HNRK Coverage Corner

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 March 8, 2018, Judge Block of the EDNY issued a decision in Illinois Union Ins. Co. v. US Bus Charter & Limo Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-06602-FB-RLM, holding that indemnification rights under a liability policy survived a class action settlement in which the insured consented to a $50 million judgment against it, subject to a covenant not to execute the judgment against the insured’s assets. 

The insured in Illinois Union had sought defense and indemnity coverage under a liability policy for a putative class action in which it was accused of sending unsolicited text messages ...

This blog previously covered Justice Sherwood's decision in Freedom Specialty Ins. Co. v. Platinum Mgt. (NY), LLC, 2017 NY Slip Op 32728(U), which granted a preliminary injunction directing three excess D&O insurers to advance attorneys' fees and costs for the defense of a securities fraud prosecution and a related SEC enforcement action.  (N.B. HNRK Partner Bradley J. Nash represented one of the insureds and argued the preliminary injunction motion on behalf of all the insureds.)  On March 22, 2018, the First Department denied the motion of one of the excess insurers (Freedom ...

On March 9, 2018, the Second Department issued a decision in Graphic Arts Mut. Ins. Co. v. Pine Bush Central School Dist., Index No. 6304/2015, holding that a school district's entitlement to indemnity coverage under a CGL policy for the cost of settling a religious discrimination case depended on questions of fact. Graphic Arts arose from a lawsuit filed by a group of students from the Pine Bush School District, alleging that the students were subjected to anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination by other students, which was reported to, but ignored by school officials.  According ...

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.