Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v. Rapp

The First Department in this recent decision reiterated that a person can be a resident of more than one household. In this case, the insured’s infant grandson was struck by an uninsured vehicle while he was riding his bicycle. The petitioner insurer petitioned to stay arbitration, and Supreme Court granted that petition. The insurer argued that the respondent infant was not a resident of the insured’s household. The First Department reversed.

The respondent infant lived with his maternal grandfather for a good portion of the year, splitting his living arrangement between his grandparents and his mother. The insured, the respondent’s grandfather, submitted an affidavit stating that at the time of the accident and for six years prior thereto the infant respondent lived with him and his wife and was listed, along with his siblings, on the apartment lease.

The First Department held that a resident, as defined for insurance coverage purposes, is one who lives in the household with a certain degree of permanency and intention to remain. The Court rejected the insurer’s argument that the disposition turned on a question of credibility, holding that the disposition rested on a point of law — a respondent could, for insurance purposes, be a resident of more than one household.