Foreman v. Skeif and Foreman, Supreme Court, Bronx County, Index No. 304720/2010, March 27, 2013 A Bronx Court has granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to the issue of liability in a motor vehicle collision case. In the motion, the defendant driver established that he was not negligent by submitting evidence that when the…

Cog-Net Building Corp. v. The Travelers Indemnity Company, and Russo Picciurro Maloy, LLC d/b/a RPM Insurance Agency, Index 100587/2010 (Sup.Ct. Richmond Cty. May 22, 2013) Justice Joseph J. Maltese granted motions for summary judgment by a defendant insurer and a co-defendant insurance broker in an action by a landlord under a commercial package insurance policy…

Anti-concurrent causation clauses are currently valid and enforceable in New York. While there is scant case law analyzing ACC clauses in the context of Superstorm Sandy (given that New York has been spared, for the most part, a catastrophic hurricane-like event until Sandy), New York Courts have upheld such clauses in the context of other…

Oxford Realty Group Cedar v. Travelers Excess and Surplus Lines Company, ___ N.J. ___ (A-85-15) (077617) (May 25, 2017) The New Jersey Supreme Court rejected an insurance policyholder’s interpretation of a property insurance policy’s limiting language and its position that “any policyholder not involved in the insurance industry is an unsophisticated policyholder”, and it enforced…

QBE Insurance Corporation, et al. v. Public Service Mutual Insurance Company, et al. (Appellate Division, First Department, Jan. 8, 2013) Click on this link to view additional information in pdf format A unanimous Appellate Division reversed a lower court decision and held that the defendant insurer has duty to defend and indemnify its additional insured…

Abrams Gorelick founding partner Glenn A. Jacobson became President-elect of the Harmonie Group for a two-year term beginning January 2013. John Lund, a partner with the firm of Snow, Christensen & Martineau of Salt Lake City, Utah, began his term as President. The Harmonie Group is a national network of elite and vetted law firms…

A divided New York Court of Appeals has held that “where an insurance policy is restricted to liability for any bodily injury ’caused, in whole or in part’ by the ‘acts or omissions’ of the named insured, the coverage applies to injury proximately caused by the named insured”. Burlington Ins. Co. v NYC Tr. Auth.,…

Abrams Gorelick has released a Whitepaper discussing issues of concern in Superstorm Sandy-related insurance claims. The 20-page paper addresses multiple topics, including causation by wind or water; business interruption claims following disasters; Anti-concurrent Causation Clauses (ACCC); exclusions in commercial property policies relevant to wind and water claims; and tips for avoiding claims in New York…

Ogando, et al. v. National Freight, Inc., et al., 309337/2012 (Sup.Ct. Bronx Cty. May 30, 2017) A Bronx court dismissed a Complaint pursuant to Insurance Law section 5102(d), finding that neither of the two plaintiffs who were allegedly injured in the subject automobile accident had sustained a “serious injury” under the categories of permanent loss,…

Thompson v. Bronx Merchant Funding Services, LLC, et al., 23050/2012E (Sup. Ct. Bronx Cty. July 6, 2017) In an important decision granting summary judgment to defendants in an auto accident personal injury action, a Bronx court found that plaintiff’s medical evidence, though showing severe injuries, did not sufficiently establish their connection to the subject accident…