SI Venture Holdings, LLC v. Catlin Specialty Insurance

CORRECTED OPINION AND ORDER

SHIRA A. SCHEINDLIN, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND1

This case presents an issue of first impression under New York law — -whether a contract that requires an insured party to seek approval from its insurer before expending funds for environmental clean-up is void as against public policy. The facts are .not in dispute. SI Venture Holdings (“SI”), a real estate development company, entered into an insurance contract with Catlin Specialty Insurance (“Catlin”) that included the following provision (“Consent Provision”):

The Insurer shall pay on behalf of…