HNRK Coverage Corner

On December 21, 2018, Justice Sherwood of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v Don Buchwald Assoc., Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 33325(U), holding that an intentional tort could be a covered occurrence, triggering a CGL insurer’s duty to defend.

This insurance coverage case arose from a salacious lawsuit by professional wrestler Terry Gene Bollea (better known by his stage name, Hulk Hogan).  Bollea sued a talent agency (DBA) and its employee (Burton) in Florida state court for their alleged role in the dissemination of a sex tape through the ...

On June 29, 2018, Justice Grossman of the Putnam County Supreme Court issued a decision in Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Oster, 2018 NY Slip Op 51018(U), awarding attorneys' fees to an insured in a declaratory judgment action commenced by the insurance company, explaining:

New York has followed the rule that an insured may not recover in an affirmative action to determine its rights, but may do so, where, as here, the insured has been "cast in a defensive posture by the legal steps an insurer takes in an effort to free itself from its policy obligations (see Johnson v. General Mutual Ins ...