Judge Nancy Atlas of the Southern District of Texas cut through competing arguments to resolve a high-profile dispute involving a Hurricane Harvey claim through Contract Interpretation 101. Lexington Insurance Company issued a policy to Pan Am Equities, Inc. (Pan Am) covering a property development in downtown Houston, Texas. The development sustained more than $6.7 million in flood damage due to Hurricane Harvey, a disaster that flooded homes and buildings across the city, but often left the structures undamaged by wind. This was the case with Pan Am’s downtown property development. The policy contained several different deductibles. As an exception to the general deductible, the policy had a $100,000.00 per occurrence Windstorm Deductible. The Windstorm Deductible was itself subject to an…
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New Jersey Court Holds $22 Million “Named Storm” Deductible Applicable to a Superstorm Sandy Loss
On October 29th, a New Jersey trial court held that a commercial policyholder’s Superstorm Sandy claims were subject to a $22 million “named storm” deductible equal to 2% of the total insurable values at risk at all of the loss locations for which the insured made claim. In Wakefern Food Corp., et al. v. Lexington Ins. Co., Case No. L-6483-13 (N.J.Super.Ct., Middlesex Cty., Oct. 29, 2014), the court held that damage had begun to occur hours before Sandy was downgraded and no longer constituted a “named storm” as defined and that that fact “created a substantial nexus between the storm and Wakefern’s total losses” justifying application of the deductible. Plaintiff Wakefern was a buying cooperative consisting of the owners of…
Tagged with: Named Storm Deductible, New Jersey, Total Insurable Values
Posted in Deductible, Hurricane, Superstorm Sandy
Posted in Deductible, Hurricane, Superstorm Sandy
