HNRK Coverage Corner

On August 29, 2019, the California Supreme Court issued a decision in Pitzer College v. Indian Harbor Ins. Co., Case No. S239510, ruling (in response to a certified question from the Ninth Circuit) that New York’s no-prejudice rule—under which a first-party insurer can avoid coverage based on delayed notice without showing prejudice—is contrary to a “fundamental public policy” of California.

Unlike the majority of states, New York common law does not require an insurer to demonstrate prejudice to disclaim coverage based on late notice by the insured. As previously ...

Determining which state’s law applies is an important issue in any insurance coverage dispute.  Indeed, the outcome may depend on it, as different states have different rules on the interpretation and enforcement of policy provisions, what the claims the insured can bring, and a host of other issues.  Frequently, however, insurance policies do not have choice-of-law provisions.  Thus, the applicable law must be determined under a conflicts of law analysis.  A recent decision from Judge Glenn T. Suddaby of the NDNY, Ben Weitsman & Son of Scranton, LLC v. Hartford Fire Insurance Co.