Interesting Appellate Division, Second Department Decision About Activity that Falls Under Automobile Policy

A plaintiff in an underlying case slips and falls in a parking lot that the insured snowplowed.  The insured in this declaratory judgment action -- Republic Long Isl. Inc. v. Andrew J. Vancore, Inc. -- seeks a defense and indemnification from its insureds under its personal automobile insurance policy.

The Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed that part of the trial court's conclusion that the accident was not covered by the applicable policies "use and operation" clause, because the injuries "did not result from the intrinsic nature of the motor vehicle as such, nor did the use of the automobile itself produce the injury, but, at most, contributed to the condition which produced it."  The policy contained a standard automobile liability provision which requires the insurers to defend and indemnify their insured for accidents resulting in bodily injury or property damage, arising out of the "ownership, maintenance, or use" of the insured vehicle.

Comments

[Bryan Richmond]

This was an interesting argument by the insured and should be given additional consideration in similar situations. For example, if personal injuries result from the towing of a vehicle with a tow truck; items falling off of various delivery vehicles; or items falling out of dump trucks. All of these situations, as that described in this Second Department case, involve "special use" vehicles performing the uses that they were designed for.