Legal Opinion
Phillips v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Decided March 21, 1996PublishedCited by 5 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
The IAS Court erred in dismissing the affirmative defenses relating to arson and directing a verdict in favor of plaintiff on liability. Arson in civil cases may be established by circumstantial evidence (Weed v American Home Assur. Co., 91 AD2d 750, 751). Here, defendant offered ample proof to show that the subject premises were destroyed under suspicious circum*458stances and that plaintiff may have had a motive to destroy his property.
There is no dispute herein that plaintiff’s house was destroyed as the result of arson. The evidence educed at trial further reveals: that there was no forced…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- R.C.S. Farmers Markets Corp. v. Great American InsuranceNew York Court of Appeals · 1982
- V. F. V. Construction Co. v. Aetna InsuranceAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1977
- Home Insurance of Indiana v. KarantonisAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1989
- Weed v. American Home Assurance Co.Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1982
- Farmland Market Corp. v. North River InsuranceAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1984
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by5 opinions
- Stone v. Continental InsuranceAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1996
- Maier v. Allstate InsuranceAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 2007
- Phillips v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1997
- New Rainbow Heaven LLC v. Wesco Ins. Co.Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 2018
- Richard D'angelo, Plaintiff-Counter-Defendant-Appellant v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., Defendant-Counter-Claimant-AppelleeCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1996