New York Lawyer Loses to AmTrust Over Insurance for Fraud Claims

An AmTrust Financial Services Inc. insurance unit won a dispute against a former Wachtel Missry LLP partner after the Second Circuit said the insurer isn’t on the hook to pay for the law firm’s legal malpractice defense costs.

An underlying lawsuit alleges fraud relating to former partner Howard Kleinhendler’s side work as executive vice president of a real estate company, and the insurance terms bar coverage for a policyholder’s activities in another business enterprise, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Thursday. The appeals panel upheld a lower court’s judgment in favor of Associated Industries Insurance Co. ...