GARSON MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC v. TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY OF ILLINOIS
| Decision Date | 23 December 2002 |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
| Parties | GARSON MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC, et al., Appellants,<BR>v.<BR>TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY OF ILLINOIS, Respondent. |
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The defendant issued a commercial property insurance policy to the plaintiff Garson Management Company, LLC (hereinafter Garson), which contained exclusions for the costs of correcting deterioration and corrosion of covered property. A chunk of concrete fell from a portion of the garage owned by the plaintiff 1180 Midland Avenue, LLC, which was managed by Garson and was a covered property under the subject insurance policy. The plaintiffs then removed the concrete encasing the garage's structural steel beams, and discovered that they were severely corroded. Thereafter, the plaintiffs repaired the damage, and sought reimbursement from the defendant under the insurance policy. The defendant denied coverage pursuant to the policy provision excluding the cost of correcting, or reimbursing the insured for moneys expended to correct, deterioration or corrosion. The plaintiffs commenced this action seeking, inter alia, damages for breach of the insurance policy. They eventually moved for partial summary judgment, essentially claiming that coverage is afforded under a separate policy provision that excludes losses caused by building or structure collapse unless the collapse is caused by "hidden decay." The Supreme Court denied the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment, and, in effect, granted the defendant's cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
An exclusion from coverage "must be specific and clear in order to be enforced" (Seaboard Sur. Co. v Gillette Co., 64 NY2d 304, 311), and an ambiguity in an exclusionary clause must be construed most strongly against the insurer (see Ace Wire & Cable Co. v Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 60 NY2d 390, 398; Lipton, Inc. v Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 34 NY2d 356, 361). However, an unambiguous policy provision must be accorded its plain and ordinary meaning (see Sanabria v American Home Assur. Co., 68 NY2d 866, 868), and the plain meaning of the policy's language may not be disregarded in order to find an ambiguity where none exists (see Acorn Ponds v Hartford Ins. Co., 105 AD2d 723, 724).
Here, the plain meaning of the exclusion was to relieve the insurer of liability when its insured sought reimbursement for costs incurred in...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Gem-Quality Corp. v. Colony Ins. Co.
...Kay Bee Bldrs., Inc. v. Merchant's Mut. Ins. Co., 10 A.D.3d 631, 632, 781 N.Y.S.2d 692 ; Garson Mgt. Co. v. Travelers Indem. Co. of Ill., 300 A.D.2d 538, 539, 752 N.Y.S.2d 696 ). Thus, "the separate and distinct" employer's liability 209 A.D.3d 993 exclusion does not render the subject poli......
-
Soho Plaza Corp. v. Birnbaum
...N.Y.S.2d 770;Bassuk Bros. v. Utica First Ins. Co., 1 A.D.3d 470, 471, 768 N.Y.S.2d 479;Garson Mgt. Co. v. Travelers Indem. Co. of Ill., 300 A.D.2d 538, 539, 752 N.Y.S.2d 696). Here, the plain meaning of the exclusion invoked by Utica was that the Utica policy did not provide coverage for da......
-
Gem-Quality Corp. v. Colony Ins. Co.
... ... Colony Insurance Company, et al., respondents, et al., defendant. No ... Ins. Co., 10 A.D.3d 631, 632; ... Garson Mgt. Co. v Travelers Indem. Co. of Ill., 300 ... ...
-
Cnty. of Dutchess v. Argonaut Ins. Co.
...in an exclusionary clause must be construed most strongly against the insurer" (Garson Mgt. Co. v. Travelers Indem. Co. of Ill., 300 A.D.2d 538, 539, 752 N.Y.S.2d 696 [internal quotation marks and citation omitted] ). However, an unambiguous policy provision must be accorded its plain and o......
-
Chapter 4
...Insurance Co., 73 Mass. App. Ct. 1121, 900 N.E.2d 913 (Mass. App. 2009). New York: Garson Management Co., LLC v. Travelers Indemnity Co., 300 A.D.2d 538, 752 N.Y.S.2d 696 (2002) (costs to repair corrosion of structural steel beams excluded under deterioration or corrosion exclusion); Kent C......