The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey ruled that an insurer must cover an occurrence where the insureds' dog attacked and injured the housekeeper at the insureds' second residence. The case is Berardi v. Fmi Ins. Co., 2023 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2161 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2023). Please note that this case is unpublished and therefore has limited precedential value. 

The Berardis maintained their primary residence in Sparta, New Jersey and kept a second home in Montauk, New York, including a cleaning service. On one visit to Montauk, a new cleaning person arrived two hours early. The Berardi's Tibetan Mountain dog, who was typically locked away while cleaning services occurred, attacked the cleaning person, injuring her.

The cleaning person sued, and the Berardis sought coverage from FMI, who insured their primary residence in New Jersey, and Scottsdale, who provided primary coverage for the Montauk property. FMI denied the Berardis claim in whole. Scottsdale agreed to defend the Berardis subject to a reservation of rights, and later sought declaratory judgment that they owed the Berardis limited coverage; the instant case, however, concerns only the competing motions between the Berardis and FMI.