Emanuel Metzger, as Receiver of the Kingston Chemical Manufacturing Company, Respondent v. Ætna Insurance Company…

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division and affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the complaint seeking reformation of a fire insurance policy. The Court held that the policy, read together with its builder's risk rider, limited coverage to the period while the building was under erection and ceased when the building was occupied, thus no liability existed for the fire that occurred after occupancy. The Court also ruled that reformation requires clear, positive, and convincing evidence of a mutual mistake, which was absent.