The New York Appellate Division, First Department has upheld a trial court’s order that an insurer (which had refused to acknowledge its obligation for over 5 years) had a duty to defend an entity not named under the policies but which was charged with liability in multiple lawsuits throughout the U.S. which potentially implicated the products of an alleged predecessor, the insurer’s named insured. Approximately $4 million in defense costs have been incurred in connection with those underlying actions, for which the insurer will now have to pay its share and also contribute prospectively.
