As we all-too-happily say farewell (good riddance?) to 2020, and look back on a year that will live in infamy, it is notable that the courts during the past year have had occasion to revisit several interesting and significant issues that previously have been discussed in this column. Thus, rather than provide a full “year in review” article, I present here a year-end update on a few select issues.

Individual Coverage Under an LLC’s Policy

In July and September 2014, this column, then co-written with my late father, Norman H. Dachs, featured a two-part discussion of individual insurance coverage under policies issued in the names of corporations, partnerships, LLCs, d/b/a and tradenames. See Norman H. Dachs and Jonathan A. Dachs, “Individual Coverage Under Corporate, Partnership, LLC and d/b/a Policies, Part I,” NYLJ, July 18, 2014; “Individual Coverage Under Policies Issued to a Trade Name or d/b/a,” NYLJ, Sept. 9, 2014. Therein, we noted that while the courts had consistently precluded individuals not named as “insured persons” from making claims under corporate policies—citing the fact that corporations could not possibly have personal injuries or a family—they had utilized a more expansive approach in the context of partnership and “LLC” policies, based upon the fact that the latter entities, unlike corporations, consist of combinations of individuals, who could, themselves, suffer injuries, and have spouses, households and relatives.