(Article from Insurance Law Alert, March 2026)
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Effective November 3, 2025, the New York Complex Commercial Division amended its rules to allow more commercial insurance litigation to proceed before it. Under the previous rules, while the Commercial Division had jurisdiction over most breach of contract claims so long as the monetary thresholds were met, many high-stakes insurance coverage disputes were excluded. In particular, the rules previously excluded all suits that sought a declaratory judgment as to insurance coverage for personal injury or property damage or concerned first-party insurance claims. Under the amended rules, the carve-outs for bodily injury, property damage, and first party claims have been removed, opening the doors of the Commercial Division to more insurance coverage disputes.
Parties have 90 days from the service of the complaint (if no Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) has been filed) or within ten days of receipt of the RJI to file a letter to transfer to the Commercial Division. The amendments are not retroactive. The Commercial Division has expressly said as much in denying a renewed application to transfer a case that would otherwise qualify. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. BASF Corp., No. 651150/2024, Dkt. No. 350.
This rule change should make New York a more favorable venue to litigate complex insurance disputes and will bring New York in line with other jurisdictions where coverage actions have been litigated in business or complex divisions for many years.