Media Coverage
Source: Law360
Media Coverage
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Olivia Thomas
10.11.16
Law360 reports that a settlement has been reached in a dispute between two insurers and Pillsbury client 4 New York Plaza Ventures (4 NYP), the owner of a Manhattan office tower, in a lawsuit arising from 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. Five months before the disaster, 4 New York Plaza obtained property insurance for the building, including flood coverage for potential property damage and business interruption losses. Aspen Specialty Insurance Co. and Landmark American Insurance Co. each issued an excess flood insurance policy to 4 New York Plaza as part of this coverage.
Sandy wreaked havoc on the building in late October 2012, completely submerging two sub-grade levels and partially flooding a third. Almost all of the building’s mechanical and electrical infrastructure was located on these levels and was damaged beyond repair. 4 NYP undertook Herculean efforts to restore the building to the condition required by its high-profile commercial tenants, whose leases required significant mechanical and electrical system redundancies. More importantly, the leases provided tenant-friendly termination options in the event that all repairs were not completed within one year after Sandy’s devastation. While the repairs were ongoing, 4 NYP submitted its property damage and business interruption claim to its property insurers, including Aspen and Landmark.
Aspen and Landmark disputed 4 NYP’s $146 million damages claim, estimating the damages to be much lower. Aspen and Landmark also contended that 4 NYP had moved and replaced most of the damaged mechanical and electrical systems, instead of simply restoring them to the below-grade levels. This, Aspen and Landmark claimed, made the repairs more costly than was necessary to return the building to its “as-was” condition.
Unable to obtain the recovery to which it was entitled, 4 NYP sued Aspen and Landmark in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. After a lengthy discovery process, including 42 depositions, 4 NYP obtained beneficial rulings on the parties’ respective pre-trial Daubert motions. These rulings increased Aspen and Landmark’s motivation to resolve the case prior to trial and, after protracted negotiations, the case settled one week before the jury was to be empaneled in a manner very favorable to 4 NYP.
Insurance Recovery & Advisory partner Jamie Bobotek led the Pillsbury team representing 4 NYP. The team also included counsel Matthew Stockwell, senior associates Eric Gold and Vernon Thompson, associates Matthew Putorti and Janine Stanisz, attorney Ashley Cowgill and paralegal Stephanie Korchinski.