Mallek v. Allstate Indemnity Company

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedNovember 23, 2020
Docket1:17-cv-05949
StatusUnknown

This text of Mallek v. Allstate Indemnity Company (Mallek v. Allstate Indemnity Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mallek v. Allstate Indemnity Company, (E.D.N.Y. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ---------------------------------X EVA MALLEK,

Plaintiff, MEMORANDUM AND ORDER v. 17-CV-5949(KAM)(SJB) ALLSTATE INDEMNITY CO. and KEVIN SCHAEFER,

Defendants. ---------------------------------X KIYO A. MATSUMOTO, United States District Judge: In this action, the plaintiff, Eva Mallek (“Plaintiff”), alleges that the defendants, Allstate Indemnity Company (“Allstate”) and insurance agent Kevin Schaefer (“Mr. Schaefer,” and together with Allstate, “Defendants”), breached an insurance contract by failing to pay out her claim following a house fire that occurred in 2015 at a home that she owned. Plaintiff and Defendants have both moved for summary judgment. For the reasons herein, Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is DENIED, and Defendants’ motion is GRANTED IN PART. Plaintiff has also filed a motion for recusal, which is DENIED. This case will proceed to trial on Plaintiff’s breach of contract claim in order to resolve the single disputed factual question described below. Background Plaintiff initiated this action in Queens County Supreme Court, and on October 11, 2017, Allstate filed a notice

of removal in this court. (ECF No. 1, Notice of Removal.) Plaintiff’s complaint alleged that Allstate “declin[ed] to honor [P]laintiff’s homeowner’s insurance policy . . . after a fire destroyed the structure and contents of her home . . . on or about September 14, 2015” in Queens Village, New York. (ECF No. 1-2, Complaint (“Compl.”), ¶ 1.) The house in question was located at 88-20 207 Street in Queens Village (the “Queens Village property” or the “insured property”). (Id.) The Queens Village property was purchased by Plaintiff’s parents in 1977, and Plaintiff has been the sole- deeded owner of the house since 2002, following the death of her mother. (ECF No. 92-3, Defendants’ Rule 56.1 Statement (“Def.

56.1”), ¶ 1.) Plaintiff lived part of the time at the Queens Village property with her father (Plaintiff also owned another house in Forest Hills, New York with her husband), until 2005, when her father got re-married. (Id. ¶ 4.) After her father was re-married, Plaintiff resided full-time at her house in Forest Hills with her husband, and did not reside at the Queens Village property with her father at all. (Id.; see ECF No. 89- 6, Def. Ex. E, Plaintiff’s March 25, 2019 Deposition Transcript (“Mar. 25, 2019 Dep. Tr.”), at 23:14-22; ECF No. 89-4, Def. Ex. C, Plaintiff’s January 5, 2019 Deposition Transcript (“Jan. 5, 2019 Dep. Tr.”), at 58:14-24, 59:11-18.) Plaintiff testified that she did not inform Allstate, from whom she had purchased a

homeowner’s insurance policy to cover the Queens Village property, that she was no longer spending any time living at that property. (Jan. 5, 2019 Dep. Tr. at 60:24-61:11.) The relevant insurance policy covered the time period from March 20, 2015 to March 20, 2016. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 10; see ECF No. 89-5, Def. Ex. D, Standard Homeowners Policy Declarations.) The policy provided for a $358,000 limit of liability, and coverage for additional living expenses for up to twelve months. (Def. 56.1 ¶¶ 13-14.) The version of the policy proffered by Defendants states that the policy covered her “dwelling,” and “dwelling” was defined as “the insured property on the Policy Declarations, where you reside and which is principally used as a private residence.” (Id. ¶ 15.)

On September 15, 2015, Plaintiff reported to Allstate a fire at the insured property that occurred the previous day. (ECF No. 92, Def. Ex. A, Denial.) On June 13, 2016, Allstate denied her claim for several reasons, including that she “did not reside, intend to reside, or otherwise maintain a physical presence at the insured premises at the time of the fire as required by the Policy terms as set forth in the contract for insurance.” (Id.) Further, Allstate’s denial stated that Plaintiff “did not advise Allstate of changes in [her] use and/or occupancy of the insured premises as required by the Policy terms as set forth in the contract of insurance.” (Id.)

After Plaintiff sued Defendants in state court and Defendants removed the action to this court, Plaintiff filed a motion to remand the case to state court. (ECF No. 9, Motion to Remand.) The motion was referred to Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara, who issued a Report and Recommendation that the motion be denied. (ECF No. 26, Report and Recommendation (“R&R”).) Plaintiff objected to the recommendation, and filed a motion to amend her complaint. (ECF No. 27, Motion to Amend.) This court issued an Order on July 31, 2018, adopting Judge Bulsara’s R&R in its entirety, and denying Plaintiff’s motion to amend. (ECF No. 36, Order Adopting Report and Recommendation.) Since that time, the parties have engaged in

mediation, various discovery disputes, and Plaintiff has also filed numerous motions, including for sanctions, which have been denied, and she also filed a pending motion for recusal. Both parties have moved for summary judgment. (See ECF Nos. 88-94.) Legal Standard A party moving for summary judgment must “show[] that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). “The moving party bears the burden of establishing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Hartford Life Ins. Co. v. Einhorn ex rel. Estate of Mehring, 452 F. Supp. 2d 126, 129 (E.D.N.Y. 2006) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256 (1986)). Once the moving party

makes such a showing, the opposing party must establish that there is an issue for trial by “citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials[.]” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(A). “[U]nsupported allegations do not create a material issue of fact.” Weinstock v. Columbia Univ., 224 F.3d 33, 41 (2d Cir. 2000). Where, as here, “a pro se litigant is involved, ‘the same standards for summary judgment apply, but the pro se

litigant should be given special latitude in responding to a summary judgment motion.’” Williams v. Savory, 87 F. Supp. 3d 437, 451 (S.D.N.Y. 2015) (quoting Knowles v. N.Y. City Dep’t of Corr., 904 F.Supp. 217, 220 (S.D.N.Y.1995)). Discussion I. The Terms of the Insurance Policy

Plaintiff’s primary claim is for breach of the insurance contract, though she makes several other claims related to Allstate’s alleged conduct towards her, which the court will discuss separately. Plaintiff’s breach of contract claim seeks “full relief for the loss of the structure of her home,” reimbursement for “overpaid sums” she paid to Allstate,

and damages for pain and suffering. (Compl. ¶¶ 28-35.) To succeed on a breach of contract claim, Defendants’ breach of the contract is an essential element of Plaintiff’s claim. See, e.g., Ellington Credit Fund, Ltd. v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., 837 F. Supp. 2d 162, 188 (S.D.N.Y. 2011) (under New York law, “breach of contract by the defendant” is one of four elements of a breach claim).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Liteky v. United States
510 U.S. 540 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Shelley Weinstock v. Columbia University
224 F.3d 33 (Second Circuit, 2000)
Frank Locascio v. United States
473 F.3d 493 (Second Circuit, 2007)
Knowles v. New York City Department of Corrections
904 F. Supp. 217 (S.D. New York, 1995)
NY Univ. v. CONT'L INS CO
662 N.E.2d 763 (New York Court of Appeals, 1995)
White v. Continental Casualty Co.
878 N.E.2d 1019 (New York Court of Appeals, 2007)
Cragg v. Allstate Indemnity Corp.
950 N.E.2d 500 (New York Court of Appeals, 2011)
Mencher v. Weiss
114 N.E.2d 177 (New York Court of Appeals, 1953)
Padavan v. Clemente
43 A.D.2d 729 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1973)
Vela v. Tower Insurance
83 A.D.3d 1050 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2011)
Dillon v. City of New York
261 A.D.2d 34 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1999)
Williams v. Savory
87 F. Supp. 3d 437 (S.D. New York, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Mallek v. Allstate Indemnity Company, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mallek-v-allstate-indemnity-company-nyed-2020.