Frank McWilliams, Inc. v. American Insurance Co.

Headnote

Insurance — marine — when ■policy insuring against perils of the sea and other waters does not cover damage to dry dock from sinking caused hy failure of electric current used to operate its pumps.

McWilliams v. American Ins. Co., 202 App. Div. 846 , affirmed.

Appeal from a judgment, entered December 6, 1922, upon an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the second judicial department reversing a judgment in favor of plaintiff entered upon a decision of the court at a Trial Term, a jury having been waived, and directing a dismissal of the complaint. The action was to recover upon a policy of marine insurance covering plaintiff’s dry dock and insuring it against “ perils of the harbors, bays, sounds, seas, rivers and other waters,” excepting claims arising from “ derangement or breakage of machinery, unless caused by stress of weather, stranding, collision or burning.” While the policy was in force the dry dock sunk owing to a failure of electric power used to operate its pumps caused by an accident at the power plant on land a mile away, and the question at issue was whether the damage occasioned by such sinking

was covered by the policy. The Appellate Division held that the damage was wholly caused by derangement or breakage of machinery, to wit, the derangement of the apparatus, machinery, facilities, etc., supplying the power machinery to raise and lower the dry dock; that such derangement or breakage of machinery was not caused by stress of weather, stranding, collision or burning, and that the damage was exclusively due to a cause expressly excepted from the policy by the terms thereof.