2018, Justice Lebovits of New York County Supreme Court issued a decision in Touro College v. Arch Specialty Ins. Co., Index No. 652642/2016, holding that a property owner was entitled to defense coverage for a personal injury action as an additional insured under a general contractor’s CGL policy.  The Court ruled that the issue of indemnity coverage, however, would have to await the determination of the contractor’s liability in the underlying injury action. This case involves a policy provision that was the subject of a recent Court of Appeals decision covered on this ...

On May 11, 2018, the Second Circuit issued a decision in Hough v. USAA Casualty Ins. Co., Case No. 17-1073, holding that a collision between a driver and a “flagman” at a construction site was not a covered “occurrence” under the driver’s automobile liability and umbrella policies because the injury was “intentionally caused.”  The policies contained the standard definition of a covered “occurrence” as an “accident,” which under the case law connotes “unintended damage.”  Olin Corp. v. Insurance Co. of North America, 221 F.3d 307, 317 (2d Cir. 2000 ...

On March 26, 2018, the New York Court of Appeals issued a decision by Judge Wilson in Gilbane Bldg. Co./TDX Constr. Corp. v. St. Paul Fire & Mar. Ins. Co., 2018 NY Slip Op 02117, holding that an Additional Insured-By Written Contract endorsement in a general contractor’s liability policy did not provide coverage for a construction manager that had no written contract with the general contractor — even though the contractor was obligated under a contract with the property owner to name the construction manager as an additional insured.  Judge Stein wrote a dissenting opinion, joined ...

On April 27, 2018, Justice Marcy Friedman of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Burling Ins. Co., 2018 NY Slip Op 30741(U), holding that a Total Pollution Exclusion did not excuse an excess liability carrier’s duty to defend personal injury lawsuits brought by clean-up workers at the World Trade Center site, who alleged that they suffered respiratory and other injuries from exposure to toxins dispersed in the area after September 11.

The exclusion at issue in National Union applied to any claim for ...