Kaufman v. P&G Brokerage Inc.

ADDITIONAL CASES P&G Brokerage Inc., Third-Party Plaintiff v. Iris House: A Center for Women Living With HIV, Inc. d/b/a Iris House, Inc. and Rasheed Murdaugh, Third-Party Defendants The following numbered papers were submitted and considered on this motion: NYSCEF Doc No. 24: Notice of motion for summary judgment NYSCEF Doc No. 25: Affirmation of Thomas A. Catalano, Esq. in support of motion NYSCEF Doc No. 26: Exhibit A — Summons and complaint in main action NYSCEF Doc No. 27: Exhibit B — Defendant/Third-Party Plaintiff P&G’s answer in main action NYSCEF Doc No. 28: Exhibit C — Third-party summons and complaint NYSCEF Doc No. 29: Exhibit D — Third-Party Defendants’ answer in third-party action NYSCEF Doc No. 30: Exhibit E — Scatter Site Agreement between Third-Party Defendants Iris House and Rasheed Murdaugh NYSCEF Doc No. 31: Exhibit F — Lease agreement between Plaintiff and Third-Party Defendant Iris House NYSCEF Doc No. 35: Affirmation of Salvatore Lapetina, Esq. in opposition to motion NYSCEF Doc No. 36: Reply affirmation of Thomas A. Catalano, Esq. in support of motion NYSCEF Doc No. 37: Reply affidavit of Harry Gibbs in support of motion NYSCEF Doc No. 38: Exhibit A — Scatter Site Agreement between Third-Party Defendants Iris House and Rasheed Murdaugh NYSCEF Doc No. 39: Exhibit B — Scatter Site Agreement between Third-Party Defendants Iris House and Rasheed Murdaugh¹ NYSCEF Doc No. 41: Transcript of November 17, 2023 oral argument DECISION AND ORDER Question Presented In an action by a building owner for damages due to negligence and breach of contract on the part of an insurance broker, alleging that the insurer’s broker’s misactions during the process of policy renewals resulted in the insurance carrier’s disclaiming liability after a fire, does the insurance broker possess a third-party cause of action against those allegedly responsible for the fire? The parties agreed at oral argument that this issue appears not to have been addressed by prior case law, especially at the appellate level. Background This is an action to recover damages by Plaintiff wherein Plaintiff alleges that Defendant/Third-Party Plaintiff P&G Brokerage Inc. (“P&G”), while acting as Plaintiff’s insurance broker, negligently and in breach of contract caused Plaintiff’s insurance claim to be denied. At the time of commencement of this action, Plaintiff Meyer Kaufman (“Plaintiff” or “Kaufman”) was the owner of real property located at 126 East 93 Street, in Brooklyn, New York (see NYSCEF Doc No. 26, main complaint 2). Defendant/Third-Party Plaintiff P&G was an insurance brokerage firm located in Brooklyn, New York (see id. 3). It is alleged that on or about May 10, 2016, Plaintiff contacted P&G to act as Plaintiff’s insurance broker. P&G agreed to do so and further agreed to procure insurance on Plaintiff’s behalf. P&G is alleged to have procured the insurance policy on the same day from nonparty Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company (“Union”). This insurance policy was intended to, in part, insure the property against damage caused by fire. (See id.

4-5.) P&G designated an internal email address as the address for document deliveries. Union issued Plaintiff’s insurance policy on or about May 26, 2016, with automatic annual renewals. Said renewals were to be accompanied by an annual renewal application to be delivered to the email designated by P&G. (See id.