 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Excelsior Insurance Co. v. Antretter Contracting Corp.6/15/1999
OPINION OF THE COURT
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Ira Gammerman, J.), entered May 8, 1998, denying plaintiff's motion for summary judgment which sought a declaration that it was not bound to defend or indemnify defendant Antretter Contracting Corporation in the underlying personal injury action; and order, same court and Justice, same date, granting defendant International House's motion for summary judgment declaring that plaintiff is obligated to defend and indemnify Antretter, unanimously reversed, on the law, with costs, defendant's motion denied, and plaintiff's motion granted. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly.
On July 16, 1992, Willie E. Anderson, a bricklayer, was working for defendant Antretter at a construction site owned by defendant International House, when he fell off a scaffold and was seriously injured. In 1993, he brought an action against International House for an alleged violation of Labor Law §240(1) and related claims. His complaint alleged that he was an employee of Antretter at the time of the accident. International House brought a third-party claim against Antretter, asserting that because Anderson was Antretter's employee and International House had no day-to-day control over the work site, International House was entitled to complete common-law indemnification from Antretter. This third-party action was initiated by International House's primary liability insurance carrier, Fireman's Fund Insurance, which was defending it against Anderson's claims.
Plaintiff Excelsior Insurance Company was Antretter's own liability insurance carrier. It first learned of Anderson's accident in March 1994 when Anderson's attorney sent a letter to Excelsior claims personnel. After issuing a reservation of rights letter to Antretter, Excelsior investigated the accident and determined that an exclusion in Antretter's policy applied. Specifically, Antretter's policy with Excelsior explicitly excluded coverage for injuries to Antretter's employees, and Excelsior concluded that Anderson was such an employee.
Insurance Law §3420(d) provides that in an action involving bodily injury caused by an accident occurring within New York State, an insurer must send notice of its denial of coverage "to the insured and the injured person or any other claimant." Pursuant to this statute, Excelsior sent Antretter a letter denying coverage in April 1994, and also notified Anderson's attorneys.
On May 6, 1994, a claims representative from Fireman's Fund, Joseph Maddiona, contacted Excelsior's claims representative, Jerry Bannister, about International House's third-party action against Antretter. Bannister said that Excelsior had already denied coverage to Antretter due to the employment exclusion. At Maddiona's invitation and to ensure that the denial complied with §3420(d), Bannister forwarded a copy of the denial of coverage to Fireman's Fund, and another copy to International House's excess carrier, General Star Insurance Co.
Subsequently, in August 1994, Excelsior commenced the instant declaratory judgment action seeking to establish that its policy provided no coverage in relation to Anderson's accident. Antretter's answer did not deny that Anderson was its employee. Moreover, in its April 6, 1994 third-party complaint in the underlying litigation, International House had argued that Anderson was Antretter's employee. Following an evidentiary hearing, the New York State Workers' Compensation Board issued a decision in December 1995 that Anderson was an employee of Antretter. This prompted Excelsior to move for summary judgment on February 16, 1996. Responding with its own motion for summary judgment, International Hou
Page 1 2 3 4 New York Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|