Excess Line Ass'n v. Waldorf & Associates

40 Misc. 3d 759
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMay 3, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 40 Misc. 3d 759 (Excess Line Ass'n v. Waldorf & Associates) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Excess Line Ass'n v. Waldorf & Associates, 40 Misc. 3d 759 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Elizabeth Hazlitt Emerson, J.

It is, ordered that the motion (001) by defendants Waldorf & Associates, Waldorf Risk Solutions, LLC, Waldorf Special Risk, LLC, Waldorf Servicing, LLC, William G. Waldorf, Stephen M. Waldorf, Christopher Y. Waldorf, Sr., and the Waldorf Family [761]*761Foundation, Inc. for an order pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (1), (3), (5), and (7) dismissing the complaint insofar as it is asserted against them is granted; and it is further ordered that the motion (002) by defendant Pamela J. Waldorf for an order pursuant to CPLR 3211 dismissing the complaint insofar as it is asserted against her is granted.

In this action, the plaintiff Excess Line Association of New York (hereinafter ELANY or the plaintiff) seeks an accounting of the defendants’ books and records and damages related to the defendants’ failure to report the placement of excess-line insurance policies and the defendants’ failure to pay premium taxes and stamping fees on excess-line policies from 1989 through 2011. The complaint alleges in the first cause of action that the defendants fraudulently filed premium tax statements (as defined in the Insurance Law) that stated under oath that they had “no business to report” and avoided paying stamping fees. The complaint alleges in the second cause of action that the defendants violated General Business Law § 349. The complaint alleges in the third cause of action that the defendants were negligent. The complaint alleges in the fourth cause of action that the defendants violated General Business Law § 340. The complaint alleges in the fifth cause of action that the plaintiff is entitled to an accounting pursuant to Insurance Law § 2118 (c).

The defendants Waldorf & Associates, Waldorf Risk Solutions, LLC, Waldorf Special Risk, LLC, Waldorf Servicing, LLC, William G. Waldorf, Stephen M. Waldorf, Christopher V Waldorf, Sr., and the Waldorf Family Foundation, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the Waldorf defendants) move by way of a preanswer motion to dismiss the action on the grounds that a defense is founded upon documentary evidence, that the plaintiff lacks legal capacity to sue, and that the complaint fails to state a cause of action. The defendant Pamela Waldorf moves separately to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over her. In determining these motions, in addition to the moving papers, the court has considered the parties’ oral arguments, which were made at a hearing before the undersigned on December 12, 2012.

In support of their motion, the Waldorf defendants contend that the plaintiff lacks capacity to maintain the present action. The Waldorf defendants argue that the plaintiff, a not-for-profit industry advisory association, is a creature of statute with specific enumerated powers and that such enumerated powers [762]*762do not expressly or by implication include the ability to commence the current action. Moreover, the Waldorf defendants argue that, notwithstanding the foregoing, there is no private right of action that permits the plaintiff to maintain the current action. In response, the plaintiff argues that the provisions of the Insurance Law which contain ELANY’s enumerated powers should be liberally construed to create the requisite capacity to commence this litigation to enforce compliance with the excess-line law.

The Waldorf defendants submit the affidavit of William G. Waldorf, a principal of the defendant companies. Mr. Waldorf avers that he and his brother Stephen now run these family-owned insurance-related businesses on a day-to-day basis. He states that the businesses consist of several commonly owned licensed and unlicensed insurance-related entities. He and his brother act as insurance brokers, consultants, and independent professionals for their clients, which are comprised primarily of large religious, educational, and other not-for-profit entities in many states and jurisdictions of the United States. Mr. Waldorf further states that he and his brother operate well-respected, well-recognized, and successful insurance consulting, brokerage, and related businesses built upon their family’s relationships, which were established over generations with certain leading underwriters at Lloyd’s of London. He denies the plaintiff’s claims that he and the other Waldorf defendants sought to evade compliance with the Insurance Law, engaged in anticompetitive activity, or advised their clients to purchase unsound insurance.

William G. Waldorf states that his companies deal with Lloyd’s of London, which is recognized in the insurance industry as providing a market for some of the best insurance products available worldwide, that the syndicates of Lloyd’s are well-known and well-respected in the industry, and that such syndicates are eligible to write excess-line insurance for insureds located in New York. Mr. Waldorf further states that, since 1995, the Waldorf defendants have made their insurance placements with Lloyd’s on behalf of their insureds on direct or independent placements, which they believed were not subject to many of New York’s insurance laws and regulations. Mr. Waldorf avers that, sometime in 2010, the New York State Depart[763]*763ment of Insurance1 (hereinafter referred to as the Insurance Department) conducted a review of the Waldorf defendants’ direct Lloyd’s placement program. The Waldorf defendants provided the Insurance Department with all of the documentation that it requested. Upon completing its review, the Insurance Department informed the Waldorf defendants that, in its view, certain of the placements should have been characterized as excess-line placements subject to Insurance Law § 2118 and New York Insurance Department Regulation 41 (11 NYCRR part 27), which set out the requirements for excess-line placements, including the payment of a stated premium tax.

In his affidavit Mr. Waldorf states that, following the Insurance Department’s review, the Waldorf defendants and the Insurance Department came to an agreement, which was memorialized in a letter dated April 12, 2011. The letter reveals that the agreement covered the Waldorf defendants’ placement of excess-line insurance policies with Lloyd’s of London brokers for which no excess-line premium taxes were paid from approximately 1995 through 2009. The Waldorf defendants agreed to pay a specified amount in premium taxes and penalties to the Insurance Department and to pay excess-line premium taxes on all excess-line business they produced during 2010 by including such taxes in part IV of the 2010 premium tax statement due on March 15, 2011. They also agreed to make timely payments of all excess-line premium taxes in the future. The letter reveals that compliance with the foregoing would be accepted by the Insurance Department in full settlement of the Waldorf defendants’ premium tax liability for all Lloyd’s placements from 1995 through 2009 and in lieu of any disciplinary action that could be taken by the Insurance Department against the Waldorf defendants. Finally, the letter makes clear that failure to fully comply with the agreement could result in the commencement of disciplinary action by the Insurance Department against the Waldorf defendants and/or any responsible individuals and entities.

Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
40 Misc. 3d 759, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/excess-line-assn-v-waldorf-associates-nysupct-2013.