Slotkin ex rel. Slotkin v. Citizens Casualty Co.

530 F. Supp. 789, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10519
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 28, 1982
DocketNo. 71-Civ. 4044
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 530 F. Supp. 789 (Slotkin ex rel. Slotkin v. Citizens Casualty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Slotkin ex rel. Slotkin v. Citizens Casualty Co., 530 F. Supp. 789, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10519 (S.D.N.Y. 1982).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SOFAER, District Judge:

This case is a fraud action arising from the settlement in 1971 of a hospital malpractice action brought by plaintiffs in the Supreme Court, Kings County, against Brookdale Hospital Center. The hospital’s primary insurer was Citizens Casualty Company of New York (“Citizens”), with whom the hospital had primary malpractice insurance coverage for up to $200,000. In addition, the hospital had $1,000,000 in excess coverage written by Lloyd’s of London.

Citizens assumed the defense of Brook-dale, and after considerable negotiations the case was settled on the record for $185,-000, which settlement was subsequently approved by the Court. During the settlement negotiations, however, representations were made by an employee of Citizens named Ratner, and by two attorneys who represented Citizens’ interest and the hospital, that the hospital had insurance coverage of only $200,000. These representations were made on the record by individuals who had information that the hospital had excess insurance coverage with certain insurers, for up to one million dollars. Although plaintiffs discovered this misrepresentation before the settlement had been made final the state trial judge approved the settlement and plaintiffs accepted the $185,000, asserting that they nevertheless had the right to sue for fraud. A fraud suit was thereafter commenced in federal court, and after a trial on the merits the plaintiffs prevailed, obtaining a verdict totalling $680,000. The District Judge before whom the case was tried, Hon. Milton Pollack, granted judgment to the defendant reinsurers at the end of the plaintiffs’ case, and entered judgment notwithstanding the verdict in favor of the remaining defendants at the end of the trial. 447 F.Supp. 253.

On appeal, Judges Oakes and Gurfein found that plaintiffs could legitimately sue for fraud, despite having accepted a settlement after the fraud was revealed. Slotkin v. Citizens Casualty Co., 614 F.2d 301 (2d Cir. 1979). The Court also held that all but one of the defendants (Berkowitz) against whom verdicts were returned were liable jointly and severally for the full amount of the verdict. Finally, the Court found that the case against the reinsurers had been sufficient to go to the jury on the theory that Ratner had been in touch with officers of the reinsurers during the negotiating process. On the other hand, the Court found that the case against the reinsurers was insufficient to justify a retrial against the. reinsurers alone in light of the fact that a verdict had been returned covering all of plaintiffs’ damages. The Court held that the plaintiff had the option of reinstating “the verdict and judgment of $680,000 against Citizens and the three individuals, .or they may retry the case ab initio against all appellees except George Berkowitz on both liability and damages. They may not do both.” 614 F.2d at 318. Judge Van Graafeiland dissented.

An application for rehearing was filed by several of the parties. The reinsurers were particularly concerned about the effects of the Court’s ruling upon reinsurance law in New York. They pointed out that the hospital’s reinsurers had been liable for only portions of a recovery above $50,000 and up to $200,000. Consequently, all that they [791]*791stood to gain by participating in the fraud was a total saving of $15,000, or only several hundred dollars each. See Slotkin v. Citizens Casualty Co., supra, 614 F.2d at 318 n.l (Van Graafeiland, J., dissenting). Furthermore, the reinsurers noted that their contract was with Citizens Casualty and not with the hospital or any other party in privity with the plaintiffs. Finally, they pointed out that Ratner was an employee of Citizens. Therefore, the reinsurers argued that it could not be said, as the Court of Appeals suggested, that the same evidence that might justify a finding that Ratner acted as an agent of Citizens Casualty could also justify a finding that he acted as their agent.

The Court on rehearing sought to allay any fears on the part of the reinsurance industry. The panel majority disclaimed an intention to affect the traditional division between insurers and reinsurers. They also stated that the purpose of their earlier opinion was to make clear, on the particular facts, only that the plaintiffs’ case against the reinsurers should have been permitted to get to the jury. The majority reiterated, however, that the plaintiffs would be permitted to sue the reinsurers in a new litigation only if they chose to retry the case ab initio against all the appellees on both liability and damages. Moreover, the Court added that the trial judge in the retrial would still be empowered to review the evidence introduced against the reinsurers to determine whether plaintiffs have met “their burden of proof to take the issue of agency to the jury.” 614 F.2d at 323. Thus, the Court indicated that it was willing to permit the trial judge to reconsider the sufficiency of the evidence against the reinsurers, in the event plaintiffs opted for a retrial.

The mandate of the Court of Appeals was docketed on December 16,1980. Judge Pollack ordered on January 19, 1981, that plaintiffs make, serve, and file their election on or before February 19, 1981. Plaintiffs negotiated with the nonreinsurer defendants, and reached a settlement with them, under which the liquidator of Citizens (now in receivership) would allow plaintiffs a claim of $1,000,000, and the individual defendants would pay another $100,000 cash. The settlement was signed on February 19; plaintiffs’ counsel then filed at 4:50 p. m. that day an election stating: “plaintiffs elect not to proceed on the verdict and judgment and are electing to retry the case.” In this way, plaintiffs wished to obtain settlements in lieu of seeking to enforce the judgments, and at the same time possibly to secure some additional money from the reinsurers after a new trial or by settlement.

Plaintiffs sought and obtained from the Supreme Court, Kings County, a compromise order approving the settlement of the infant plaintiff’s claim. They then submitted to this Court for its approval a stipulation of discontinuance between plaintiffs and all the settling defendants. Judge Pollack refused to sign the discontinuance.

Plaintiffs moved to have Judge Pollack recuse himself. Judge Pollack requested the Assignment Committee to reassign the case, which they did to the undersigned. The reinsurers meanwhile had moved to dismiss. After a review of the file, the Court ordered the parties to file full and complete motions to dismiss and for summary judgment. Plaintiffs in particular were ordered to place before the Court all the evidence they intended to introduce to establish that Ratner acted as agent for the reinsurers. The Court also, meanwhile, refused to sign the proposed stipulation of discontinuance, since its approval might prejudice the rights of the reinsurers.

Plaintiffs’ position is that the Court of Appeals permitted them two options: rely upon the judgment by reinstating the verdict, or retry the case ab initio. They are not relying upon the judgment or reinstating the verdict, they claim, and therefore have the right to try the case ab initio. While the trial they contemplate will be only against the reinsurers, rather than all the defendants, this was only because plaintiffs have settled with the other defendants. The Court of Appeals did not and could not limit plaintiffs’ right to settle, plaintiffs [792]

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Related

In re McGrath
96 A.D.2d 267 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1983)
Slotkin v. Citizens Casualty Co.
698 F.2d 154 (Second Circuit, 1983)
Slotkin v. Citizens Casualty Co. of New York
698 F.2d 154 (Second Circuit, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
530 F. Supp. 789, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10519, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/slotkin-ex-rel-slotkin-v-citizens-casualty-co-nysd-1982.