Orient Overseas Associates v. Westport Insurance Corp

Defended Westport Insurance Corporation against a bad faith claim related to storm surge damage from Super Storm Sandy. The New York Supreme Court, First Appellate Division, affirmed the lower court’s prior two dismissals of the bad faith count. The Court found that the allegations in the count were no different than those found in the breach of contract claim, despite allegations that Westport acted in bad faith when it delayed payment and allegedly misrepresented the application of flood deductibles and sub-limits. In striking Orient’s bad faith claim, the Court agreed that there is no cause of action for bad faith claims handling in New York, rejecting an effort to extend the precedent set in the oft-cited 2008 Court of Appeals decision in Bi-Economy Market v. Harleysville, (10 NY3d 187 [2008]).