Hobbs Brook Agency, Inc. v. North River Insurance

By this action the plaintiff insurance brokerage firm (Hobbs Brook) sought a declaration that the defendant insurance company (North River) was responsible for the acts of a dishonest middleman insurance broker (Lemole) who misappropriated two-thirds of a three-year prepaid premium for a North River policy issued to Hobbs Brook’s client, Phoenix Steel Corporation. Hobbs Brook further sought the return of the amount of the premium it paid to North River after the misappropriation was discovered, apparently in order to forestall North River’s cancellation of the policy at the beginning of the…