Westchester Med. Ctr. v Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. 2010 NY Slip Op 30649(u)(Sup. Ct. Nassau Co.)
This case involved a non-coverage defense – actually, two of them. Both of these defenses were quite viable, I tend to believe. The first defense asserted was that Liberty was a TPA for a bus company. The second defense was that the policy was exhausted. The problem with this case is that the defendants did not do their homework. Liberty failed to plead the appropriate affirmative defenses, failed to include a copy of the insurance policy, including the declarations page, when the defense involved the exhaustion of an insurance policy and the defendant could not marshal evidence from someone at the bus company explaining their status as a self insured entity. In a court that reads the parties’ papers, you need to be a little more discerning with what you submit, lest you find yourself on the receiving end of this type of a decision.
