In a case I have been involved with for many years, Commercial Insurance Company v. Popadich, the First Department today affirmed the decision of the Supreme Court, New York County, which determined that our client, Commercial Insurance, had no obligation to defend or indemnify their insured, Ronald Popadich, based upon the intentional nature of his conduct. Popadich had gone on a murderous rampage in New York City with his vehicle, killing one pedestrian and injuring several others. He subsequently pled guilty to shooting a cab driver, but did not allocute with respect to the automobile assaults. We commenced a coverage action and ultimately, I was able to obtain the police department file, which included a statement taken of Popadich, where he stated unequivocally that he intended to hurt or kill as many people as possible on the date in question.
The trial court granted our motion for summary judgement based upon the argument that the conduct was outside the scope of the insuring agreement and therefore, no denial was required. During oral argument of the appeal by one of the underlying plaintiffs, the court focused on the admisibility of the statement of the insured. The First Department determined that the statement was a declaration against interest, rather than an admision against interest and affirmed the trial court, finding the insurer owed no duty to defend or indemnify under the facts present.