Opinion ID: 374048
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Christopher McGrath

Text: 39 We believe that the jury could properly find that Christopher McGrath's conduct rendered him liable under New York law as charged. McGrath was in charge of the settlement negotiations until Ratner took over; all the while McGrath's position of authority heightened the impact of his representations as to the insurance coverage. McGrath stipulated that to the best of his knowledge there was only $200,000 worth of coverage in spite of the information in the documents in his possession. See note 8 supra. McGrath's insistence that the policy limit was $200,000, see note 7 supra, renders him liable under the New York definition of scienter as a reckless indifference to error, a pretense of exact knowledge, or (an) assertion of a false material fact 'susceptible of accurate knowledge' but stated to be true on the personal knowledge of the representer. See Burgundy Basin Inn v. Watkins Glen Grand Prix, 51 A.D.2d 140, 379 N.Y.S.2d 873, 879 (1976), and cases cited. This, of course, attunes with the classic formulation of Judge Cardozo in the touchstone case of Ultramares Corp. v. Touche, Niven & Co., 255 N.Y. 170, 174 N.E. 441, 449-50 (1931). 20