King Risk Partners announced the acquisition of Conover Beyer Associates Insurance, an independent insurance agency based in Manasquan, New Jersey.
Founded in 1882, Conover Beyer Associates is a family and veteran-owned agency offering business and personal insurance, employee benefits, commercial bonding, and risk management services. Its team also brings specialized experience in coastal exposures and the insurance needs of contractors, restaurants, manufacturers, and other businesses.
Art Farren, Mike D’Altrui, and Laura Church are partners with Conover Beyer.
Headquartered in Gainesville, Florida, King Risk Partners now has more than 50 locations on the Eastern seaboard from New Hampshire to Florida, including six in each of the states of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
A federal judge has agreed with the owner and manager of the Dali cargo ship responsible for the collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge that the bulk of the remaining claims against them for economic damage are invalid.
On August 25, U.S. District Senior Judge James K. Bredar dismissed most of the economic damage claims by the city and county of Baltimore and eight consolidated claims by private entities including insurers.
Citing a 1927 Supreme Court opinion (Robins Dry Dock & Repair Co. v. Flint), Bredar found that the public and private entities that have sued are precluded from recovering economic losses resulting from physical damage to the Key Bridge because they had no proprietary interest in the bridge or other property.
Instead, Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and operator Synergy Marine Group can only be held liable for economic losses if there was damage to property owned by the claimant.
In keeping with the Robins precedent, the city may pursue its claim related to alleged damage to the 72-inch water main below the river and the county may proceed to try to prove it has a proprietary interest in damaged waterways and shorelines. Also, four cargo damage claims may proceed.
Since most of the original 54 civil claims have already been settled or voluntarily dropped, the ruling actually dismissed a relatively small number of cases. None of the civil settlements contain an admission of wrongdoing by Grace Ocean or Synergy.
