IDW Group, LLC v. Levine Insurance Risk Management Services, Inc.

40 Misc. 3d 368
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedApril 12, 2013
StatusPublished

This text of 40 Misc. 3d 368 (IDW Group, LLC v. Levine Insurance Risk Management Services, Inc.) 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
IDW Group, LLC v. Levine Insurance Risk Management Services, Inc., 40 Misc. 3d 368 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Shirley Werner Kornreich, J.

Motion sequence numbers 006 through 012 are consolidated for disposition.

All of the parties filed motions for summary judgment pursuant to CPLR 3212. Plaintiff, the IDW Group, LLC, moves for summary judgment on its claims against defendants and for dismissal of all counterclaims (seq. No. 006). Defendant Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation moves for dismissal of IDW’s claims against it and for summary judgment on its counterclaim (seq. No. 007). Defendant Levine Insurance Risk Management Services opposes Liberty’s motion and also moves for dismissal of IDW’s claims against it (seq. No. 008). Defendants AAS Insurance Brokerage of New York, doing business as American Agency System, and American Agency Systems Companies (collectively, American) move for summary judgment on IDW’s claims and for dismissal of the other defendants’ cross claims (seq. No. 009).

IDW also moves by order to show cause: (1) for leave to supplement the record on the parties’ summary judgment mo[372]*372tions; and (2) to stay judgment on Liberty’s counterclaim until after trial (seq. No. 010). Liberty opposes this motion. Additionally, IDW filed an unopposed motion for an order, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 216, to permit certain documents to be filed, nunc pro tunc, under seal (seq. No. Oil). Finally, IDW moves by order to show cause for leave to serve a proposed second amended complaint (SAC) (seq. No. 012).

IDW’s motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part; Liberty’s motion for summary judgment is granted; Levine’s motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part; American’s motion for summary judgment is granted; IDW’s motion for leave to supplement the record and to stay judgment is denied; IDW’s unopposed motion to seal is granted; and IDW’s motion to amend is granted for the reasons that follow.

I. Procedural History and Factual Background

The following facts are undisputed.

IDW is a recruitment and search firm that places high-level financial services employees with financial institutions. Levine is an insurance broker. IDW used Levine’s services to obtain errors and omissions (E&O) insurance policies from Liberty. Each year, IDW would write a check to Levine for an amount that included the annual premium payment plus Levine’s brokerage fee. Upon receipt, Levine would deposit the check into its bank account. Levine would then write another check for the premium amount and mail it to American, a wholesale insurance agent/broker that served as a program administrator for Liberty. American would then remit the premium payment to Liberty. When Liberty received the premium payment, it would authorize American to issue a policy to IDW, which American would send to Levine.

The policies that IDW purchased from Liberty were annual occurrence policies that would commence on April 18 of each year and cover all specified liabilities that were incurred during the term of the policy. American issued E&O policies to IDW on Liberty’s behalf for the 2005/2006, 2006/2007, 2008/2009, and 2009/2010 policy periods. The issues in this case arose when IDW’s 2006/2007 policy expired on April 18, 2007.

On or about April 11, 2007, IDW received an application for a 2007/2008 policy from Levine, which it filled out and sent back to Levine. On April 30, 2007, 12 days after the 2006/2007 policy had expired, Levine sent the application to American to obtain [373]*373a quote for a 2007/2008 policy. That same day, American sought approval from Liberty to issue the policy because American was not allowed to backdate policies. Later that day, Liberty authorized American to quote Levine a premium of $7,500. If the quote was accepted, American was authorized to issue a 2007/ 2008 policy upon receipt of the premium payment. American forwarded this information to Levine. On or about May 4, 2007, IDW received an invoice from Levine in the amount of $7,885, of which $385 was for Levine’s fees and applicable taxes. On May 9, 2007, IDW sent Levine a check for $7,885. On May 15, 2007, Levine deposited the check into its account. On May 17, 2007, Stephanie Petrillo, Levine’s bookkeeper, mailed a check in the amount of $7,2851 to an address in Neptune, New Jersey, which she thought was the location of American’s office.

Unbeknownst to Petrillo, at some prior point in time, American closed its Neptune office. Thus, American never received Levine’s check. Additionally, the post office did not return the check to Levine. In fact, to date, no one knows what happened to the check. However, Levine’s bank records indicate that the check was never deposited. Importantly, American never issued IDW a 2007/2008 policy because it never received Levine’s check.

The following year, between April 28, 2008 and June 19, 2008, Levine and American exchanged emails that confirm that both Levine and American knew that American never received Levine’s check and that a 2007/2008 policy was never issued. These emails were sent in connection with the issuance of IDW’s 2008/ 2009 policy, which along with the 2005/2006, 2006/2007, and 2009/2010 policies were properly issued.

Earlier, before the 2006/2007 policy had lapsed, on February 12, 2007, IDW and nonparty J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. entered into a retained search services agency agreement, whereby IDW agreed to recruit candidates to work at JPMorgan. The JPMorgan agreement prohibited IDW from soliciting, inducing, or recruiting JPMorgan employees who worked in certain areas of the bank from leaving the company. It provided that if IDW breached the non-solicitation clause, IDW would have to pay JPMorgan the greater of two sums: (1) the fee [374]*374received by the agency that places the former JPMorgan employees; or (2) the fee that IDW would have received had those employees been placed with JPMorgan. On August 6, 2007, August 9, 2007, and June 18, 2008, IDW and JPMorgan entered into three contracts, virtually identical to the JPMorgan agreement, to provide further recruitment services to JPMorgan.

On August 13, 2008, JPMorgan notified IDW that it believed that IDW breached the non-solicitation clause by improperly inducing JPMorgan employees to leave the bank to work for a competitor (Citadel). On October 23, 2008, JPMorgan commenced an action against IDW in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, styled JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA. v The IDW Group, LLC (No. 08-CV-9116) (the JPMorgan action), in which it alleged that IDW improperly solicited six individuals to leave JPMorgan to work for Citadel. IDW’s defenses were that the former JPMorgan employees did not fall into the groups of employees governed by the non-solicitation clause and that IDW never solicited them.

At the time the JPMorgan action was commenced, Liberty was not aware that IDW was never issued a 2007/2008 policy. Consequently, in accordance with its obligations to provide its insured with defense counsel, Liberty appointed attorneys to represent IDW and paid a portion of their fees. In a letter from Liberty to IDW dated November 6, 2008, Liberty reserved its right to deny coverage and recoup defense costs in the event that JPMorgan’s claims against IDW were not covered by IDW’s policy. On July 9, 2009, Liberty received an amended interrogatory response from JPMorgan, indicating that JPMorgan was increasing the amount of damages it was seeking from $1 million to over $55 million.

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Bluebook (online)
40 Misc. 3d 368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/idw-group-llc-v-levine-insurance-risk-management-services-inc-nysupct-2013.