Old Republic Insurance Company is back in federal court against James River Insurance Company - and the allegations sound a lot like the last time.
In a filing dated April 9, 2026, Old Republic and The Hallen Construction Co., Inc. brought an action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, accusing James River of systematically refusing to honor its obligations to defend Hallen as an additional insured. The case has not yet been decided, and the claims remain allegations at this stage.
At the heart of the dispute are six bodily injury lawsuits pending in New York state courts. Each involves individuals who say they were hurt by defective roadway or sidewalk conditions at sites where New York Paving, Inc. carried out restoration work under a contract with Hallen. The injured parties include Darrin Batten, whose electric scooter allegedly struck a roadway defect in Brooklyn, along with five others - Joyce Lakin, Argentina Tavarez, Allan Kanare, Victoria Gioia, and Miguel Cornelio Nunez - who allege trip-and-fall incidents across Brooklyn and Queens.
According to the filing, the contract between Hallen and New York Paving required the subcontractor to name Hallen and National Grid USA as additional insureds on a primary and noncontributory basis. That contract also called for New York Paving to indemnify and defend Hallen and National Grid against claims arising from its work. James River issued a commercial general liability policy to New York Paving covering the relevant period.
Old Republic, which issued its own policy to Hallen, maintains that its coverage is excess - meaning it should only kick in after James River's obligations are exhausted. The filing argues that James River, not Old Republic, carries the sole primary duty to step up and defend.
Yet according to the court papers, James River denied every tender of defense across all six lawsuits. In some cases, the alleged delays were significant. In the Gioia matter, the filing states that James River took roughly 16 months - from June 2021 to October 2022 - to issue a denial. In the Tavarez matter, James River has allegedly not responded at all.
What makes this case stand out is that it is not the first time these parties have been here. The filing references a similar action brought against James River in 2022, along with at least eight additional matters — including cases named Giordano, Diaz, Aleman, Graham, Lynch, Oberle, Panuta, and Sumsky — where James River allegedly declined coverage under comparable circumstances.
The filing raises three claims: that James River owes a primary duty to defend Hallen and National Grid as additional insureds, that its conduct amounts to bad faith warranting compensatory and punitive damages, and that its coverage denials are untimely and therefore void under New York Insurance Law § 3420(d)(2), which requires insurers to disclaim coverage "as soon as is reasonably possible."
For insurers and claims professionals watching this space, the case raises pointed questions about how additional insured tenders are handled - and what happens when a pattern of denials draws a second round of litigation.
The case is Old Republic Insurance Company et al v. James River Insurance Company, Case No. 2:26-cv-02091 (E.D.N.Y.).
