Your Trusted Advocates in Insurance Coverage and Property Damage Litigation

Riordan v. Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. (2nd Cir. 1992)  First and only case in New York State allowing insured recovery of punitive damages and attorneys’ fees against insurers for bad-faith claim practices.

Lane v. Security Mut. Ins. Co. (N.Y. 2001)  Established protection for innocent insured spouses when another insured intentionally causes fire damage; prohibits insurers from excluding coverage for innocent insureds.

Mazzocki v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. (3rd Dept. 2003) Confirmed that "replacement cost" and "actual cash value" claims must include contractor overhead and profit allowances, increasing insured recovery by approximately 20% for multi-trade repairs.

Bi-Economy Market, Inc. v. Harleysville Ins. Co. of N.Y. (N.Y. 2008) Recognized the insured's right to consequential damages resulting from insurer delays in claim payment, particularly for business-loss claims.

Executive Plaza LLC v. Peerless Ins. Co. (N.Y. 2014) Established that insurers cannot enforce two-year suit limitation clauses if full replacement repairs reasonably require more time, effectively protecting policyholders from losing claims due to premature deadlines.

Bechir Louati v. State Farm Fire and Casualty (1st Dept. 2018) Clarified that appraisal awards may include coverage to match undamaged adjacent areas (floor tiles, cabinets, shingles, etc.), restoring uniformity to pre-loss conditions.

Castiblanco v. Allstate Insurance Co. (S.D.N.Y. 2024) Case of first impression, nationally. Clarified that the one-year limitations period to challenge a flood-insurance claim denial under NFIP resets with each separate denial, protecting insureds from piecemeal denials by insurers.