United States Second Circuit

In an action by an insurer seeking a declaration that neither a homeowner's policy nor an umbrella policy provided coverage for a tort plaintiff's claimed injuries, the Second Circuit certified the following questions to the Connecticut Supreme Court: 1) With respect to a claim for negligent entrustment under a liability policy that excludes coverage for "[a]rising out of . . . [t]he entrustment by an insured" "to any person," "of a motor vehicle" other than "[a] motorized land conveyance designed for recreational use off public roads, not subject to motor vehicle registration and . . . [o]wned by an insured and on an insured location," is the insured location a) the place where the entrustment of the vehicle took place, or b) the place where the vehicle is garaged, or c) the place where the accident occurred? 2) In the absence of a policy definition of "premises", should a private road located within a residential development owned by the insured-s homeowners association be considered "premises used . . . in connection with a [residence] premises" under the terms of a homeowner's insurance policy if the portion of the road where the liability arose is not regularly used by the insured, although other portions of the road are so used? 3) Under Connecticut law, where a liability insurance policy requires an insured to give notice of a covered claim "as soon as practical," do social interactions between the insured and the claimant making no reference to an accident claim justify a delay in giving notice of a potential claim to the insurer?

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/22/2009
• Decided 05/18/2010
• Published 05/18/2010

Judges

• VITALIANO, District Judge:, Before KEARSE, LIVINGSTON, Circuit Judges, VITALIANO, District Judge.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Ralph W. Johnson III, Halloran & Sage LLP (Daniel P. Scapellati, Coleman C. Duncan III, on the brief), Hartford, Conn., for Plaintiff-Counter-Defendant-Cross-Defendant-Appellee., James T. Hargrove, Goulston & Storrs (Peter F. Durning, on the brief), Boston, Mass. (Frederick P. Rickles, Gilbride, Tusa, Last & Spellane LLC, Greenwich, Conn., on the brief), for Defendants-Counterclaimants-Third-Party-Plaintiffs-Appellants., Robert G. Oliver, Mulvey, Oliver, Gould & Crotta (James D. Hine II, on the brief), New Haven, Conn., for Third-Party-Defendant-Appellee., Christopher B. Weldon, Keidel, Weldon & Cunningham, LLP, (Robert J. Grande, on the brief), Wilton, Conn., for Third-Party-Defendant-Cross-Claimant-Appellee.