Travelers Insurance Co. wants no part of this murder-conspiracy claim
David Schlachet faces a lawsuit over the death of his wife, Lara Nadia Anike Prychodko.
An insurance company filed a lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking a declaration it has no duty to defend the insured in a wrongful-death lawsuit, which accuses the defendant of conspiring to murder his wife.
But the move could prove risky.
Spotted on Law.com Radar: The Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, referred to as Travelers in the complaint, is a Connecticut corporation, while the defendant, David Schlachet is a New York resident.
Counsel for the plaintiff, Michael E. Buckley of Usery & Associates, did not respond to a request for comment. No counsel has appeared yet for the defendant.
Schlachet faces a wrongful-death lawsuit over his wife, Lara Nadia Anike Prychodko, filed by limited administrators Nicholas Prychodko and Lance Meyerovich on behalf of Schlachet’s son.
The wife was found dead at the bottom of a garbage chute on July 10, 2018, in the Zeckendorf Towers apartment building at One Union Square in Manhattan, the complaint said. Schlachet and his wife had allegedly been involved in “acrimonious” divorce proceedings, which involved around $6 million in assets, the complaint said.
In 2019, Schlachet was appointed the guardian of his son’s estate. He “was issued letters of administration for decedent’s estate and filed a wrongful death complaint against Zeckendorf Towers for alleged negligence associated with decedent’s death,” the complaint said.
In the underlying action, the administrators alleged the defendant had conspired with another person to murder his wife, the complaint said.
Exclusions and disclaimers
In response, Schlachet requested defense and indemnification in the underlying action under the Travelers policy, and the plaintiff issued a disclaimer to the defendant with exclusions and disclaimers in the policy, the complaint said.
Travelers provided an interim defense to Schlachet, and filed this action to receive permission to withdraw its defense, the complaint said.
“Since the allegations against Schlachet in the underlying action describe actions which do not involve a covered occurrence during the policy period of the Travelers policy which potentially involved bodily injury as defined in the Travelers policy, there is no coverage owed to Schlachet with respect to the claims at issue in the underlying action,” the plaintiff argued.
Travelers requested a court finding of no coverage for the defendant in the underlying action. It also requested the court declare the insurance has no duty to defend or indemnify; that it can withdraw its defense counsel; and that Travelers is not liable for any claims, judgments or awards.
Risky move/?
While insurance policies generally do not cover illegal actions, if the insured is found not guilty, an insurance company could face a lawsuit seeking to pay their claims.
For instance, insured Micahel Barisone, a former Olympic equestrian coach, was found not guilty by reason of insanity for shooting Lauren Kanarek and not guilty for shooting Robert Goodwin.
In response, Barisone sued three insurance companies, Farm Family Casualty Insurance Co., American National Insurance Co. and Great American Insurance Co. in the New Jersey Superior Court.
The three policies total $4 million in coverage, and Barisone seeks attorneys fees, which exceed $400,000 and experts’ fees, according to the court document.
According to the complaint, Barisone alleged the insurance companies’ investigations into the claim was inadequate, and he was entitled to defense.