Insurers Not Liable To Third-Party Beneficiaries to a Homeowners’ Insurance Policy for Property Damage as a Result of Migration of Oil

The New Jersey Supreme Court considered whether the plaintiffs’ claims for private nuisance and trespass, in an action for damages resulting from the migration of heating oil from an underground storage tank on a neighboring property, were properly dismissed in Ross v. Lowitz, et al., No. A-101-13 (N.J. Aug. 6, 2015). In the same matter, however, the court also considered whether the plaintiffs could maintain claims as third-party beneficiaries against the insurers that provided homeowners’ coverage to the former and current owners of the …

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N.Y. Court of Appeals Upholds Carriers Interpretation of Ensuing Loss Exception to Water Exclusion

In Platek v Town of Hamberg (N.Y. Ct. Apps., Feb. 19, 2015), New York’s highest court reversed the decision of the Fourth Department appeals court siding with the carrier’s interpretation of the water exclusion contained within a homeowner’s all risk policy. The relevant policy language provided as follows:

“ [The policy] does not cover loss to the property . . . consisting of or caused by:

. . .

  1. Water . . . on or below the surface of the ground, regardless of its source
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