New York Court of Appeals, 1979

Halpin v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America

New York Court of Appeals · Decided December 13, 1979

48 N.Y.2d 906; 401 N.E.2d 171; 425 N.Y.S.2d 48; 1979 N.Y. LEXIS 2522

Cases that cite this one

84 later published cases cite this decision. The 25 that cite it most often are listed here.

Universe Life Insurance v. Giles (Tex. 1997)
Morse/Diesel, Inc. v. Fidelity and Deposit Co. of Md. (District Court, S.D. New York 1989)
John W. Riordan Jane Fox v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company (2d Cir. 1992)
Indiana & Michigan Electric Co. v. Terre Haute Industries, Inc. (Ind. Ct. App. 1987)
General Star National Insurance Company v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (3d Cir. 1992)
Topiwala v. New York Life Insurance (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1983)
Smith v. Fireman's Fund Insurance (District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania 1983)
McCullough v. Golden Rule Insurance Co. (Wyo. 1990)
Purdy v. Consumers Distributing Co., Ltd. (District Court, S.D. New York 1986)
In re Eurospark Industries, Inc. (United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. New York 2003)
TVT Records v. Island Def Jam Music Group (District Court, S.D. New York 2003)
Schajer v. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1997)
Bidermann Industries U.S.A., Inc. v. Zelnik (In re Bidermann Industries U.S.A., Inc.) (United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York 1996)
Keles v. Yale University (District Court, S.D. New York 1995)
Thomas v. Metropolitan Life Insurance (1st Cir. 1994)
Tinlee Enterprises, Inc. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. (District Court, E.D. New York 1993)
Belco Petroleum Corp. v. AIG Oil Rig, Inc. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1991)
Raphael v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. (District Court, S.D. New York 1990)
Riordan v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance (District Court, S.D. New York 1990)
Marketing Specialists, Inc. v. Bruni (District Court, W.D. New York 1989)
Payne v. Kathryn Beich & Nestle (District Court, E.D. New York 1988)
Long Island Lighting Co. v. IMO Delaval, Inc. (District Court, S.D. New York 1987)
Board of Education, Yonkers City School District v. CNA Insurance (District Court, S.D. New York 1986)
Eccobay Sportswear, Inc. v. Providence Washington Insurance (District Court, S.D. New York 1984)
Samovar of Russia Jewelry Antique Corp. v. Generali (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1984)

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

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, with costs, and the certified question answered in the affirmative.

In this action, plaintiff seeks to recover compensatory and punitive damages for defendant’s alleged wrongful termination of disability benefits under a group accident and sickness insurance policy. In addition, plaintiff has interposed a cause of action against defendant insurer for malpractice allegedly committed by a physician who conducted an examination at the insurer’s request as provided by the policy. The principal issue is whether punitive damages may be awarded in these circumstances.

Inasmuch as plaintiff’s action is grounded upon private breach of contract, and does not seek to vindicate a public right or deter morally culpable conduct, punitive damages are not recoverable (e.g., Trans-State Hay & Feed Corp. v Faberge, Inc., 35 NY2d 669, affg 42 AD2d 535; Walker v Sheldon, 10 NY2d 401, 404; see Garrity v Lyle Stuart, Inc., 40 NY2d 354, 358). Contrary to plaintiff’s argument Gordon v Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. (30 NY2d 427, 436-437) and similar cases do not hold otherwise. There, the court indicated that an insured may recover damages in excess of policy limits when such *908damages stem from an insurer’s bad faith refusal to settle a liability claim made by a third party. That principle can find no application where the insurer has terminated disability benefits allegedly payable to the insured, for there is no possibility of the insured being cast in damages which exceed policy limits by reason of the insurer’s conduct. Nor may the punitive damage claim be sustained under section 40-d of the Insurance Law. Assuming, without deciding, that a private damage action lies under that section, the one instance of unfair settlement practice pleaded would not constitute a general business practice within the meaning of the statute.

Finally, the malpractice cause of action must fail. Although the doctor might have been the agent of the insurer for certain purposes (but see Axelrod v Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 267 NY 437), he was not an employee. Thus, this case falls within the general rule that a principal is not responsible for torts committed by a nonservant agent (e.g., Restatement, Agency 2d, § 250; cf. Rosensweig v State of New York, 5 NY2d 404).

Chief Judge Cooke and Judges Jasen, Gabrielli, Jones, Wachtler, Fuchsberg and Meyer concur in memorandum.

Order affirmed, etc.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.