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Contract Law, Insurance Law

HUGE CONSTRUCTION CRANE DESTROYED IN SUPERSTORM SANDY NOT COVERED BY INSURANCE, CONTRACTOR’S TOOLS EXCLUSION APPLIED.

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Fahey, determined a huge construction crane destroyed during Superstorm Sandy was subject to the “contractor’s tools exclusion” in the applicable policy:

… [W]e conclude that there is no coverage for that loss under the policy because any coverage afforded by that contract in the first instance is defeated by the contractor’s tools exclusion. That exclusion provides that “[t]h[e] Policy does not insure against loss or damage to . . . Contractor’s tools, machinery, plant and equipment including spare parts and accessories, whether owned, loaned, borrowed, hired or leased, and property of a similar nature not destined to become a permanent part of the INSURED PROJECT*, unless specifically endorsed to the Policy.”

“‘[B]efore an insurance company is permitted to avoid policy coverage, it must satisfy the burden which it bears of establishing that the exclusions or exemptions apply in the particular case, and that they are subject to no other reasonable interpretation'” . [Plaintiff] Extell, in particular, contends that defendants cannot have met that burden here because the crane is not a “tool” or “equipment” within the meaning of the contractor’s tools exclusion. The subject exclusion, however, also defeats coverage for “machinery,” and the crane falls squarely within this definition of that term. “Machinery” means, among other things, “machines in general or as a functioning unit,” and “machine” is defined as “a mechanically, electrically, or electronically operated device for performing a task” … . Lend Lease (US) Constr. LMB Inc. v Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 2017 NY Slip Op 01141, CtApp 2-14-17

INSURANCE LAW (HUGE CONSTRUCTION CRANE DESTROYED IN SUPERSTORM SANDY NOT COVERED BY INSURANCE, CONTRACTOR’S TOOLS EXCLUSION APPLIED)/CONTRACT LAW (INSURANCE LAW, HUGE CONSTRUCTION CRANE DESTROYED IN SUPERSTORM SANDY NOT COVERED BY INSURANCE, CONTRACTOR’S TOOLS EXCLUSION APPLIED)/CRANES (INSURANCE LAW, (HUGE CONSTRUCTION CRANE DESTROYED IN SUPERSTORM SANDY NOT COVERED BY INSURANCE, CONTRACTOR’S TOOLS EXCLUSION APPLIED)/EXCLUSIONS (INSURANCE LAW, HUGE CONSTRUCTION CRANE DESTROYED IN SUPERSTORM SANDY NOT COVERED BY INSURANCE, CONTRACTOR’S TOOLS EXCLUSION APPLIED)

February 14, 2017
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Contract Law, Insurance Law

UNAMBIGUOUS TERM OF INSURANCE CONTRACT CAPPING PAYMENT FOR WATER DAMAGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ENFORCED.

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, over a two-justice dissent, determined the terms of the insurance policy were not ambiguous and the $25,000 cap for water damage applied:

It is well-settled that insurance contracts are construed “in light of common speech’ and the reasonable expectations of a businessperson” … . “[U]nambiguous provisions of an insurance contract must be given their plain and ordinary meaning” … . We conclude that the contract language at issue here is not ambiguous. By its plain terms, the contract limits coverage to $25,000 for damage caused when ground water enters the basement through a gap, hole, or opening in the wall, and the conduit clearly falls within the water damage exclusion and endorsement … . Papa v Associated Indem. Corp., 2017 NY Slip Op 01118, 4th Dept 2-10-17

INSURANCE LAW (UNAMBIGUOUS TERM OF INSURANCE CONTRACT CAPPING PAYMENT FOR WATER DAMAGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ENFORCED)/CONTRACT LAW (iNSURANCE LAW, UNAMBIGUOUS TERM OF INSURANCE CONTRACT CAPPING PAYMENT FOR WATER DAMAGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ENFORCED)

February 10, 2017
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Insurance Law

EXCLUSION FOR INJURY DURING UNLOADING AN INSURED TRAILER APPLIED, EVEN THOUGH THE INJURY WAS CAUSED BY A DEFECT IN THE TRAILER.

The First Department determined an exclusion from plaintiff’s “Truckers Policy” issued to Truck-Rite was unambiguous. The policy excluded coverage for injury arising out of loading and unloading trailers covered by the policy. Plaintiff was unloading a trailer when the trailer’s lift gate collapsed. Despite the fact that the injury was caused by a defective part of the trailer, the injury was not covered by the policy:

“Policy exclusions are subject to strict construction and must be read narrowly, and any ambiguities in the insurance policy are to be construed against the insurer. However, unambiguous provisions of insurance contracts will be given their plain and ordinary meaning” … .

“In the context of a policy exclusion, the phrase arising out of is unambiguous, and is interpreted broadly to mean originating from, incident to, or having connection with'” … . To determine the applicability of an “arising out of” exclusion, the Court of Appeals had adopted a “but for” test … . This test is defined as follows “[I]f the plaintiff in an underlying action or proceeding alleges the existence of facts clearly falling within such an exclusion, and none of the causes of action that he or she asserts could exist but for the existence of the excluded activity or state of affairs, the insurer is under no obligation to defend the action”… .

Here, the underlying plaintiff’s accident occurred while he was unloading material from a shipping trailer, an activity clearly encompassed by the exclusion. The fact that his injury was allegedly caused by the defective nature of the trailer lift does not remove the injury from the policy exclusion. “[T]he focus of the inquiry is not on the precise cause of the accident but the general nature of the operation in the course of which the injury was sustained'” … . “[T]he phrase arising out of’ . . . requires only that there be some causal relationship between the injury and the risk for which coverage is provided” … . Such a causal relationship between the injury and exclusion clearly exists here and requires dismissal of the complaint. Country-Wide Ins. Co. v Excelsior Ins. Co., 2017 NY Slip Op 00718, 1st Dept 2-2-17

 

INSURANCE LAW (EXCLUSION FOR INJURY DURING UNLOADING AN INSURED TRAILER APPLIED, EVEN THOUGH THE INJURY WAS CAUSED BY A DEFECT IN THE TRAILER)/EXCLUSIONS (INSURANCE LAW, EXCLUSION FOR INJURY DURING UNLOADING AN INSURED TRAILER APPLIED, EVEN THOUGH THE INJURY WAS CAUSED BY A DEFECT IN THE TRAILER)

February 2, 2017
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Employment Law, Insurance Law

COVERAGE FOR CLAIMS ALLEGING PAYMENT OF INADEQUATE WAGES AND RETALIATION FOR BRINGING SUIT PRECLUDED BY EXCLUSION FOR EMPLOYMENT-RELATED WRONGFUL ACTS.

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant insurer (FIC) was not obligated to defend plaintiff in a suit alleging the payment of inadequate wages in violation of the Faire Labor Standards Act and retaliation for bringing suit. The policy excluded coverage for employment-related wrongful acts. “Employment-related” was not defined:

In context, the plain and ordinary meaning of the “employment-related Wrongful Act” exclusion unambiguously encompasses claims regarding violations of wage laws and retaliation for complaints about violations of wage laws. The payment of wages has such an established connection to the “act of employing” or “the state of being employed” that a contrary conclusion would be unreasonable. Put otherwise, no reasonable average insured giving the relevant terms their “plain and ordinary meaning” would conclude that complaints regarding violations of law as to payment of wages were not “employment-related” … . In short, it is clear from the language of the exclusion that … the policy did not insure against the clearly “employment-related” claims raised in the underlying action. Hansard v Federal Ins. Co., 2017 NY Slip Op 00633, 2nd Dept 2-1-17

INSURANCE LAW (COVERAGE FOR CLAIMS ALLEGING PAYMENT OF INADEQUATE WAGES AND RETALIATION FOR BRINGING SUIT PRECLUDED BY EXCLUSION FOR EMPLOYMENT-RELATED WRONGFUL ACTS)/EMPLOYMENT LAW (INSURANCE LAW, COVERAGE FOR CLAIMS ALLEGING PAYMENT OF INADEQUATE WAGES AND RETALIATION FOR BRINGING SUIT PRECLUDED BY EXCLUSION FOR EMPLOYMENT-RELATED WRONGFUL ACTS)/EXCLUSIONS (INSURANCE LAW, COVERAGE FOR CLAIMS ALLEGING PAYMENT OF INADEQUATE WAGES AND RETALIATION FOR BRINGING SUIT PRECLUDED BY EXCLUSION FOR EMPLOYMENT-RELATED WRONGFUL ACTS)

February 1, 2017
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Insurance Law, Toxic Torts

QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER CONTRACTUAL SUBROGATION PROVISIONS APPLIED TO CERTAIN POLICIES COVERING INJURY BY LEAD PAINT.

The First Department, in a case reversed and remitted by the Court of Appeals, determined there was a question of fact whether contractual subrogation provisions applied to certain policies covering injury by lead paint (remitting the case to Supreme Court). The Court of Appeals had held the antisubrogation rule did not apply to preclude recovery:

Given the ambiguities in the relevant agreements, we cannot find as a matter of law that the insurers are entitled to contractually subrogate to ANP’s indemnification rights. On remand, the motion court is to consider the intent of these provisions in light of the extrinsic evidence. Millennium Holdings LLC v Glidden Co., 2017 NY Slip Op 00258, 1st Dept 1-17-17

INSURANCE LAW (LEAD PAINT, SUBROGATION, QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER CONTRACTUAL SUBROGATION PROVISIONS APPLIED TO CERTAIN POLICIES COVERING INJURY BY LEAD PAINT)/SUBROGATION (INSURANCE LAW, LEAD PAINT, QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER CONTRACTUAL SUBROGATION PROVISIONS APPLIED TO CERTAIN POLICIES COVERING INJURY BY LEAD PAINT)/LEAD PAINT (INSURANCE LAW, LEAD PAINT, QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER CONTRACTUAL SUBROGATION PROVISIONS APPLIED TO CERTAIN POLICIES COVERING INJURY BY LEAD PAINT)

January 17, 2017
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Insurance Law

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY HAD DUTY TO DEFEND IN AN ACTION STEMMING FROM A SHOOTING BY THE INSURED, SHOOTING MAY HAVE BEEN UNINTENTIONAL (RECKLESS).

The Third Department determined defendant insurer (homeowners policies) had a duty to defend plaintiff in an action brought by one Prindle, who was shot by plaintiff. The shooting could have been unintentional and therefore covered under the policy:

An insurance company’s duty to defend “is exceedingly broad and an insurer will be called upon to provide a defense whenever the allegations of the complaint suggest a reasonable possibility of coverage” … . If the complaint’s allegations bring the claim “even potentially within the embrace of the policy, the insurer must defend its insured no matter how groundless, false or baseless the suit may be” … . …

Here, Prindle’s complaint alleged that plaintiff “assault[ed] [Prindle] . . . by shooting [Prindle] in the abdomen” and that “as a result of the assault,” Prindle sustained personal injuries. While Prindle’s complaint also alleged that plaintiff was arrested and criminally charged with assault, there was no further specification as to this criminal charge raised against plaintiff … . Inasmuch as an assault may derive from an individual’s recklessness or criminal negligence (see Penal Law § 120.00 [2], [3]), a reasonable possibility exists that plaintiff’s actions were not intentional, as defendant argues … . …

Because the shooting can be reasonably interpreted as having stemmed from plaintiff’s unintentional conduct, we conclude that defendant’s duty to defend was triggered under the insurance policy … . Guzy v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 2017 NY Slip Op 00233, 3rd Dept 1-12-17

 

INSURANCE LAW (HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY HAD DUTY TO DEFEND IN AN ACTION STEMMING FROM A SHOOTING BY THE INSURED, SHOOTING MAY HAVE BEEN UNINTENTIONAL (RECKLESS))/DUTY TO DEFEND (INSURANCE LAW, HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY HAD DUTY TO DEFEND IN AN ACTION STEMMING FROM A SHOOTING BY THE INSURED, SHOOTING MAY HAVE BEEN UNINTENTIONAL (RECKLESS))/ASSAULT (INSURANCE LAW, HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY HAD DUTY TO DEFEND IN AN ACTION STEMMING FROM A SHOOTING BY THE INSURED, SHOOTING MAY HAVE BEEN UNINTENTIONAL (RECKLESS))/SHOOTING (ASSAULT, INSURANCE LAW, HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY HAD DUTY TO DEFEND IN AN ACTION STEMMING FROM A SHOOTING BY THE INSURED, SHOOTING MAY HAVE BEEN UNINTENTIONAL (RECKLESS))

January 12, 2017
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Insurance Law, Municipal Law, Negligence

INSURER OF COMPANY UNDER CONTRACT TO MAINTAIN STREET LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES HAD A DUTY TO DEFEND THE CITY IN PERSONAL INJURY SUITS ALLEGING INADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MALFUNCTIONING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES.

INSURANCE LAW, MUNICIPAL LAW, NEGLIGENCE.

In a decision too lengthy and fact-specific to fairly summarize here, the First Department determined whether the insurance company which insured a company that maintained street lighting and traffic control devices under a contract with the Bronx had a duty to defend against personal injury suits brought against New York City.  The city was named an additional insured in the policies. . The personal injury suits alleged improper street lighting, malfunctioning traffic control devices, and, in one case, injury from a falling traffic control device. A duty to defend was found in four of the five lawsuits. The court explained the applicable law as follows:

On a summary judgment motion in a case involving an insurance contract or policy, “[t]he evidence will be construed in the light most favorable to the one moved against” … . The insured, however, has the burden of showing that an insurance contract covers the loss for which the claim is made … .

The applicable standard holds that the duty to defend arises when at least one of two alternate criteria are met. “A duty to defend exists whenever the allegations in the complaint in the underlying action, construed liberally, suggest a reasonable possibility of coverage, or where the insurer has actual knowledge of facts establishing such a reasonable possibility” … . City of New York v Wausau Underwriters Ins. Co., 2016 NY Slip Op 08932, 1st Dept 12-29-16

 

INSURANCE LAW (INSURER OF COMPANY UNDER CONTRACT TO MAINTAIN STREET LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES HAD A DUTY TO DEFEND THE CITY IN PERSONAL INJURY SUITS ALLEGING INADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MALFUNCTIONING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES)/MUNICIPAL LAW (INSURER OF COMPANY UNDER CONTRACT TO MAINTAIN STREET LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES HAD A DUTY TO DEFEND THE CITY IN PERSONAL INJURY SUITS ALLEGING INADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MALFUNCTIONING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES)/NEGLIGENCE (INSURANCE LAW, MUNICPAL LAW, NSURER OF COMPANY UNDER CONTRACT TO MAINTAIN STREET LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES HAD A DUTY TO DEFEND THE CITY IN PERSONAL INJURY SUITS ALLEGING INADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MALFUNCTIONING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES)/DUTY TO DEFEND (INSURANCE LAW, INSURER OF COMPANY UNDER CONTRACT TO MAINTAIN STREET LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES HAD A DUTY TO DEFEND THE CITY IN PERSONAL INJURY SUITS ALLEGING INADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MALFUNCTIONING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES)/STREET LIGHTING (INSURER OF COMPANY UNDER CONTRACT TO MAINTAIN STREET LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES HAD A DUTY TO DEFEND THE CITY IN PERSONAL INJURY SUITS ALLEGING INADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MALFUNCTIONING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES)/TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES  (INSURER OF COMPANY UNDER CONTRACT TO MAINTAIN STREET LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES HAD A DUTY TO DEFEND THE CITY IN PERSONAL INJURY SUITS ALLEGING INADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MALFUNCTIONING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES)/HIGHWAYS AND ROADS  (INSURER OF COMPANY UNDER CONTRACT TO MAINTAIN STREET LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES HAD A DUTY TO DEFEND THE CITY IN PERSONAL INJURY SUITS ALLEGING INADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MALFUNCTIONING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES)

December 29, 2016
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Fair Credit Reporting Act, Insurance Law

DAMAGES UNDER THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT ARE NOT PENALTIES, INSURANCE POLICY EXCLUSION OF COVERAGE FOR PENALTIES DID NOT APPLY.

The First Department rejected plaintiff insurer’s argument that it was not required to pay the cost of its insured’s settlement of a class action claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) because the settlement constituted a penalty (not covered by the policy) rather than compensatory damages:

To make out a claim under the FCRA (15 USC § 1681 et seq. ), the complaint must allege, inter alia, injury in fact, a “concrete and particularized” and “actual or imminent” “invasion of a legally protected interest,” i.e., the statutory right to the fair handling of the plaintiff consumer’s credit information … . The remedy for “willful” failure to comply with a requirement of the statute is “any actual damages sustained by the consumer by the failure or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000,” and “such amount of punitive damages as the court may allow,” as well as costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees … . Since the consumer must elect the option of either actual or statutory damages, and may also recover punitive damages, it is reasonable to infer, as the motion court did, that the actual and the statutory damages serve the same purpose … . Moreover, the statute provides separately for a civil penalty (recoverable by the Federal Trade Commission) … . Plaintiff argues that the limitation of damages to a “willful” violation of the statute evinces a legislative intent to penalize intentional misconduct, rather than compensate for actual damages sustained, but this is not so, since willfulness as a statutory condition of civil liability “cover[s] not only knowing violations of a standard, but reckless ones as well” … . Thus, it is clear that Congress intended the statutory damages provided for by the FCRA to be compensatory and not a penalty … . Navigators Ins. Co. v Sterling Infosystems, Inc., 2016 NY Slip Op 08941, 1st Dept 12-29-16

INSURANCE LAW (DAMAGES UNDER THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT IS NOT A PENALTY, INSURANCE POLICY EXCLUSION OF COVERAGE OF PENALTIES DID NOT APPLY)/FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT (FRCA) (INSURANCE LAW, DAMAGES UNDER THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT IS NOT A PENALTY, INSURANCE POLICY EXCLUSION OF COVERAGE OF PENALTIES DID NOT APPLY)

December 29, 2016
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Civil Procedure, Insurance Law, Negligence, Privilege

DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DOCUMENTS SOUGHT BY A DISCOVERY DEMAND WERE ENTITLED TO CONDITIONAL IMMUNITY AS DOCUMENTS PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION, MATTER REMITTED FOR COURT REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS.

In an action against a veterinary clinic stemming from an alleged attack by a dog in the waiting room, the Third Department determined the clinic did not demonstrate documents sought by plaintiff’s discovery demands were entitled to conditional immunity as documents prepared for litigation. The matter was remitted for court review of the documents:

Inasmuch as “[t]he purpose of liability insurance is the defense and settlement of claims . . . once an accident has arisen,” documents contained in the insurance adjuster’s file are generally protected by “a conditional immunity . . . as material prepared for litigation” … . Accident reports that are prepared with “a mixed purpose and result at least in part from the internal operations of the defendant’s business” are not, however, exempt from disclosure … . It is therefore incumbent upon “the party resisting disclosure to[, in the first instance,] show that the materials sought were prepared solely for litigation and this burden cannot be satisfied with wholly conclusory allegations” … . Hewitt v Palmer Veterinary Clinic, PC, 2016 NY Slip Op 08926, 3rd Dept 12-29-16

INSURANCE LAW (DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DOCUMENTS SOUGHT BY A DISCOVERY DEMAND WERE ENTITLED TO CONDITIONAL IMMUNITY AS DOCUMENTS PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION, MATTER REMITTED FOR COURT REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS)/NEGLIGENCE (DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DOCUMENTS SOUGHT BY A DISCOVERY DEMAND WERE ENTITLED TO CONDITIONAL IMMUNITY AS DOCUMENTS PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION, MATTER REMITTED FOR COURT REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS)/CIVIL PROCEDURE (DISCOVERY, CONDITIONAL IMMUNITY, DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DOCUMENTS SOUGHT BY A DISCOVERY DEMAND WERE ENTITLED TO CONDITIONAL IMMUNITY AS DOCUMENTS PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION, MATTER REMITTED FOR COURT REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS)/CONDITIONAL IMMUNITY (DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DOCUMENTS SOUGHT BY A DISCOVERY DEMAND WERE ENTITLED TO CONDITIONAL IMMUNITY AS DOCUMENTS PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION, MATTER REMITTED FOR COURT REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS)/PRIVILEGE (DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DOCUMENTS SOUGHT BY A DISCOVERY DEMAND WERE ENTITLED TO CONDITIONAL IMMUNITY AS DOCUMENTS PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION, MATTER REMITTED FOR COURT REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS)/ACCIDENT REPORTS (DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DOCUMENTS SOUGHT BY A DISCOVERY DEMAND WERE ENTITLED TO CONDITIONAL IMMUNITY AS DOCUMENTS PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION, MATTER REMITTED FOR COURT REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS)

December 29, 2016
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Civil Procedure, Contract Law, Insurance Law

CRITERIA FOR DENIAL OF A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS PREMATURE ILLUSTRATED.

CIVIL PROCEDURE, INSURANCE LAW, CONTRACT LAW.

The Third Department determined defendant insurance company’s motion for summary judgment should have been denied as premature. Plaintiff was seeking reformation of the insurance contract to add plaintiff as an insured. Plaintiff held a mortgage on the insured property when the property was destroyed by fire:

Erie’s [the insurance company’s] motion for summary judgment should have been denied as premature. “[A] summary judgment motion is properly denied as premature when the nonmoving party has not been given reasonable time and opportunity to conduct disclosure relative to pertinent evidence that is within the exclusive knowledge of the movant or a codefendant” … . As is relevant to plaintiff’s claim, a party seeking reformation of a contract must establish, by clear and convincing evidence, either that the writing at issue was executed under mutual mistake or that there was a fraudulently induced unilateral mistake … .

The importance of documents and depositions that plaintiff sought but had not been provided is readily apparent. The premise of plaintiff’s cause of action is that, in executing the relevant insurance policy, the corporation and Erie both intended to include plaintiff as a loss payee but that, by mutual mistake, he was omitted. Erie had exclusive knowledge of its understanding of the intended coverage and any intended loss payees at the time of the execution of the relevant insurance policy. Moreover, it is likely to be in exclusive possession of any collateral documents memorializing the intended scope of the relevant insurance policy. Further, plaintiff’s contention that Erie has exclusive possession of employees and materials that could shed light on its intent as to the insurance policy is patently reasonable and not merely speculation … . Imrie v Ratto, 2016 NY Slip Op 08907, 3rd Dept 12-29-16

CIVIL PROCEDURE (CRITERIA FOR DENIAL OF A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS PREMATURE ILLUSTRATED)/SUMMARY JUDGMENT (CRITERIA FOR DENIAL OF A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS PREMATURE ILLUSTRATED)/INSURANCE LAW (REFORMATION OF POLICY, CRITERIA FOR DENIAL OF A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS PREMATURE ILLUSTRATED)/CONTRACT (REFORMATION, CRITERIA FOR DENIAL OF A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS PREMATURE ILLUSTRATED)/REFORMATION (INSURANCE POLICY, CRITERIA FOR DENIAL OF A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS PREMATURE ILLUSTRATED)

December 29, 2016
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