INSURER DENIES EXISTENCE OF 1960s POLICY

Commercial General Liability	Asbestos
Certificate Of Insurance	Reasonable Evidence

ACMAT Corporation was in the business of installing acoustical ceilings in commercial buildings. Starting in 1988 it had been named in several lawsuits seeking compensation for damages caused by exposure to asbestos. The lawsuits alleged injuries dating back into the 1950’s at which t time, ACMAT was called Acoustical Materials Corporation (Acoustical) and was a subsidiary of a New York corporation called Waldvogel Brothers, Inc. (Waldvogel).

ACMAT searched its records, hoping to locate insurance coverage that would respond to the lawsuits. Although it did not find an actual insurance policy, it did find some evidence that Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company (GNYMIC) had at time insured Acoustical in the form of a certificate of insurance that had been issued by an authorized representative of GNYMIC stating a products liability and comprehensive general liability policy with bodily injury limits of $500,000 per person and $1 million per accident was in effect through January 1, 1996. ACMAT brought the certificate to the attention of GNYMIC but GNYMIC denied that the policy ever existed.

ACMAT filed an action seeking a declaration that GNYMIC had issued the policy and that it was in full force and effect from January 1, 1964 to January 1, 1968. The trial court agreed with ACMAT and GNYMIC appealed.

On appeal, GNYMIC argued that the certificate of insurance was "suspect" and did not prove coverage.

During the trial, ACMAT presented additional evidence of its relationship with GNYMIC. It had acknowledgement letters from GNYMIC regarding workers compensation claims that had been submitted for the time period 1964-1967. It also produced documents from 1967 and 1968 that explained how Acoustical's accounts were being transferred from GNYMIC to Aetna Life and Casualty Company. Testimony of three individuals provided the final evidence. The first was the testimony of Acoustical's previous owner stating that he had obtained insurance coverage for his company from GNYMIC. The second was the testimony of an agent who sold GNYMIC insurance coverage to Acoustical in 1962 and the third was the testimony of a GNYMIC employee who issued the policy to Acoustical.

The appellate court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to support the trial court's findings regarding the insurance policy, and that the trial court's decision was reasonable.

The judgment of the lower court was affirmed.

ACMAT Corporation vs. Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company-No. 25099-Appellate Court of Connecticut-April 12, 2005-869 Atlantic Reporter 2d 1254