New York Law Watch
Insurance
Insurance coverage and payment disputes are filed here, including decisions on policy language, exclusions, notice and no-fault benefits.
For Insurance, Law Watch lists 40 indexable decisions dated February 13, 2026 to November 12, 2026 across 14 decision weeks.
45 decision records: 40 meet the substance floor; 5 records are held from search listings.
The records below come from 8 courts and include both primary and secondary area classifications.
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Recent decisions
- Sanchez v Hanne2026 NY Slip Op 06585
The court affirmed summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s claims for serious injury because the defendants established that the plaintiff’s left knee injury was not causally related to the accident. The plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact as his medical records were uncertified and his expert report was unaffirmed, leaving the defendants’ radiologist’s findings of chronic degeneration unrefuted.
- Seneca Ins. Co. Inc. v Cobleskill Enter., LLP2026 NY Slip Op 06366
The court granted summary judgment to the insurer, declaring it not obligated to cover the fire because the insured breached the policy’s protective safeguards endorsement by failing to maintain operational smoke detectors in common areas. The court also dismissed the insurer’s fraud and negligent misrepresentation claims against the broker, finding no fiduciary duty and unreasonable reliance, and dismissed the insured’s third-party claims against the broker as moot.
- Matter of Progressive Direct Insurance Company v Wilmar Cifuentes Vargas2026 NY Slip Op 06393
The Appellate Division reversed the permanent stay of arbitration, remanding the matter for a hearing to determine if physical contact occurred and if the 24-hour reporting requirement was met. The court found that conflicting evidence regarding the accident and the reporting compliance necessitated a framed issue hearing rather than a definitive stay.
- Hofstra University, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants-Respondents, v United Educators, Defendant-Respondent-Appellant.2026 NY Slip Op 06384
The term ‘funds’ in the insurance policy exclusion includes tuition and fees, but dismissal of the complaint is premature because the underlying class actions seek damages beyond the return of money paid. The insurer’s duty to pay defense costs is triggered because the underlying claims raise the possibility of coverage for other damages.
- Williams v Dia2026 NY Slip Op 06232
The court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff regarding liability against the defendant driver, finding him negligent as a matter of law, but reinstated the complaint against the other driver because the first driver’s negligence did not preclude comparative fault by the second. The court also held that the plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact on causation through her expert’s opinion.
- Osei v Polanco-Puello2026 NY Slip Op 06207
The court affirmed the dismissal of the complaint because the plaintiff failed to establish a serious injury under Insurance Law § 5102(d). The plaintiff’s expert failed to provide a causation opinion regarding the MRI findings, which defeated both the permanent limitation and 90/180-day claims.
- Matter of American Tr. Ins. Co. v Midland Pharm. Yonkers Corp.2026 NY Slip Op 06193
The Appellate Division modified the lower court’s order to affirmatively confirm the arbitration award and remanded the matter to fix the amount of attorneys’ fees owed to the respondent. The court held that the respondent was entitled to fees under Insurance Law § 5106(a) and that the trial court must review evidence to set a reasonable fee or determine it in its discretion if evidence is insufficient.
- Kolli v Kaleida Health2026 NY Slip Op 06167
The Court held that the physician was covered under the hospital’s self-insurance plan and that the plan constituted an insurance policy subject to ‘other insurance’ clauses. Consequently, the hospital’s coverage was determined to be excess to the primary insurer, with the hospital and excess insurer sharing responsibility on a pro rata basis.