The Appellate Division has confirmed a trial court ruling, demanding that the primary residence’s insurer must defend the homeowners, Anthony and Janet Berardi, in a dog bite lawsuit. The event in question transpired at the couple’s second residence. Additionally, the insurer is responsible for reimbursing the Berardis for defense costs not encompassed by any other policy.
The dispute escalated when the Berardis’ Tibetan Mountain dog bit a new cleaning service employee at their secondary home in Montauk, New York. While the dog usually resided at the couple’s main home in Sparta, New Jersey, it occasionally accompanied them to their vacation home in Montauk, as outlined in the court’s opinion.
A certain segment of the policy’s interpretation was considered “unreasonable” to exclude coverage for an accident when a different provision pointedly provides for the payment of medical expenses resulting from the accident. This was contained within the court’s opinion on the matter. The precise details of this intriguing case are more fully discussed in the original article located here.