Starr Indemnity and Liability Company v. North American Risk Services, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 30, 2020
Docket1:20-cv-00546
StatusUnknown

This text of Starr Indemnity and Liability Company v. North American Risk Services, Inc. (Starr Indemnity and Liability Company v. North American Risk Services, Inc.) 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
Starr Indemnity and Liability Company v. North American Risk Services, Inc., (S.D.N.Y. 2020).

Opinion

570 Taxter Road, 5th Floor, Elmsford, NY 10523 FKB Furman Kornfeld Tel: 914-920-4000 Fax: 914-347-3898 _—-*\™ & Brennan LLP fkblaw.com Defendant's November 25, 2020, pre-motion letter in anticipation of a motion to compel is construed as a motion to compel and is DENIED as ECF untimely. Pursuant to the Third Amended Civil Case Management Plan Lorna G Schofield and Scheduling Order, the parties' deadline to complete all fact discovery States District Court was November 6, 2020 (Dkt. No. 36). District of New York Pearl Street Dated: November 30, 2020 y “fs J. A T York, New York 10007 New York, New York LORNA G. SCHOFIEL! UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Re: — Starr Indemnity & Liability Company v. North American Risk Services, Inc. Docket No.: 20-CV-546 (LGS) Dear Judge Schofield: The undersigned represents Defendant, North American Risk Services, Inc. (“NARS”), in the above-captioned matter. Pursuant to Your Honor’s Individual Practice Rules, we are writing to request a pre-motion conference to address Plaintiff, Starr Indemnity & Liability Company’s (“Starr”) refusal to respond and/or provide complete responses to NARS’ local Rule 33.3(c) interrogatories and to request that Your Honor issue an Order compelling Starr to completely and fully respond to same prior to Defendant having to provide expert disclosure. By way of background, on October 5, 2020, NARS served Starr with local Rule 33.3(c) “contention” interrogatories, which are annexed hereto as Exhibit “A.” On November 4, 2020, Starr served purported responses to NARS’ interrogatories, which are annexed hereto as Exhibit “B.” Starr’s refused to provide responses and/or complete responses to Defendant’s interrogatories as follows: e Interrogatories 1, 5, and 12 — NARS’ interrogatories requested that Starr set forth its contentions, in detail regarding how the timeliness of reservation of rights letters issued by NARS proximately caused Starr damages. Starr’s responses did not provide any explanation of its contentions regarding the proximate causation element of their claims. e Interrogatories 2, 6 and 13 — NARS’ interrogatories requested that Starr identify the individuals/entities that Starr contends NARS failed to timely send reservation of rights letters to and for each individual/entity, set forth Starr’s contentions as to when NARS allegedly should have first sent a reservations of right letter (i.e. when NARS should have become aware that potential coverage defenses existed). Starr’s responses were incomplete as they did not explain or identify Starr’s contentions as to when it claims NARS should have sent out the reservation of rights letters and/or the specific individuals/entities that those reservations of rights letters should have been sent to. e Interrogatories 4,8, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 — NARS’ interrogatories requested that Starr specify and explain its claims regarding the identity and amount of damages it alleged it sustained as a result of NARS’ purported conduct. However, Starr wholly refused to provide responses to these interrogatories claiming they seek information that is not permitted under Local Rule 33.3(c).

Starr Indemnity & Liability Company v. North American Risk Services, Inc. Docket No.: 20-CV-546 (LGS) Page 2 of 3

Upon receipt of the Starr’s incomplete responses, NARS immediately requested a “meet and confer” call with Plaintiffs counsel. On November 16, 2020, the parties participated in a “meet and confer” telephone call to discuss Starr’s responses. After a substantive discussion, Starr’s counsel requested that the undersigned email him a list of NARS’ specific concerns and that he would provide a response in a couple of days. NARS complied and sent Starr’s counsel an email on that same date. After following up with Starr’s counsel, on November 23, 2020, Starr’s counsel finally sent the undersigned, an email, annexed hereto as Exhibit “C” with Starr’s responses to NARS’ request to supplement its responses to NARS’ interrogatories. In sum, in his email, Starr’s counsel stated that Starr maintained its refusal to provide any responses to Interrogatories 4,8, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23. Starr refused to provide NARS with the requested facts supporting Starr’s damages claims and refused to identify or explain Starr’s contentions regarding the amounts and identity of damages Starr allegedly suffered as aresult of NARS’ conduct. With respect to Interrogatories 1, 5 and 12, which asked Starr to set forth its contentions supporting the proximate causation element of its claims, Starr refused to provide any formal supplemental response, vaguely claiming “‘it is for the trier of fact to determine the issue of proximate cause [and] the issue of proximate cause may be decided as a matter of law where only one conclusion may be drawn from the established facts.” Starr’s counsel’s letter merely repeated its overly vague and broad claim that “the failure of NARS to issue and/or update the reservation of rights letters coupled with the uncertainty of South Carolina law concerning the effect of same, forced Starr into a position of having to cover the subject claims.” To date, through fact discovery. Starr has never clearly set forth any specific contentions or facts explaining how the timeliness of the letters impacted Starr’s coverage position. Starr’s informal email response still does not identify, with any specificity, the facts supporting its contentions regarding proximate causation. Starr’s responses do not identify the alleged “uncertainty of South Carolina law,” why that purported “uncertainty” affect Starr’s alleged ability to deny coverage and/or who Starr was allegedly forced to provide coverage for as a result of the alleged untimely reservation of rights letters. Starr’s contentions regarding these claims remain especially unclear in light of sworn testimony of two of Starr’s own witnesses in a related arbitration that the timeliness of the reservation of rights letters had “no effect” on coverage. Likewise, Starr also refused to formally supplement its responses to Interrogatories 2, 6 and 13. Starr’s counsel’s informal email response only vaguely stated that “the failure of NARS to send and/or update the reservation of rights letters until October 13, 2015, to Ocean Keyes Development and April 4, 2017, to Keye Construction and Baltzer were sufficient delays to raise a question as to the timeliness of same under South Carolina law,” is not actually responsive to Interrogatories 2, 6 and 13, which ask Starr to set forth its contentions regarding the identity of who Starr claims NARS failed to timely send a reservation of rights letter to and for each individual/entity to set forth its contentions regarding when it claims NARS should have first sent a reservation of rights letter (when coverage defenses first became evident in each of the

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underlying claims). Starr’s responses should have been detailed and separate for each of the three underlying claims — Beach Villas. Lakeside and Seashore. That Starr’s responses are actually responsive is highlighted by the fact that no reservation of rights letters were ever mailed on or around October 13, 2015 in the Lakeside or Seashore matters. The general and non-specific, informal response provided in Starr’s counsel’s email does not appropriately or completely respond to NARS’ interrogatories. NARS served the aforementioned interrogatories, appropriately, pursuant to local Rule 33.3 (c), in order to obtain a clear explanation of the claims raised in Starr’s Complaint and reduce the high possibility of surprise at trial. It is NARS position that these interrogatories request discoverable information that Starr is obligated to disclose.

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Starr Indemnity and Liability Company v. North American Risk Services, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/starr-indemnity-and-liability-company-v-north-american-risk-services-inc-nysd-2020.