Tortious Interference Requires Intent to Harm
Defamation is a Covered Personal Injury Tortious Interference with Business Is Not
Post 5031
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Robert Hole, M.D., appealed from the March 3, 2023 order granting plaintiff State Farm Fire and Casualty Company’s motion for summary judgment denying Dr. Hole coverage under the policy issued by State Farm.
In State Farm Fire And Casualty Company v. Dr. Robert Hole, M.D., and Dr. Michael Russonella, D.O., and North Jersey Orthopaedic And Sports Medicine Institute, LLC, No. A-2522-22, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division (March 21, 2025) a lawsuit filed against Dr. Hole by Michael Russonella, D.O. that alleged Dr. Hole made false statements regarding Dr. Russonella’s alleged misconduct at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic.
Dr. Hole sought coverage from his insurer, State Farm, to defend the action. The central question in this matter is whether State Farm was required to defend the action and indemnify Dr. Hole once the tortious interference count was the only remaining claim.
Initially Dr. Russonella sued Dr. Hole only alleging defamation. State Farm defended Dr. Hole under a reservation of rights. Because of the potential for an excess verdict and the punitive damages alleged, the letter also advised Dr. Hole of his right to obtain personal counsel and that State Farm’s “defense of this action by the attorney on your behalf is not to be considered a waiver of such policy defense or of any policy defenses which may be involved in this suit.”
In September 2017, the trial court dismissed Dr. Russonella’s defamation complaint as untimely under the statute of limitations. Dr. Russonella subsequently filed an amended complaint alleging tortious interference with business.
State Farm sued seeking declaratory relief claiming it had no duty to defend or indemnify Dr. Hole regarding the claims asserted by Dr. Russonella. It asserted Dr. Russonella alleged Dr. Hole “intentionally “interfered with his business relationships. State Farm further asserted that in allegedly making “untrue” and “malicious[]” statements “targeted to injure Dr…. Russonella” that Dr. Hole knew were “untrue,” “the policy exclusion for personal and advertising injury arising out of oral or written publication of material . . . with knowledge of its falsity precludes coverage.”
When the facts present a single, unavoidable resolution and the evidence is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law, then a trial court should grant summary judgment. Dr. Hole argued a tortious interference claim “does not require an intention to cause the injury alleged.” Rather, he asserts “the intent required in tortious interference claims is an intent to interfere.”
ANALYSIS
The interpretation of an insurance policy, like any contract, is a question of law.
Coverage provisions are to be read broadly, exclusions are to be read narrowly, potential ambiguities must be resolved in favor of the insured, and the policy is to be read in a manner that fulfills the insured’s reasonable expectations. By contrast, if the plain language of the policy is unambiguous, the court will not engage in a strained construction to support the imposition of liability or write a better policy for the insured than the one purchased.
A complaint based on tortious interference must allege facts claiming that the interference was done intentionally and with “malice”. Malice is defined to mean that the harm was inflicted intentionally and without justification or excuse.
A tortious interference cause of action is an excluded claim because not only does the tort require intentional interference, it also further requires malice or an intent that the harm was inflicted intentionally. That is, the tortious interference claim intrinsically includes an intent to harm.
The Appellate Division concluded that trial court did not err in concluding Dr. Hole was not entitled to coverage under the State Farm policy.
Even though State Farm initially provided a defense for the defamation claim, it was not required to also defend Dr. Hole because the amended complaint for tortious interference alleged similar facts but supported intentional conduct.
ZALMA OPINION
Liability insurance provides defense and/or indemnity only for fortuitous conduct. Intentional acts are excluded by every liability insurance policy since providing such coverage would encourage wrongful or illegal conduct. The court concluded, properly, that although the defamation claim was a fortuitous loss the tortious interference claim required intentional conduct, was not fortuitous, and State Farm was entitled to a judgment it owed no defense or indemnity to Dr. Hole after it successfully protected him from the Defamation claim.
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See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gWQQEySW and at https://lnkd.in/gyhdK6wv
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
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Post 5396
See the video and at https://rumble.com/v7ctgmq-the-great-jewel-theft.html at https://youtu.be/aRbQ2sJfGwA
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the ¬¬¬Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
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Rescission for Material Misrepresentation
Post 5418
Posted on August 5, 2026 by Barry Zalma
An Insurer May Rescind An Insurance Policy Where The Applicant Made A Material Misrepresentation In The Application.
In Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, et al. No. 2024-10359, Index No. 602824/22, 2026 NY Slip Op 04789, Supreme Court of New York, Second Department (July 29, 2026) Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company issued commercial insurance policies to 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, and Sanjaya Mallick based on applications stating that the insured property contained two apartment units. After an underlying personal injury action was filed, Union Mutual determined that the property actually contained three apartment units and rescinded the policies on the ground that the defendants had made a material misrepresentation in the applications.
LAW:
A misrepresentation is material if the insurer would not have issued the same policy, or would have issued it only on different terms, had the true ...
Rescission for Material Misrepresentation
Post 5418
Posted on August 5, 2026 by Barry Zalma
An Insurer May Rescind An Insurance Policy Where The Applicant Made A Material Misrepresentation In The Application.
In Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, et al. No. 2024-10359, Index No. 602824/22, 2026 NY Slip Op 04789, Supreme Court of New York, Second Department (July 29, 2026) Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company issued commercial insurance policies to 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, and Sanjaya Mallick based on applications stating that the insured property contained two apartment units.
LAW:
A misrepresentation is material if the insurer would not have issued the same policy, or would have issued it only on different terms, had the true facts been disclosed. To establish materiality as a matter of law, the insurer must submit documentation of its underwriting practices, such as manuals, guidelines, bulletins, or rules addressing similar risks.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
As a result, the...
