Allstate Insurance v. AnzaLone

119 Misc. 2d 222, 462 N.Y.S.2d 738, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3491
New York Supreme Court·Decided March 1, 1983·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

James J. Brucia, J.

Motion by plaintiff for summary judgment pursuant to CPLR 3212 in this declaratory judgment action is denied. Defendants’ cross motion for summary judgment is granted and disposed of as follows:

There is no dispute as to the facts. Admittedly David Anzalone was the owner of a certain motor boat from which his infant son, Anthony Robert Anzalone, who resided with him, was seriously injured on July 14, 1982 when he fell overboard. At the time of the accident, the boat was being operated by Anthony’s infant brother, Joseph Christopher Anzalone, with his father’s consent. The injured son’s mother brought a suit on behalf of said son against the father and the other son. Allstate has disclaimed coverage and the insurance company brought this action seeking a declaratory judgment.

[223] The sole issue here concerns the validity of the exclusion provisions for bodily injuries to resident relatives of the insured David Anzalone, Anthony Robert Anzalone, and Cira Anzalone, in two policies issued by plaintiff Allstate which were in effect at the time of the accident. Such is purely a question of law. i

The exclusion provision of Allstate’s recreational vehicle package policy No. 043675080 reads as follows: “Exclusions — what this Section of the policy does not cover. This Section does not apply * * * 8. under Coverage A A [Bodily Injury Liability] to bodily injury to any person who is related by blood * * * against whom claim is made, if such person resides in the same household as such insured.”

The exclusion provision of the “Deluxe Homeowners” policy No. 043964496 contains the following exclusionary clause: “Exclusions — Losses we do not cover * * * We do not cover bodily injury to an insured person”.

The term “insured persons” is defined as the “policyholder and resident spouse and, if a resident of their household, any relative and any dependent person in their care.”

The issue as to whether such intrafamily exclusion of these policies is void as against public policy is not without difficulty, for it appears that two conflicting policies of law are involved, namely, (1) the acknowledged right of the parties to a private contract to provide in express terms the extent of the obligations created thereby (29 NY Jur, Insurance, § 510; Mason-Henry Press v Aetna Life Ins. Co., 211 NY 489, 495-496), (2) the public policy declared in subdivision 2 of section 167 of the Insurance Law in providing broad insurance coverage for members of the public injured by “vessels.” Such section provides in part, as follows: “No policy or contract of personal injury liability insurance or of property damage liability insurance, covering liability arising from the ownership, maintenance or operation of * * * any vessel as defined in section forty-eight of the navigation law, shall be issued or delivered in this state to the owner thereof, or shall be issued or delivered by any authorized insurer upon any such * * * [224] vessel then principally garaged or principally used in the state, unless it contains a provision insuring the named insured against liability for death or injury sustained * *• * as a result of negligence in the operation or use of such vehicle by any person operating or using the same with the permission, express or implied, of the named insured * * * or in the case of a vessel, as a result of the operation or use of the vessel by any person operating or using the same with the permission, express or implied, of the named insured.”

Except with respect to the legislative permission granted to insurers in subdivision 3 of section 167 of the Insurance Law, subdivision 1 of said section 167 makes it mandatory that liability policies contain the afore-mentioned provision or provisions which are equal or more favorable to the insured. The impact thereof is particularly significant, here, because Allstate contends that the insured respondent is not protected because each of the insurance policies contains “family exclusion” clauses, and that such clauses were approved by the Superintendent of Insurance of the State of New York in 1972 when Allstate filed its recreational package policy program. Such approval, however, was improper and in disregard of the provisions of subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 167 of the New York State Insurance Law which express the public policy of this State, that ■persons injured as a result of the use and operation of a vessel should be protected against financially irresponsible users of such vessels.

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Allstate Insurance v. AnzaLone, 119 Misc. 2d 222, 462 N.Y.S.2d 738, 1983 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3491 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1983).

119 Misc. 2d 222 (Allstate Insurance v. AnzaLone) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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