Jurisdiction: United States

New York’s highest court recently considered whether, within the context of a CGL policy, liability must be determined before an additional named insured is entitled to a defense in an underlying personal injury action.  Affirming the decision below, the New York Court of Appeals held that additional insured coverage is not contingent upon a liability finding, and that the obligation of an insurer to provide a defense to an additional named insured under the policy exists “to the same extent as it does to a named insured.” 

New York’s highest court recently considered whether a plaintiff and defendant who enter into a high-low agreement in a multi-defendant action (frequently referred to as a “Mary Carter Agreement”) must disclose the terms of that agreement to the court and the remaining parties.  While these agreements are used routinely, with and without disclosure to all parties, this appears to have been an issue of first impression in NY.