Liberty Mutual reported that it has reached a settlement with Travelers Insurance in a case involving a construction firm being sued by a man who was injured when he fell down an elevator shaft on a construction site.
Liberty Mutual filed notice in federal court for Connecticut on May 28 advising that the settlement should be finalized within 60 days, after which it intends to dismiss its action against its rival Travelers.
Liberty Mutual sued to compel Travelers and its subsidiaries to honor their insurance policies by assuming the defense and the indemnity of Suffolk Construction Co., Inc. against the underlying personal-injury lawsuit. Suffolk had been hired by New York City for a renovation project on city property used by New York University (NYU) Hospital, which employed Oscar Marin, a facilities engineer who was seriously injured in the elevator incident.
Suffolk subcontracted a portion of the work on the project to Maccarone Plumbing, Inc. On March 12, 2020, two plumbers from Maccarone asked Marin to open the door to a disused elevator shaft so that they could explore a potential route for running pipes through the building. The door that the plumbers asked Marin to open was located in the building’s subbasement. Marin alleges that, upon opening the door, he fell into the elevator shaft and sustained bodily injury.
On February 24, 2021, Marin sued. His complaint names both Suffolk and Maccarone as defendants.
Upon its receipt of the complaint, Suffolk sought defense and the indemnity of the matter from its insurer Liberty Mutual, which insured Suffolk under a commercial general liability insurance policy. Liberty Mutual accepted that it owed duties to defend and to indemnify Suffolk in connection with the underlying action. As of February 27, 2025, the date it sued Travelers, Liberty Mutual said it had expended more than $75,000 in the defense of Suffolk in connection with the Marin action.
But Liberty Mutual maintained that Travelers should be defending and indemnifying Suffolk because Suffolk and Maccone entered into a written subcontract agreement for the NYU hospital project under which Maccarone agreed that it would “defend, indemnify, and save harmless Suffolk” from and against any claims in connection with the work, unless wholly caused by Suffolk’s sole negligence. The subcontract agreement obligated Maccarone to provide proof of insurance consistent with the indemnification clauses of the contract.
Maccarone furnished a certificate of insurance evidencing its compliance with the subcontract. The insurance certificate identified Maccarone as being insured on a primary basis by a Travelers Property Casualty Co. policy as well as under a follow-form umbrella liability insurance policy issued by Travelers Indemnity Insurance Co. Maccarone named Suffolk as an additional insured on all of its liability insurance policies.
On February 22, 2022, Liberty Mutual tendered the defense and indemnity of Suffolk in connection with the Marin lawsuit to Travelers through a letter advising that Suffolk qualified as an additional insured under the Travelers policies, and on grounds that Suffolk is a contractual indemnitee of Maccarone who qualifies for coverage under an insured contract.
On April 13, 2022, Travelers sent a letter to Liberty Mutual refusing to accept any obligation either to defend or to indemnify Suffolk in connection with the underlying action. On September 27, 2024, Liberty Mutual asked Travelers to reconsider its position. Liberty Mutual received no response to its letter. On October 22, 2024, Liberty Mutual again asked Travelers to reconsider its position. Travelers had not assumed the defense of Suffolk or reimbursed the costs of defense incurred as of the lawsuit filing date.
Liberty Mutual sued for a declaration that Suffolk qualifies as an additional insured under the Travelers policies and is entitled to be defended and indemnified by Travelers up to the full limits of each of the Travelers policies. Liberty Mutual also sought reimbursement from Travelers for the some of the costs it has incurred in its defense of Suffolk.
Topics New York
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