In a creative, but ultimately unsuccesful effort, plaintiff commenced an action seeking the recovery of damages for wrongful death and pain and suffering against defendant insurance companies and agents alleging they negligently issued life insurance policies to the decedent which helped to bring about her death. Defendant Perchikov allegedly coerced the decedent to procure one million dollar life insurance policies identifying him as the beneficiary and then murdered her to obtain the proceeds.

On September 11, 2007, the Court of Appeals decided Guishard v. General Security Insurance Company, 2007 NY Slip Opinion 06581. The plaintiff in the underlying action was injured while riveting metal to a van to convert it to a “Mr. Softee” ice cream truck. The Commercial General Liability policy issued by General Security excluded coverage for bodily injury arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use or entrustment . . . of any auto owned or operated by or rented or loaned to any insured.

In yet another Appellate Division no fault decision, the 2nd Department on August 21, 2007 reversed the trial court and denied the no fault provider summary judgement in Mary Immaculate Hospital v. Allstate Insurance Co., 2007 NY Slip Opinion 06461. The reversal was predicated on defects in the mailing affidavit produced by the hospital, in which the billing representative averred that she “billed” Allstate, while the actual proofs did not establish that the specific documents relating to the claims at issue had been mailed to Allstate.

In another decision interpreting coverage under a homeowner’s policy for “collapse,” the Appellate Division in Cali v. Merrimack Mutual Fire Insurance Company, 2007 NY Slip Opinion 06415 (2nd Dept.

In the governor's veto memo, the governor applauds the purposes behind the bill, but cites the lack of notice to interested parties, noting that the bill was not introduced until June 17, 2007 and passed both houses just three days later. The governor states that he has instructed his staff and the Superintendent of Insurance to investigate the issue further, obtaining input from the affected parties.

On August 1, 2007, New York Governor Spitzer vetoed legislation which would have required an insurer to demonstrate material prejudice to support a disclaimer based upon its insured's late notice. The bill also would have allowed an injured party to institute a declaratory judgement lawsuit against an insurer prior to entry of judgment against the insured which remained unsatisfied. Details will follow!

In Schlott v. Transcontinental Insurance Company, 2007 NY Slip Opinion 05637 (1st Dept.), the First Department departed from well established New York law by holding that the insurer’s disclaimer was effective where it was issued to the insured and copied to the injured party although it did not specify late notice by the injured party as a basis for disclaiming. The defendant claimed that the first notice it received was more than three years after entry of the judgement and seven years after the occurrence.

The insurer for the offending vehicle was tripped up by the intricacies of establishing proper cancellation of an assigned risk automobile policy in Progressive Classic v. Kitchen, 2007 NY Slip Opinion 05638 (1st Dept. 2007.

On June 27, 20007, New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, issued its long awaited decision in BP Air Conditioning v. One Beacon Insurance Group. The court modified the holding of the 1st Department (33 A.D.3d 116 (1st Dept. 2006), determining that an insurer’s obligation to afford a defense to an additional insured is not contingent upon a liability finding, but instead exists to the same extent and is determined in the same manner as it is for a named insured.

On June 19, 2007, the First Department issued an interesting decision responsive to a claim by WestCom against its insurer, GNY seeking the recovery of direct physical loss to covered property. WestCom Corp. v. Greater NY Mutual Insurance Co., 2007 NY Slip Opinion 05336 (1st Dept. 2007). WestCom had stored certain digital line interface cards (DLICs) at a storage unit. Several months after the units were stored, an employee of the insured discovered they were missing.