Moleon v. Kreisler Borg Florman General Construction Company, Inc.

• Decision Date: 03 April 2003
• Citation: 758 N.Y.S.2d 621,304 A.D.2d 337
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Parties: MARC MOLEON, Plaintiff,<BR>v.<BR>KREISLER BORG FLORMAN GENERAL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC., et al., Defendants.<BR>SENTRY CONTRACTING, INC., Third-Party Plaintiff-Respondent,<BR>v.<BR>AMG CONSTRUCTION, INC., Third-Party Defendant, and<BR>UTICA FIRST INSURANCE COMPANY, Third-Party Defendant-Appellant.

304 A.D.2d 337

758 N.Y.S.2d 621

MARC MOLEON, Plaintiff,

v.KREISLER BORG FLORMAN GENERAL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC., et al., Defendants.

SENTRY CONTRACTING, INC., Third-Party Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.AMG CONSTRUCTION, INC., Third-Party Defendant, andUTICA FIRST INSURANCE COMPANY, Third-Party Defendant-Appellant.

Decided April 3, 2003.

Concur — Ellerin, J.P., Williams, Marlow and Gonzalez, JJ.

In the main action, plaintiff Marc Moleon (plaintiff) seeks monetary damages for alleged personal injuries sustained in a construction site accident on July 26, 2000 at Bellevue Kids Center at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. At the time of the accident, plaintiff was employed by third-party defendant AMG Construction, Inc. (AMG). AMG had entered into a subcontract with third-party plaintiff Sentry Contracting, Inc. (Sentry)^[1] to perform subcontracting work on the project. The complaint in the main action alleges Labor Law violations against multiple defendants including Sentry.

Pursuant to the subcontract, AMG was required to defend and indemnify Sentry for any claims arising from the negligence of AMG or any of its employees. The subcontract also required AMG to name Sentry as an additional insured under its general insurance policy.

Third-party defendant Utica First Insurance Company (Utica) issued an insurance policy to AMG, which states in relevant part that it does not provide coverage for "bodily injury to an employee of an insured if it occurs in the course of employment." In addition, the policy does not name Sentry as an additional insured. Sentry's insurer, Travelers Property Casualty, requested that AMG defend and indemnify Sentry in the main action in accordance with the subcontract. However, Utica declined coverage because Sentry was not named as an insured or additional insured under the policy, and plaintiff's injury was excluded under the terms of the policy.

Consequently, Sentry commenced this third-party action against Utica seeking defense and indemnification in the main action.^[2] In lieu of interposing an answer, Utica moved to dismiss the complaint and for summary judgment pursuant to CPLR 3211 (c).^[3] In support, Utica submitted a copy of the insurance policy and an affidavit from its claim representative attesting that Sentry was not an insured or additional insured and that the policy excluded coverage for plaintiff's injury.

Sentry opposed the motion to dismiss on the grounds that the motion was premature as discovery had not yet been conducted. In support, Sentry relied on a certificate of liability insurance purporting to name Sentry as an additional insured. Sentry's counsel claimed that the broker who prepared the certificate advised him that he had the authority to bind Utica. Sentry also argued that because it was not plaintiff's employer, the employee exclusion did not apply. Finally, Sentry requested that any summary judgment determination be made after discovery.

Without explanation, the Supreme Court denied Utica's motion to dismiss without prejudice to a motion for summary judgment.

Contrary to Sentry's contention, an order denying a motion without prejudice to renew is appealable as of right. The authority relied on by Sentry has been overruled (see Okin v White Plains Hosp., 97 AD2d 399 [1983]; see also Keller v Frank P. Eberhard Co., 110 AD2d 686 [1985]).

Substantively, we find that the motion court erred in failing to dismiss the complaint based on documentary evidence (CPLR 3211 [a] [1]). The party claiming insurance coverage has the burden of proving entitlement (see Plotkin v Disability & Cas. Inter-Ins. Exch., 27 AD2d 719 [1967]; see also Daniel v Allstate Life Ins. Co., 71 AD2d 872 [1979]). A party that is not named an insured or additional insured on the face of the policy is not entitled to coverage (see McKenzie v New Jersey Tr. Rail Operations, Inc., 772 F Supp 146, 149 [1991], citing Stainless, Inc. v Employers' Fire Ins. Co., 49 NY2d 924 [1980], affg 69 AD2d 27 [1979]).

Here, Utica presented the policy which did not name Sentry as an additional insured. In response, Sentry submitted the certificate of liability insurance. However,...