Insurance Coverage and Litigation Member Scott Storm's article, "Headed in the Wrong Direction," was featured on the front page and published in the Second Quarter 2022 issue of NYIA's quarterly magazine Your NY Connection this week.
In this article, Scott discusses how the third-party liability standard for proving an insured’s lack of cooperation (the Thrasher Standard) does not apply when proving lack of cooperation in first-party property claims. Although the insurer is said to have a “heavy burden” to establish non-cooperation in third-party claims, it has repeatedly been held that the burden of proof is far less stringent for property insurers. New York courts and litigants have been increasingly misapplying the “Thrasher standard” to first-party property losses, gradually blurring the disparity between the two standards, resulting in a reduction of dispositive motions in favor of insurers. In this article, Scott provides practical advice in showing us what the actual standard is for proving lack of cooperation in first-party property claims.
To read this edition of NYIA's Your NY Connection, click here. To read the full article, click here.
