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to present that judgment to the insurer and the insured for payment. If the insurer refuses to pay the judgment, the judgment creditor is then entitled to bring a direct action against the carrier at which
time coverage defenses can be litigated. The Court of Appeals, in Lang, decided that this was the only remedy the claimant had to challenge a coverage denial. The insured or the insurer each has the right to commence a declaratory judgment action at any time after a denial, even before the underlying lawsuit is resolved.
Dan D. Kohane is a Senior Member of the New York law firm of Hurwitz & Fine, P.C., and chairs the firm’s Insurance Coverage and Extracontractual practice groups. An adjunct professor of Insurance Law at the Buffalo Law School for the past 30 years, Dan was a founding Board member of the American College of Coverage Counsel, is a member of the American Law Institute, is a past president of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, a past Director of DRI and currently serves as Vice President of the National Foundation for Judicial Excellence. Contact Dan at: ddk@hurwitzfine.com. To subscribe to the firm’s biweekly coverage newsletter, Coverage Pointers: www.hurwitzfine.com/newsletters.
Brian D. Barnas is an attorney with Hurwitz & Fine, P.C., and is a member of the firm’s Insurance Coverage Practice Team. He focuses his practice on insurance coverage matters and bad faith claims and litigation. Mr. Barnas has experience handling coverage litigation of both first- and third-party claims across New York State and in federal court. Mr. Barnas is also a contributor to the firm’s comprehensive newsletter, Coverage Pointers, where he reports on bad faith cases in New York State and across the country.
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