Levy v. Chubb Ins.
| Citation | 659 N.Y.S.2d 266,240 A.D.2d 336 |
| Parties | Jean Claude LEVY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. CHUBB INSURANCE, Defendant-Appellant, George Kelly, et al., Defendants. |
| Decision Date | 26 June 1997 |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Derek T. Smith, for Plaintiff-Respondent.
John A. Nocera, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before WALLACH, J.P., and RUBIN, WILLIAMS and ANDRIAS, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Norman Ryp, J.), entered September 11, 1996, which, inter alia, granted the motion of defendant-appellant Vigilant Insurance Company (sued herein as Chubb Insurance) for summary judgment unless plaintiff, on or before October 15, 1996, either supplied a written statement as to the facts surrounding the loss or appeared for and submitted to an examination under oath as required by the subject insurance policy, unanimously modified, on the law, defendant-appellant's motion granted unconditionally and the complaint dismissed as against Vigilant, and as so modified, the order is affirmed, without costs. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment dismissing the complaint herein against Vigilant Insurance Company (sued herein as Chubb Insurance).
The plaintiff insured claims that, on or around April 18, 1994, a company he hired to move some of his belongings from his Manhattan apartment to a storage facility in New Jersey damaged his furniture and lost four paintings.
On July 19, 1994, five days after the receipt of the plaintiff's claim, Vigilant's investigator sent him a letter requesting, among other things, a statement of facts surrounding the loss, police reports and a listing of the paintings with replacement cost estimates. Plaintiff failed to respond to this request or to a follow-up letter of September 22, 1994 requesting a response within thirty days.
After almost a year of unexplained delay, plaintiff provided some of the necessary information on May 11, 1995, but omitted a statement of facts and police reports. Thereafter, a general adjuster retained by Vigilant fared little better. Although the plaintiff did provide a written estimate of what it would cost to repair the damaged furniture, he still did not provide documentation regarding the date of his notice to the moving company, the mover's bill of lading and manifest, or the contract with the New Jersey storage facility.
With respect to the four allegedly missing paintings, plaintiff merely provided a handwritten note from the owner of the gallery in Haiti from which he allegedly purchased the paintings that, on its face, raised more questions than it answered, and photographs of the paintings and articles that purportedly document the paintings' value. Neither plaintiff nor the seller, who was also contacted directly, provided any proof of the alleged cash payment for the paintings.
Defendant Kelly, a Chubb employee acting on behalf of Vigilant, thereupon unsuccessfully attempted to schedule an interview to obtain a recorded statement from plaintiff. Plaintiff telephoned Mr. Kelly,...
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