Alarcon v Otsego Mut. Fire Ins. Co.

Holding The court affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiff’s breach of contract claim and the entry of a declaratory judgment that the insurance policies were void ab initio. The insurer established that the plaintiff made a material misrepresentation by stating the property was a one-family dwelling when it was structurally a three-family dwelling, and the insurer would not have issued the policy had the correct information been disclosed.

The court’s words

the statement on the plaintiff's insurance application indicating that it was a one-family dwelling was a misrepresentation

2026 NY Slip Op 05757, at the official text

the number of families is determined by actual use, even if in violation of the certificate of occupancy

2026 NY Slip Op 05757, at the official text

the defendant did not insure three-family dwellings and would not have issued the policies if the plaintiff had disclosed that the house contained three dwelling units

2026 NY Slip Op 05757, at the official text

the question on the application asking for the '#FAMILIES' was not ambiguous

2026 NY Slip Op 05757, at the official text

she could not have been misled by any unclear language

2026 NY Slip Op 05757, at the official text