A fight over who pays first in a costly hotel injury lawsuit has landed two big insurance names - National Fire and Harleysville - in a New York federal courtroom.
Filed on August 11, 2025, in the Southern District of New York, the case pits National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford against Harleysville Insurance Company of New York and Harleysville Worcester Insurance Company. At the heart of the dispute is a question that keeps many insurance professionals up at night: When a contractor is sued, which insurer has to step up first and cover the bill?
Here’s what’s happening. National Fire says it’s been left holding the bag for defense costs in a personal injury lawsuit tied to a renovation at the James NoMad Hotel in Manhattan. The story starts back in March 2018, when Rafael Laracuente, a maintenance engineer, claims he tripped over pipes in the hotel’s basement during a construction project. He sued several parties, including AWS Plumbing Heating & AC LLC, the hotel’s owner, the general contractor Humphrey Rich Construction Group, Inc. (HRCG), and AWS Mechanical Corporation.
AWS, the HVAC subcontractor, had insurance policies with Harleysville - one for general liability, another for umbrella coverage. According to National Fire’s complaint, the subcontract between AWS and HRCG required AWS to get insurance that would also cover HRCG, with the understanding that Harleysville’s coverage would kick in first if anything went wrong.
National Fire, which insured HRCG, says it tendered the claim to Harleysville, expecting Harleysville to take over the defense. But Harleysville said no, arguing that there were still questions about how the accident happened and who was really responsible. Because of that, Harleysville said its coverage for HRCG wasn’t triggered.
That left National Fire footing the bill for HRCG’s defense in the underlying lawsuit. According to the complaint, National Fire has already spent more than $75,000 on legal costs and expects that number to keep climbing. Now, National Fire wants a judge to declare that Harleysville must defend and indemnify HRCG under both the general liability and umbrella policies, and that Harleysville’s coverage should come before National Fire’s.
The complaint points to specific policy language in the Harleysville contracts. One endorsement says that if a written contract requires it, Harleysville will add another party - like HRCG - as an additional insured. Another clause says that, when required by contract, Harleysville’s coverage is primary, meaning it pays before any other insurance the additional insured might have.
National Fire argues that because the subcontract clearly required this kind of coverage, Harleysville should be on the hook. Harleysville, for its part, hasn’t yet filed a response in court.
For insurance professionals, this case is a reminder of just how important the fine print can be, especially when multiple parties and policies are involved in a single project. The outcome could shape how insurers handle claims where more than one company might be responsible for paying out, and it’s a scenario that plays out often in the world of commercial construction.
The case - National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford v. Harleysville Insurance Company of New York and Harleysville Worcester Insurance Company - was filed on August 11, 2025, and is now pending in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. For now, all eyes are on the court to see which insurer will be ordered to step up first.
