You are here: / / WATER DAMAGE, ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY HURRICANE SANDY, WAS DEMONSTRATED...

WATER DAMAGE, ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY HURRICANE SANDY, WAS DEMONSTRATED TO HAVE RESULTED FROM WEAR AND TEAR AND WAS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO THE POLICY EXCLUSION (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in this property damage case was properly granted. Plaintiff alleged  water damage to its hotel was caused by Hurricane Sandy. There was an exclusion in the policy for “wear and tear.” The insurer’s expert presented evidence that the water damage was due, inter alia, to improper flashing and the absence of proper caulking around the windows:

The dictionary definition of “wear and tear” is “the loss, injury, or stress to which something is subjected by or in the course of use” … . Nothing in the policy language suggests that an average insured would expect the phrase to have another meaning or that the language is subject to any other reasonable interpretation.

As for the application of the exclusion in this case, defendant supported its summary judgment motion with the affidavit and report of an engineer with experience in “structural investigation[s] and failure determinations” who inspected the property several weeks after the hurricane. His examination of the hotel’s exterior walls revealed “improper flashing detail” consisting of failed caulk that had originally been installed to seal the areas where each room’s exterior walls and windows met the hotel’s concrete floors and surrounding masonry walls. According to the engineer, the caulk had separated from these surfaces as a result of age and lack of maintenance, creating spaces through which water could migrate into the walls. The engineer observed significant deterioration in the walls’ internal framing, as well as other indications that water had been seeping into the walls for a long time; in a follow-up inspection several years later, he also found evidence that water continued to enter the walls after the hurricane as a result of the failed caulk, causing new damage to surfaces that had been repaired after the storm. Superhost Hotels Inc. v Selective Ins. Co. of Am., 2018 NY Slip Op 02519, Third Dept 4-12-18

INSURANCE LAW (WATER DAMAGE, ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY HURRICANE SANDY, WAS DEMONSTRATED TO HAVE RESULTED FROM WEAR AND TEAR AND WAS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO THE POLICY EXCLUSION (THIRD DEPT))/WEAR AND TEAR (INSURANCE LAW, WATER DAMAGE, ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY HURRICANE SANDY, WAS DEMONSTRATED TO HAVE RESULTED FROM WEAR AND TEAR AND WAS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO THE POLICY EXCLUSION (THIRD DEPT))/WATER DAMAGE (INSURANCE LAW, WEAR AND TEAR, WATER DAMAGE, ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY HURRICANE SANDY, WAS DEMONSTRATED TO HAVE RESULTED FROM WEAR AND TEAR AND WAS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO THE POLICY EXCLUSION (THIRD DEPT))/EXCLUSIONS (INSURANCE LAW, WEAR AND TEAR, WATER DAMAGE, ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY HURRICANE SANDY, WAS DEMONSTRATED TO HAVE RESULTED FROM WEAR AND TEAR AND WAS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO THE POLICY EXCLUSION (THIRD DEPT))

You might also like
ALTHOUGH THE DEFENSE IN THIS MURDER CASE WAS BASED ON THE LACK OF EVIDENCE THAT DEFENDANT WAS THE ASSAILANT, THE DEFENDANT WAS STILL ENTITLED TO A JUSTIFICATION-DEFENSE JURY-INSTRUCTION; THE DENIAL OF THE REQUEST FOR THE JUSTIFICATION-DEFENSE JURY CHARGE WAS REVERSIBLE ERROR; IN ADDITION, THE TRIAL COURT VIOLATED CVIL RIGHTS LAW 52 BY ALLOWING THE MEDIA TO RECORD TESTIMONIAL PORTIONS OF THE TRIAL (THIRD DEPT).
CLAIMANT INITIALLY BELIEVED THE ROAD WHERE HE STEPPED IN A POTHOLE AND FELL WAS OWNED BY THE VILLAGE, BUT IN FACT IT WAS OWNED BY THE STATE; CLAIMANT’S LATE NOTICE OF CLAIM SHOULD HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE COURT OF CLAIMS (THIRD DEPT). ​
Application to Vacate Default Judgment in Tax Foreclosure Proceeding Governed by Two-Year Statute of Limitations (Under the Facts, the One-Month Statute Did Not Apply)/Deed Purporting to Transfer Property from Religious Organization Invalid for Failure to Comply with the Religious Corporation Law/Notice of Tax Foreclosure Sufficient Even Though Actual Owner Not Notified
Defendant Entitled to a Hearing on His Motion to Vacate His Conviction/Defendant Alleged He Would Not Have Pled Guilty Absent His Attorney’s Affirmative Misinformation About the Deportation Consequences of the Plea
QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER WORKER’S COMPENSATION LAW PRECLUDED SUIT IN NEGLIGENCE, DEFENDANT WAS BOTH AN OFFICER OF PLAINTIFF’S EMPLOYER AND OWNER, IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, OF THE PREMISES WHERE PLAINTIFF SLIPPED AND FELL.
Neglect Allegations Not Proven by Hearsay Testimony Based On Statements Made by Mother
Construction of Dock Could Not Be Regulated by Town—Land Under Navigable Waters Owned by State
Industrial Code Provision Which Prohibits Allowing an Employee to Use an “Elevated Working Surface Which Is In a Slippery Condition” Does Not Apply to Snow Removal/The Injury—a Slip and Fall While Shoveling Snow—Was Caused by “An Integral Part of the Work”

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

AFTER THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION (DEC) AND THE PERMIT APPLICANT...