December 06, 2021
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Recent Decisions on the Insurer's Duty To Defend | New York Law Journal - Law.com

The insurer’s duty to defend its insured has recently been the subject of numerous decisions by the courts of this state, which are discussed and cited below.

The General Rules

In Melamed v. First American Title Ins. Co., 190 A.D.3d 724 (2d Dept. 2021), the court explained: “‘Where an insurance company includes the insurer’s promise to defend the insured against specified claims as well as to indemnify for actual liability, the insurer’s duty to furnish a defense is broader than its obligation to indemnify [citation omitted].’ ‘The duty to defend arises whenever the allegations in a complaint against the insured fall within the scope of risks undertaken by the insurer, regardless of how false or groundless those allegations might be.’ ‘The duty is not contingent on the insurer’s ultimate duty to indemnify should the insured be found liable, nor is it material that the complaint against the insured asserts additional claims which fall outside the policy’s general coverage or within its exclusionary provisions.’ ‘Rather, the duty of the insurer to defend the insured rests solely on whether the complaint alleges any facts or grounds which bring the action within the protections purchased.’ ‘However, an insurer can be relieved of its duty to defend if it establishes as a matter of law that there is no possible factual or legal basis on which it might eventually be obligated to indemnify its insured under any policy provision’ [citations omitted].’” See also Long Island Rail Road Co. v. New York Marine & General Ins. Co., 198 A.D.3d 888 (2d Dept. 2021); Durant v. State of New York, 195 A.D.3d 796 (2d Dept. 2021); Castlepoint Ins. Co. v. Southside Manhattan View, 179 A.D.3d 507 (1st Dept. 2020); Farm Family Cas. Ins. Co. v. Henderson, 179 A.D.3d 1193 (3d Dept. 2020).

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source: https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2021/12/06/recent-decisions-on-the-insurers-duty-to-defend/

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