ROBERT P. MICHAELS & C., APPELLANTv CITY OF BUFFALO, RESPONDANT
MEMORIAL AMBULANCE SERVICE ,INC. THIRD PARTY APPELLANTv. LUMBERMAEN"S MUTUAL
CASUALTY CO.,THIRD PARTY RESPONDENT
85 N.Y.2d 754, 85 N.Y.2d 754, 651 N.E.2d 1272, 628 N.Y.S.2d 253 (1995).
June 8, 1995
4 No. 126 (1995 NY Int. 137)
Decided June 8, 1995
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This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before
publication in the New York Reports.
Diane F. Bosse, for third-party Appellant.
Dan D. Kohane, for third-party Respondent.
LEVINE, J.:
On January 12, 1986, an ambulance was called to assist plaintiff's
decedent, John Michaels, who was having trouble breathing. After he
was attended to, he was placed inside the ambulance. Unfortunately,
the ambulance could not be restarted. A new ambulance was summoned and
arrived on the scene minutes later. Decedent was then transported by
the second ambulance to a hospital where he died about twenty minutes
later.
Decedent's estate brought suit alleging, among other things, that the
failure of the first ambulance to start was due to negligent
maintenance of the vehicle and that the delay caused or contributed to
the death. Memorial, the ambulance company, holds a "business auto
policy" which provides that the insurer will "pay all sums the insured
legally must pay as damages because of bodily injury or property
damage to which this insurance applies, caused by an accident and
resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use of a covered auto"
(emphasis added). The insurance policy also provides that the
insurance carrier has the right and duty to defend any suit asking for
these damages.
The insurer was given timely notice of the claim against its insured,
but disclaimed coverage and a duty to defend on the ground that the
loss was not "caused by an accident" as the term was used in the
policy. Memorial then commenced a third-party action against the
insurance company alleging that the policy required it to defend and
indemnify the insured. The insurer brought a motion for summary
SNIPPETS:
ROBERT P. MICHAELS & C., APPELLANTv CITY OF BUFFALO, RESPONDANT MEMORIAL AMBULANCE
Diane F. Bosse, for third-party Appellant.
Dan D. Kohane, for third-party Respondent.
On January 12, 1986, an ambulance was called to assist plaintiff's decedent, John Michaels,
Decedent's estate brought suit alleging, among other things, that the failure of the first
Memorial, the ambulance company, holds a "business auto policy" which provides that the
The insurer was given timely notice of the claim against its insured, but disclaimed coverage
Memorial then commenced a third-party action against the insurance company alleging that the
Supreme Court found for Memorial, reasoning that the term "accident" as used in the policy
The Appellate Division reversed and granted the insurer's motion on the ground that delay
When interpreting the multifaceted term "accident" in an insurance policy, "we must construe
Thus in Miller, we held that a death caused by an apparently inadvertent heroin overdose was
In other cases, we have focused on whether the casualty, although unexpected, was
In sum, the stalling and resulting delay of the covered vehicle was merely a series of
Chief Judge Kaye and Judges Simons, Titone, Bellacosa, Smith and Ciparick concur.
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