W9/PHC Real Estate LP and Grubb & Ellis Management Services, Inc. v. Farm Family Casualty Insurance Co., N.J. App. Div. May 20, 2009

In a declaratory judgment action presented to the New Jersey Appellate Division, defendant Farm Family Casualty Insurance Company (Farm Family) appealed from an order directing it to reimburse W9/PHC Real Estate LP and Grubb & Ellis Management Services, Inc. for half of the defense costs and indemnification of a slip-and-fall suit for damages. Crabtree Landscaping and Turf Management, LLC (Crabtree), a company hired by plaintiffs to remove snow from their property, was also a defendant in that action. W9/PHC sought coverage as additional insureds under Crabtrees’s liability insurance policy with Farm Family.

In its opinion, the appellate division succinctly described the issue before it as follows:

This appeal presents the issue of the obligation to pay for a liability insurance claim and counsel fees where two insurers have conflicting “other insurance” clauses, one providing for “pro rata” payment, and the other for payment only when the other insurer’s limit is exhausted.

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Continue Reading A Flush Beats a Straight and Excess Other Insurance Beats Pro Rata Other Insurance