State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Sanchez

• Decision Date: 03 August 2020
• Docket Number: INDEX NO. 657734/2019
• Citation: 2020 NY Slip Op 32549 (U)
• Parties: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY Petitioner, v. ALEXANDRO SANCHEZ, Respondent.
• Court: New York Supreme Court

2020 NY Slip Op 32549(U)

STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY Petitioner,
v.
ALEXANDRO SANCHEZ, Respondent.

INDEX NO. 657734/2019

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PART IAS MOTION 59EFM

FILED: August 4, 2020
August 3, 2020

NYSCEF DOC. NO. 16

PRESENT: HON. DEBRA A. JAMES Justice

MOTION DATE 03/03/2020

MOTION SEQ. NO. 001

DECISION + ORDER ON MOTION

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 were read on this motion to/for STAY.

ORDER

Upon the foregoing documents, it is

ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the petition pursuant to CPLR § 7503(b) is denied and the proceeding is dismissed, without costs and disbursements to respondent.

DECISION

Respondent filed a demand for an uninsured motorist arbitration around September 30, 2019 (NYSCEF Doc. No. 3), under a policy that petitioner issued to Profit General Contractor & Contracting, LLC (Profit) (NYSCEF Doc. No. 5).

Respondent's accident occurred on October 17, 2018, and petitioner received the demand for arbitration on October 15, 2019. The accident occurred when the uninsured vehicle collided

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with respondent, who was riding a bicycle at the time (NYSCEF Doc. No. 4). Petitioner contends that respondent is not an insured under the policy and therefore it seeks to stay the arbitration.

In support, petitioner points to the policy's declaration page, and it notes that only Profit is listed as a named insured (NYSCEF Doc. No. 5, at 000001-000003). The policy defines "insured" to include

(1) you, as the named insured and, while residents of the same household, your spouse and the relatives of either you or your spouse;

(2) any person while acting in the scope of that person's duties for you, except with respect to the use and operation by such person of a motor vehicle not covered under this policy, where such person is:

(i) your employee and you are a fire department;

(ii) your member and you are a fire company, as defined in General Municipal Law section 100;

(iii) your employee and you are an ambulance service, as defined in Public Health Law section 3001; or

(iv) your member and you are a voluntary ambulance service as defined in Public Health Law section 3001;

(3) any other person while occupying:

(i) a motor vehicle insured for SUM under this policy; or

(ii) any other motor vehicle being operated by you or your spouse; and

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(4) any person, with respect to damages such person is entitled to recover, because of bodily injury to which this coverage applies sustained by an insured under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) above.

Further, petitioner observes that the words "you" and "your" refer only to the insured whose name or names appear on the Declarations Page (NYSCEF Doc. No. 1 ¶ 13). Petitioner stresses that respondent is not expressly named as an insured, and it argues that respondent does not fall within the other covered categories. Petitioner argues that respondent was on a bicycle and not the Ford box truck listed on the policy, and...