HNRK Coverage Corner

On August 15, 2019, Justice Perry of the New York County Supreme Court issued a decision in Villas of Ocean Dunes Assn., Inc. v. First Specialty Ins. Corp., 2019 NY Slip Op 32435(U), denying an insured’s petition to compel an excess insurer to submit a disputed property damage claim to appraisal under an appraisal provision in the primary policy.

The insured in Villas of Ocean Dunes was a condominium in Florida that suffered damage during Hurricane Irma.  The condominium had two insurance policies covering property damage:  a primary policy issued by Westchester Surplus Lines ...

On April 3, 2019, the Second Circuit issued a decision in Milligan v. CCC Information Servs. Inc., Dkt. Nos. 18-1405-cv, 18-1407-cv, holding that the appraisal procedure in a property insurance policy could not be used to resolve legal questions regarding the interpretation of the policy, but only to determine the amount of the covered loss.

Milligan is a putative class action, alleging that GEICO “violated Regulation 64, a New York State insurance regulation,” incorporated into the Policy, “which requires an insurer, in the case of a total loss of a current model year ...