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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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…

Millers-Francisco v. Abreu, Index No. 300717/2016 (Sup.Ct. Bronx Cty. 2018) A Bronx Court granted summary judgment on liability to the defendant driver, dismissing the Complaint, over plaintiff’s opposition speculating that defendant might have been speeding. Plaintiff was allegedly injured in a collision that occurred when plaintiff made a left-hand turn into defendant’s lane. At the…

Kessler v. Chelsea Papaya, Inc. and 23rd West Associates, Inc., Supreme Court, New York County, June 22, 2010 Abrams Gorelick’s Jessica Napoli won summary judgment on behalf of the client, a commercial tenant, in front of whose premises plaintiff allegedly was injured. The Court agreed that the tenant did not have a duty to maintain…

Castro v. Thompson et al., Supreme Court, New York County, June 3, 2010 In a dramatic turn of events, Barry Jacobs and associate Shari Sckolnick obtained dismissal of a legal malpractice claims against the defendant law firm. An underlying divorce action had involved the appointment of a partner of the firm—not the firm itself—as a…