Talron Enterprises, Inc. v. Garcia

191 Misc. 2d 634, 743 N.Y.S.2d 833, 2002 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 595
CourtCivil Court of the City of New York
DecidedMay 29, 2002
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 191 Misc. 2d 634 (Talron Enterprises, Inc. v. Garcia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Civil Court of the City of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Talron Enterprises, Inc. v. Garcia, 191 Misc. 2d 634, 743 N.Y.S.2d 833, 2002 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 595 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Eileen A. Rakower, J.

Third-party defendant Reliance National Insurance Company moves this court for an order directing that New Jersey law be [635]*635applied to the claims pending against it. Third-party defendant GEICO Insurance Company and defendants and third-party plaintiffs Demaris Garcia and Atila O. Dalmasi oppose this motion and assert that New York law should apply to all claims in this case. Plaintiff Talron Enterprises has not appeared in regard to the motion. For the following reasons, the motion is denied.

Demaris Garcia, a New York State resident, rented a car from Talron Enterprises, a corporation also domiciled in New York State. According to the rental agreement, executed in New York State, Ms. Garcia was to be the only authorized driver. Atila O. Dalmasi, Garcia’s son, was involved in a one car accident in New Jersey while driving the car.

Plaintiff Talron Enterprises commenced this action against defendants Garcia and Dalmasi for property damage. Defendants Garcia and Dalmasi in turn commenced this third-party action against third-party defendants GEICO Insurance Company, defendant Dalmasi’s insurer, and Reliance Insurance Company, plaintiff Talron’s insurer, claiming that they are obligated to pay for all no-fault benefits to which defendants Garcia and Dalmasi are entitled for medical and other expenses. Reliance notified defendants that it would not be affording them personal injury benefits because the car was operated by an unauthorized driver, in violation of both the rental agreement and New Jersey law. Reliance advised defendants Garcia and Dalmasi that both were entitled to such benefits through third-party defendant GEICO.

Preliminarily, in any case presenting a potential choice of law issue, the court must first determine “whether there is an actual conflict between the laws of the jurisdictions involved (Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. [Stolarz — New Jersey Mfrs. Ins. Co.], 81 NY2d 219, 223).” (Elson v Defren, 283 AD2d 109, 114 [1st Dept 2001] [internal quotation marks omitted].) Here the issue presented is a narrow one, i.e., whether third-party defendant Reliance’s duty to pay a portion of the claims made by defendants Garcia and Dalmasi would be different should New Jersey law or New York law be applied.

Reliance asserts it would have the right to disclaim on the benefits sought here under New Jersey’s no-fault automobile insurance law, based on Dalmasi’s status as an “unauthorized driver,” although it offers no support for this proposition. In New Jersey, an insurance provider may deny coverage on the assertion that the driver of a rented car who caused the accident is an unauthorized driver, even though there is a li[636]*636ability insurance policy in existence. (See, Schechter v Selective Ins. Co., 264 NJ Super 299, 624 A2d 623 [1993]; NJ Stat Ann § 17:28-1.1 [e] [2] [b].) In such circumstances, New Jersey law considers the rented car as an “uninsured motor vehicle.” (Id.)

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

Related

Grondecki v. Axiom Management, Inc.
158 F. Supp. 3d 345 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2016)
McDuffie v. Wilner
415 F. Supp. 2d 412 (S.D. New York, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
191 Misc. 2d 634, 743 N.Y.S.2d 833, 2002 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 595, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/talron-enterprises-inc-v-garcia-nycivct-2002.