Finazzo Cossolini secures victory before New Jersey's Appellate Division on the proper interpretation of commercial property policy's Power Pac Endorsement
Posted on May 3, 2017
In Schultz Furriers, Inc. v. Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America, Docket No. A-0170-15T1, 2017 WL 1731005 (App. Div. May 3, 2017), the central issue was whether the policy’s Power Pac Endorsement operated as an extension or limitation of insurance for business interruption losses resulting from a power outage. After finding that the loss would have been excluded from coverage by virtue of the policy exclusion for loss or damage caused by the failure of power if the cause of the failure occurs away from the insured premises, the Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s determination that the Power Pac Endorsement extended and capped the coverage available. From there, the Appellate Division correctly concluded that the insurer had satisfied its obligations under the policy when it paid the plaintiff the full amount of coverage available under the endorsement. In so holding, the Appellate Division also rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the policy extensions for Equipment Breakdown or Civil Authority applied, or that the insurer engaged in any bad faith when it paid the coverage up to the policy’s cap.
