You are here: / / Four-Inch Floor-Drop Caused by Insect-Damage Constituted a “Collapse” wit...

Four-Inch Floor-Drop Caused by Insect-Damage Constituted a “Collapse” within Meaning of Policy

In finding that the term “collapse” in a home insurance policy included a four-inch drop in the floors caused by insect damage, the Third Department explained:

An insurance policy must be interpreted to give clear and unambiguous provisions their plain and ordinary meaning… .  However, “[t]he policy must, of course, be construed in favor of the insured, and ambiguities, if any, are to be resolved in the insured’s favor and against the insurer” … .  The policy at issue here specifically covers “physical loss to covered property involving collapse of a building or any part of a building” …, but only if such collapse is caused by, among other things, “hidden insect or vermin damage.”  While the policy does not define what constitutes a collapse, it provides that a “[c]ollapse does not include settling, cracking, shrinking, bulging or expansion.”  In this regard, we have held that the term collapse “involves an element of suddenness, a falling in, and total or near total destruction” … . However, “the clear modern trend is to hold that collapse coverage provisions [–] which define collapse as not including cracking and settling – provide coverage if there is substantial impairment of the structural integrity of the building or any part of a building” … . Wangerin v New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance Company, 515723, 3rd Dept 11-7-13

 

You might also like
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE FAILED TO DEMONSTRATE ELIMINATION OF POSITION WAS DONE IN BAD FAITH; NEGLIGENT VIOLATION OF OPEN MEETINGS LAW DID NOT INVALIDATE TOWN’S ACTIONS.
TRANSFER OF ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT TO A LOWER PAYING JOB WAS NOT DISCIPLINE UNDER THE EDUCATION LAW AND DID NOT CONSTITUTE A DUE PROCESS VIOLATION (THIRD DEPT).
MATTER REMITTED TO THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH TO DETERMINE WHETHER BONE SURGERY TO REPAIR CANCER-RELATED DAMAGE TO PETITIONER’S JAW IS COVERED UNDER MEDICAID, IF THERE IS A CONFLICT BETWEEN THE DSS REGULATIONS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH’S GUIDELINES, THE REGULATIONS CONTROL (THIRD DEPT).
ALTHOUGH THE ISSUE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RAISED IN A DIRECT APPEAL, AND DESPITE DEFENDANT’S FAILURE TO RAISE THE WINNING ARGUMENT IN THE MOTION TO VACATE THE CONVICTION, THE THIRD DEPARTMENT GRANTED DEFENDANTS REQUEST TO REMOVE THE SEX OFFENDER CLASSIFICATION FROM HIS SENTENCE; THE OFFENSE OF WHICH DEFENDANT WAS CONVICTED IS NOT A REGISTRABLE OFFENSE (THIRD DEPT). ​
Assignment of New Counsel and Adjournment of Trial Over Defendant’s Objection Was Proper—Defense Counsel Had Represented the Confidential Informant in the Past—District Attorney Objected to Preclusion of Confidential Informant’s Testimony as a Solution
ALTHOUGH CLAIMANT’S MEDICAL REPORT DID NOT ADHERE TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW 137 AND COULD BE DEEMED INADMISSIBLE FOR THAT REASON, THE EMPLOYER FAILED TO MAKE A TIMELY OBJECTION TO THE REPORT; THE PRECLUSION OF THE REPORT WAS THEREFORE ERROR (THIRD DEPT).
PLAINTIFF WAS ENGAGED IN ROUTINE MAINTENANCE SO HIS FALL FROM A LADDER WAS NOT ACTIONABLE PURSUANT TO LABOR LAW 240 (1), A MUNICIPALITY’S MAINTENANCE OF LIGHT POLES IS A PROPRIETARY FUNCTION TO WHICH THE DOCTRINE OF IMMUNITY DOES NOT APPLY, THE MUNICIPALITY’S ‘LACK OF WRITTEN NOTICE’ DEFENSE COULD NOT BE RAISED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON APPEAL (THIRD DEPT).
COUNTY WHICH HAS A WRITTEN-NOTICE PREREQUISITE FOR TRAFFIC-ACCIDENT ACTIONS STEMMING FROM ROAD DEFECTS MAY BE STILL BE LIABLE ABSENT WRITTEN NOTICE UNDER THE HIGHWAY LAW IF IT OTHERWISE HAD NOTICE OF THE DEFECTS (THIRD DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Request for Employees’ Names and Addresses Not Allowed Under Balancing Test... Review of Action Brought Under General Municipal Law Section 4 (Re: Unlawful...