In a decision issued late last month, the Court of Appeals held that the duty to defend owed by a general liability (GL) carrier required the GL carrier to defend the insured against all claims in the underlying lawsuit, even where many of the claims in the lawsuit were potentially covered under a directors’ and officers’ (D&O) policy issued by another insurer and only one of the claims was potentially covered by the GL policy.
The decision issued in Fieldston Property Owners Association Inc. v. Hermitage Insurance Co.1 resolved a split between two First Department panels that we discussed in this column on Sept. 4, 2009.2 In so ruling, the Court of Appeals emphasized the importance of the GL carrier’s duty to defend and the D&O carrier’s excess Other Insurance clause, finding these contract terms to be decisive. The Court of Appeals’ decision, authored by Judge Carmen B. Ciparick, reversed the underlying First Department ruling which would have required the D&O carrier to contribute to the defense and granted summary judgment to the D&O carrier.3
Underlying Action
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