Rarely do lawyers have the benefit of a decision that is a primer on permissible causes of action arising from property insurance coverage disputes. Kings Infiniti v. Zurich American Ins.43 Misc.3d 1207(A) (Sup. Ct. Kings Cty. April 3, 2014) is one of those decisions. Justice Carolyn Demarest clearly and concisely addressed each issue raised by the defendants (collectively, Zurich) who successfully obtained a dismissal on a CPLR 3211 motion of several of the causes of action in the plaintiffs’ amended complaint. However, a Court of Appeals decision, decided while the Infiniti motion was under submission, may allow the plaintiff to revive its case.
Hurricane Sandy Damage
The plaintiffs were three commonly owned car dealerships and service centers, all of which in October 2012 suffered extensive damages, alleged to be in the seven figures, from Hurricane Sandy. They had served an amended complaint containing 10 causes of action against the two Zurich defendants arising from what was essentially a breach of an insurance contract claim.
