Turner Construction and Brookfield Properties are suing three insurers for allegedly walking away from their coverage obligations on a major Manhattan project.
The lawsuit, filed on February 24 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, names Kinsale Insurance Company, Mt. Hawley Insurance Company, and Trisura Specialty Insurance Company as defendants. At the center of the dispute is a question familiar to anyone in construction insurance: when subcontractors fall outside a wrap-up program, who picks up the tab?
The case traces back to September 23, 2020, when Carlos Pesantez, an employee of sub-subcontractor Millennium Services LLC, was allegedly injured at the 666 Fifth Avenue Repositioning Project in Manhattan. Pesantez later sued Turner, the project owners, and other parties in New York state court.
Turner had a Contractor Controlled Insurance Program in place through Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and Liberty stepped up to defend Turner and the project owners. But subcontractor New Land Interiors Corp. and its sub-subcontractors, Millennium Services LLC and Allstate Dismantling Corp., were not enrolled in the CCIP. Their contracts required them to carry their own general liability coverage, at least $5,000,000 per occurrence, and to name Turner and the project owners as additional insureds on a primary and non-contributory basis.
That is where the coverage was supposed to come from. According to the lawsuit, it never did.
Kinsale carried a $1,000,000 per occurrence policy for Millennium. The filing describes the additional insured provision as covering bodily injury "caused, in whole or in part, by" Millennium's acts or omissions. Kinsale allegedly denied coverage in November 2020 and did not respond when Turner requested reconsideration in May 2024.
Mt. Hawley carried a $2,000,000 per occurrence policy for New Land, allegedly covering "bodily injury caused by New Land's negligence for operations performed at the Project" under written contract. Mt. Hawley denied coverage in November 2020 and, according to the filing, has not responded to a separate coverage request sent that same month.
Trisura carried a $1,000,000 per occurrence policy for Allstate Dismantling, allegedly covering liability "arising out of Allstate's ongoing operations" for Turner and the owners. Turner requested coverage from Trisura in May 2024. According to the lawsuit, Trisura never responded, not even after a June 2025 letter demanding it attend a scheduled mediation with full settlement authority.
The lawsuit brings nine causes of action against the three insurers, including breach of contract, declaratory judgment, and attorney's fees. Turner and the project owners are also invoking the Mighty Midgets doctrine, a New York precedent that allows an insured forced into a "defensive posture" by its insurer's refusal to cover a claim to recover the cost of fighting for that coverage.
No court has made any determination on the merits. A jury trial has been demanded.
