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The New York Court of Appeals ruled that improper strip searches of each arrestee over a four-year period constituted separate occurrences subject to separate deductible payments.  Selective Ins. Co. of Am. v. County of Rensselaer, 2016 WL 527098 (N.Y. Feb. 11, 2016).

Class action suits against Rensselaer County alleged that the County jail’s strip search policy violated arrestees’ civil rights.  Selective Insurance defended the County and ultimately reached a settlement with the underlying plaintiffs.  The County refused to pay Selective more than a single $10,000 deductible payment.  Selective filed suit, arguing that harm to each class member constituted a separate occurrence and was therefore subject to a separate deductible.  A New York trial court agreed and ruled in Selective’s favor.  An intermediate appellate court, and the Court of Appeals both affirmed.

The policy defined “occurrence” as “an event, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions, which results in . . . ‘personal injury’ . . . by any person or organization.”  The court reasoned that this language “makes clear that [the policy] covers personal injuries to an individual person as a result of a harmful condition.”  The court further explained that this language does not permit the grouping of multiple individuals who were harmed by the same condition unless that group is an organization.  The court therefore concluded that the harm experienced by each individual arrestee constituted a “separate and distinct” occurrence subject to a separate deductible.