HNRK Coverage Corner

On January 31, 2018, Judge Spatt of the EDNY issued a decision in Striker Sheet Metal II Corp. v. Harleysville Ins. Co. of N.Y., Case No. 16-cv-5916 (ADS)(AYS), holding that an insurance company was relieved of its duty to defend where “extrinsic evidence” (including an email from the insured in response to questions from the insurer) demonstrated conclusively that the accident at issue was excluded from coverage.

In Striker Sheet Metal an employee of the insured company was injured while in the process of unloading HVAC ductwork from the insured's truck and delivering it to a ...

On January 18, 2018, Justice Sherwood of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Don Buchwald & Assocs., Inc., Index. No. 655533/2016, holding that an insurer could not rely on “extrinsic discovery” to avoid its duty to defend.

In Zurich, an insurer sought a declaratory judgment that it had “no duty to defend or indemnify defendants in an action proceeding in Florida on the grounds that . . . the acts alleged in the underlying action were outside the scope of defendant Tony Burton’s . . . employment with defendant Don Buchwald & ...