Plaintiff Granted Summary Judgment by Lower Court, Defendant Appeals

This is a case being heard in the Second Department, Appellate Division, of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The action before the court is an appeal by the defendant. The defendant is an appealing the order made by the Supreme Court of Kings County that granted the plaintiff the motion for summary judgment and denied their cross motion for summary judgment.

Case Background

The plaintiff in the case was hired to perform construction work at a location in Manhattan. The defendant was a subcontractor for another company to perform masonry work. The company that the defendant works for entered into the agreement for the work with the clause that the other defendant would obtain an insurance policy for general liability and the plaintiff was to be named as an additional insured on the policy.

The defendant in this case issued the insurance policy in question. The plaintiff is now involved in a personal injury lawsuit and the defendant has refused to defend and indemnify the plaintiff in the case based on the ground of late notice.

Court Decision

After reviewing the facts of the case the court orders that the original order made in the Supreme Court of Kings County is reversed. The plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is denied and the cross motion by the defendant for summary judgment is granted. The matter will be remitted to the Supreme Court of Kings County for the entry of a judgment declaring that the defendant is not obligated to defend and indemnify the plaintiff in the underlying action.

Stephen Bilkis & Associates offers free consultations at all of our New York City offices. You may call us to set up an appointment to speak with an experienced New York lawyer about your legal issues.