Echevarias v. Lopez, 240 N.J.Super. 104, 572 A.2d 671 (App. Div. 1990)
Practice Areas: General Liability
Tenant sued landlords for injuries he sustained in fall. Landlords filed third-party complaint for indemnification against insurer and individual insurance agents. Cross claims for indemnification and contribution were filed among third-party defendants. The Superior Court, Law Division, Middlesex County, granted summary judgments against insurer, and insurer appealed. The Superior Court, Appellate Division, R.S. Cohen, J.A.D., held that: (1) insurer could not rely on assurance from its agent that insureds did not intend to renew, in order to dispense with its statutory obligation to give written notice of nonrenewal to insureds, and (2) insurance agent who negligently informed insurer that insureds did not wish to renew and insurer who terminated policy without required statutory notice were both barred, by virtue of their own independent fault, from seeking indemnity from the other.