Lexington Ins. Co. v. New York Mar. & Gen. Ins. Co.

2025 NY Slip Op 30137(U)
CourtNew York Supreme Court, New York County
DecidedJanuary 10, 2025
DocketIndex No. 651214/2022
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2025 NY Slip Op 30137(U) (Lexington Ins. Co. v. New York Mar. & Gen. Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court, New York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lexington Ins. Co. v. New York Mar. & Gen. Ins. Co., 2025 NY Slip Op 30137(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2025).

Opinion

Lexington Ins. Co. v New York Mar. & Gen. Ins. Co. 2025 NY Slip Op 30137(U) January 10, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 651214/2022 Judge: Melissa A. Crane Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 01/10/2025 03:44 PM INDEX NO. 651214/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 302 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/10/2025

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY

PRESENT: HON. MELISSA A. CRANE PART 60M

Justice ------------------X LEXINGTON INSURANCE COMPANY, ON ITS OWN BEHALF AND AS SUBROGEE OF TWIN AMERICA, LLC INDEX NO. 651214/2022 AND MARK 'ZEV' MARMURSTEIN,

Plaintiff, MOTION DATE 04/15/2024

MOTION SEQ. -v- NO. 012 NEW YORK MARINE AND GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, GREENWICH INSURANCE COMPANY, DECISION + ORDER ON MOTION TWIN AMERICA, LLC, MARK 'ZEV' MARMURSTEIN,

Defendants. ------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 012) 224, 225, 226, 227, 228,229,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,242,243,244,245,246,247,248, 249,250,251,252,253,254,256,257,258,259,279,280,281,282,283 were read on this motion to/for JUDGMENT - SUMMARY

This case arises from a November 2015 tour bus accident in California. The accident

allegedly injured various people, caused significant property damage, and resulted in various

lawsuits against the tour operators and tour bus owners (the consolidated underlying litigation,

Kfouri v CS Global SF, No. CGC-16-551098 [San Francisco Super. Ct.]). Ultimately, the

underlying litigation settled for $10.5 million. Plaintiff Lexington Insurance Co. (Lexington), an

insurer that provided umbrella coverage to defendants Twin America, LLC (Twin) and Mark

'Zev' Marmurstein (collectively, "Twin defendants"), brought this action to recover $2.5 million

that it paid, subject to a reservation of rights, towards the settlement.

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Plaintiff seeks to recoup that $2.5 million from the only remaining defendant in this

action, Twin, under theories of common law indemnification, breach of contract, and declaratory

relief.

Background

The insurance coverage in the underlying litigation was arranged in two "towers," as

illustrated by the graph below: (1) the insurance policies issued to the nonparty tour bus owners;

and (2) the insurance policies issued to the vicariously liable defendants [the Twin defendants]

!Ji)

Lexington Umbrella

Gotham Excess Axis Excess

NY Marine Twn A1Mrica T -

(amended complaint, NYSCEF Doc No. 43 at 7).

In the first tower, defendant New York Marine and General Insurance Co. (NYM) issued

a $1 million primary policy to the bus owners, and nonparty Gotham Insurance issued a $4

million excess policy to the bus owners. In the second tower, defendant Greenwich Insurance

Co. (Greenwich) issued two $1 million primary policies to Twin, a commercial auto policy (the

auto policy) and a commercial general liability policy (the CGL policy). Also in the second

tower, nonparty Axis Insurance issued a $4 million excess policy to Twin, and plaintiff issued a

$5 million umbrella liability policy to Twin.

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The bus owners' and Twin's respective excess insurers, Gotham and Axis, both

contributed their total $4 million policy limits towards the settlement. Plaintiff paid the

remaining $2.5 million under the umbrella policy it issued to Twin. Both the Greenwich auto

and CGL policies are "fronting" policies with $1 million limits and matching $1 million

deductibles. In this type of policy, the deductibles are the policy limits (see discussion in

decision and order on motion 7 at pgs 11-13 [EDOC 13 7]).

Greenwich did not pay any amount towards the settlement under either of these primary

policies. In addition, neither Twin nor its principal, Marmurstein, paid the Greenwich policies'

deductibles or paid any amount for the settlement. However, Greenwich and Twin entered into a

settlement agreement in April 2021 (Greenwich-Twin America settlement agreement, NYSCEF

Doc No. 61 ). In that stipulation, they "agree[d] that any indemnity payments that New York

Marine and/or Gotham pay on behalf of Twin and/or Marmurstein shall be applied to satisfy the

[$1 million Greenwich auto policy] Indemnity Deductible" (id., ,r 1). None of the other insurers,

including Gotham and NYM, were involved with that Greenwich-Twin agreement.

On January 19, 2023, this Court denied NYM's motion to dismiss based on forum non

conveniens (January 19, 2023 Order, NYSCEF No. 113). On July 7, 2023, this Court denied

dismissal of any claim against Twin but granted Greenwich's motion to dismiss and

Marmurstein's [individual] motion to dismiss (July 7, 2023 Orders, NYSCEF Doc Nos. 136,

137). On July 9, 2024, this Court granted NYM's motion for summaryjudgment, leaving Twin

as the only remaining defendant (July 9, 2024 Order, NYSCEF Doc Nos. 296, 297).

Plaintiff now moves for summary judgment, pursuant to CPLR 3212, on the remaining

causes of action against Twin: (1) common law indemnification to recover $1 million pursuant to

the Greenwich Auto Policy (third cause of action) (NYSCEF Doc No. 43); (2) common law

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indemnification to recover $1 million pursuant to the Greenwich CGL Policy (fourth cause of

action) (id.); (3) declaratory relief stating ''that neither of the Greenwich deductibles, and neither

of the limits of the Greenwich policies, were satisfied or exhausted, in whole or in part, by any

defense and/or indemnity payments made, or to be made, by New York Marine and/or Gotham

in connection with the Consolidated Underlying Actions" (fifth cause of action) (id.); and (4)

breach of contract pursuant to Condition J.3 of the Lexington umbrella policy's "scheduled

underlying insurance" (sixth cause of action) (id.).

Twin also cross-moves for summary judgment pursuant to CPLR 3212 on all the above.

TWIN'S RELEVANT INSURANCE POLICIES

The Greenwich Auto Policy

The Greenwich Auto Policy provides, in Section II ["Liability Coverage"], that "We

[Greenwich] will pay all sums an 'insured' legally must pay as damages because of 'bodily

injury' or 'property damage' to which this insurance applies, caused by an 'accident' and

resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use of a covered 'auto'" (Greenwich Auto Policy,

NYSCEF Doc No. 59 § II [A] [Auto Policy]). That section further states that:

"We [Greenwich] have the right and duty to defend any 'insured' against a 'suit' asking for such damages .... We may investigate and settle any claim or 'suit' as we consider appropriate. Our duty to defend or settle ends when the Liability Coverage Limit of Insurance has been exhausted by payment of judgments or settlements"

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Bluebook (online)
2025 NY Slip Op 30137(U), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lexington-ins-co-v-new-york-mar-gen-ins-co-nysupctnewyork-2025.