Partners Meryl Lieberman and Robert Nobel Obtain Victory in Insurance Coverage Action

January 21, 2008

HAWTHORNE, NEW YORK - TRAUB LIEBERMAN STRAUS & SHREWSBERRY LLP congratulates partners Meryl Lieberman and Robert Nobel on their victory in the case Harco National Insurance Co. v. Arch Speciality Ins. Coc., et al, venued in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.  

Thanks to the efforts of Partners Meryl Lieberman and Robert Nobel, along with co-counsel, their insurer client will be receiving a payment of $4 million plus 9% interest (approximately an additional half million dollars). After funding an $11 million settlement in an underlying tractor-trailer accident (which resulted in serious bodily injuries), the various insurers for the defendants agreed to resolve priority of coverage issues in federal court. At issue were various primary and umbrella policies which potentially afforded coverage for the driver of the tractor-trailer, the owner of the tractor and the owner of the trailer. Harco, which issued a $1 million Business Auto policy and a $10 million umbrella policy to the owner of the tractor portion of the tractor-trailer filed the action as plaintiff.  Traub Lieberman’s client issued an umbrella policy to the owner of the trailer. Although many arguments were advanced on behalf of the respective parties, the court focused on certain exclusions in the Harco policy which it found violated New York's Vehicle and Traffic Law and New York's Insurance Codes, Rules and Regulations. In this regard, the court found that Harco's exclusion "17," which purported to bar coverage for any covered auto "while leased or rented to others" violated VTL §345 which requires that an insurance carrier insure "any person using or responsible for the use of any such motor vehicle . . .with the consent, express or implied, of such named insured" against loss arising out of the "use or operation" of such motor vehicle within the state of New York. Thus, the court found, the Harco umbrella policy was required to provide coverage for the use or operation of the tractor owned by Harco's insured, i.e. the tortfeasor driver and the entity which leased the tractor from Harco's insured. After conducting an "other insurance" analysis of with respect to the various policies, Harco was ordered to pay the full limits of its umbrella policy and Traub Lieberman's client was awarded the full return of the $4 million it had paid to settle the action, plus 9% interest from the date of the settlement.

TRAUB LIEBERMAN applauds the efforts of Ms. Lieberman and Mr. Nobel on behalf of their client. For more information on Ms. Lieberman, a senior partner with Traub Lieberman, please visit:

For more information on Mr. Nobel, a partner with Traub Lieberman, please visit:

http://tels.com/profiles/robertnobel/