News & Articles

In a decision rendered March 5, 2008, the Appellate Division agreed with the Firm that a CGL policy exclusion which seemingly denied coverage for any subcontractor’s employee sustaining injury on a construction site with the insured – whether or not the insured had retained that subcontractor – was invalid. In Pyramid Construction, LLC v. Essex Insurance Company, Docket No.: A-4290-06T3, the court found that the following language was inherently ambiguous and nullified the protections of the policy:

Passengers in stolen cars who are unaware the vehicles are being driven without the owner’s permission may collect PIP and UIM insurance if they’re injured in an automobile accident, the Appellate Division has ruled. In Hardy v. Abdul-Martin, the appeals court reversed a grant of summary judgment to an insurance company that denied coverage in such a circumstance under an exclusion in the insurance contract. The court said, “A passenger cannot be expected to inquire upon entry into a vehicle, as to the status of the car and driver, unless existing facts place the passenger on notice that the use of the car is questionable.”

In Agha v. Feiner, decided by the Appellate Division on December 18, 2007, a jury verdict following a trial on damages only in an automobile negligence action was reversed and remanded for the entry of a judgment for the defendants based on a violation of the principles set forth in Brun v. Cardoso .