HNRK Coverage Corner

Construction begets injuries, which beget lawsuits, which beget liability insurance claims, which frequently beget coverage disputes and litigation that raise a unique set of issues (see previous Coverage Corner posts on construction insurance issues here). Today at the Coverage Corner, we examine a recent Second Circuit decision that takes a deep dive into the canons of construction (think contra proferentem, the “rule of the last antecedent” and the “series qualifier canon”) to resolve a dispute over insurance coverage for a real-life construction injury claim ...

On December 26, 2019, the First Department issued a decision in Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. State Nat’l Ins. Co., 2019 NY Slip Op 09399, holding that a property owner was entitled to coverage for a personal injury lawsuit as an additional insured under a contractor’s CGL Policy, even though the injuries were not caused by the contractor’s negligence.

This case involves a frequently-litigated policy provision in construction-related insurance coverage matters:  the blanket “additional insureds” endorsement to a contractor’s liability policy. (See our previous ...

On November 20, 2019, Judge Ramos of the SDNY issued a decision in United Specialty Ins. Co. v. Lux Maintenance & Ren. Corp., Case No. 18-cv-3083 (ER), holding that property owners were entitled to additional insured coverage under a subcontractor’s CGL policy even though the subcontractor agreement misidentified the corporate names of the owners.

Lux Maintenance arose from injuries sustained by a worker in the course of performing balcony and façade repairs to a building collectively owned by Cornell and Rockefeller Universities, New York Hospital, Manhattan Eye Ear & Throat ...

On January 31, 2019, Justice of Engoron of the New York County Supreme Court issued a decision in Southwest Mar. Gen. Ins. Co. v. Main St. Am. Assur. Co., 2019 NY Slip Op 30240(U), holding that a blanket additional insured endorsement to a subcontractor’s CGL policy required that the subcontract be executed prior to the underlying injury in order to establish coverage.

This case involves a frequently-litigated coverage issue in construction-related matters:  determining who qualifies as an additional insured under a blanket additional insured endorsement to a contractor’s ...

On December 4, 2018, Justice Lebovits of the New York County Supreme Court issued a decision in Chelsea Piers, L.P. v. Colony Ins. Co., Index No. 150402/2017, holding that a purchase order signed by a contractor triggered coverage for the property owner under the additional insured endorsement to the contractor’s CGL policy.

The policy at issue in this case provided additional insured coverage for “any person or organization for whom you [i.e., the contractor] are performing operations when you and such person or organization have agreed in writing in a contract or agreement ...