Axis Construction Corp. v. O'Brien Agency, Inc.
Cases that cite this one
8 later published cases cite this decision.
- Spa Castle, Inc. v. Choice Agency Corp. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2025)
- Lehneis v. Neill (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2014)
- Lehneis v. Neill (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2014)
- Finch v. Steve Cardell Agency (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2016)
- JT Queens Carwash, Inc. v. JDW & Associates, Inc. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2016)
- Moutafis Motors, Ltd. v. MRW Group, Inc. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2016)
- South Bay Cardiovascular Associates, P.C. v. SCS Agency, Inc. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2013)
- South Bay Cardiovascular Associates, P.C. v. SCS Agency, Inc. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2013)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion of the Court
An insurance agent or broker has a common-law duty to obtain requested coverage for a client within a reasonable amount of time, or to inform the client of the inability to do so (see Hoffend & Sons, Inc. v Rose & Kiernan, Inc., 7 NY3d 152, 157 [2006]; Murphy v Kuhn, 90 NY2d 266, 270 [1997]; Core-Mark Intl., v Swett & Crawford Inc., 71 AD3d 1072 [2010]; Verbert v Garcia, 63 AD3d 1149 [2009]). Absent a specific request for coverage not already in a client’s policy or the existence of a special relationship with the client, an insurance agent or broker has no continuing duty to advise, guide, or direct a client to obtain additional coverage (see Hoffend & Sons, Inc. v Rose & Kiernan, Inc., 7 NY3d at 157-158; Murphy v Kuhn, 90 NY2d at 270-271; Verbert v Garcia, 63 AD3d 1149 [2009]). A special relationship which gives rise to a duty to advise may exist, inter alia, where “there is a course of dealing over an extended period of time which would have put objectively reasonable insurance agents on notice that their advice was being sought and specially relied on” (Murphy v Kuhn, 90 NY2d at 272).
Here, the defendants made a prima facie showing of their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence which established that the plaintiff did not specifically request that they procure construction management professional liability insurance coverage (see Verbert v Garcia, 63 AD3d 1149 [2009]; Fremont Realty, Inc. v P & N Iron Works, Inc., 39 AD3d 586, 587 [2007]). Contrary to the Supreme Court’s determination, however, the plaintiffs evidentiary submissions in opposition were sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether there was a course of dealing between the parties over
The defendants’ remaining contention is without merit. Balkin, J.E, Eng, Belen and Lott, JJ., concur. [Prior Case History: 2009 NY Slip Op 3249KU).]
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.