HNRK Coverage Corner

On February 26, 2018, United States Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder of the WDNY issued a decision in American Precision Indus., Inc. v. Federal Ins. Co., Case No. 14-CV-1050-RJA-HKS, holding that an insured could obtain discovery of standard forms used by the insurer as “secondary evidence” of a lost insurance policy’s terms.

An insurance policy is a contract, and the determination whether the insured is entitled to coverage depends on the policy’s terms.  But what if the policy itself goes missing?  This is not as far-fetched as it may sound, particularly with regard to ...

On February 21, 2018, the Second Circuit issued a decision in Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co. v. Central Terminal Restoration Corp., Case No. 17‐1636‐cv, holding that a car accident caused by a driver to whom the insured had served alcohol when he was visibly intoxicated, in violation of New York’s dram shop law, was a covered occurrence under a commercial general liability policy. A typical CGL Policy, such as the policy at issue in Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co., provides coverage for “bodily injury” resulting from an “occurrence” (defined as “an accident” ...