Is property manager an additional insured?
CVS, Inc., owned one building and rented another, both in the town of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. On December 31, 1998, and January 3, 1999, both buildings suffered property damage when pipes in the buildings froze and split. The real estate manager for both buildings at the time was Metro Properties, Inc. Metro’s insurer was Travelers Property Casualty Company of America. CVS’s insurer was National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. CVS filed a negligence lawsuit against Metro, seeking damages of over $1.5 million. Metro then filed a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that, as CVS’s real estate manager, it was an insured under CVS’s National Union insurance policy. National Union filed a counterclaim seeking a declaration that Metro was not covered under the policy. National Union also asked the court to find that, if Metro was entitled to coverage, Metro must also have a self-insured retention of $250,000. The lower court found in favor of Metro with regard
