Opinion ID: 462445
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Disclosure of the IRINIO Loss

Text: 5 By letter dated July 2, 1980, and received by Leeds on July 7, the owners informed Leeds for the first time of the March 1980 loss to the IRINIO, which they then estimated would total more than $300,000. Leeds employee Mary Mase immediately gave this information to the British insurance brokers, who relayed it to Lloyd's. Lloyd's agreed not to take the March 1980 loss to the IRINIO into account in the renewal. Mase testified that she then telephoned ANGA and spoke either to Hatzel or to ANGA senior marine underwriter Paul Gagliardi. Mase testified that she informed the person to whom she spoke of the fact of the IRINIO loss, although probably not of its amount, and of the fact that Lloyd's had decided not to take the IRINIO loss into account for the renewal. Gagliardi and Hatzel denied having received such a call from Mase. 6 On July 22, Leeds sent a written binder (Binder) to ANGA and the other underwriters who had agreed orally to underwrite the risk. The July 22 Binder was to supersede the application of June 6. Under a section entitled Information to Underwriters, the Binder stated: As per leaders agreement 'IRINIO' Machinery Damage Claim March 1980 not taken into account this renewal. The Statistics section of the July 22 Binder continued to list a 7.5% credit balance. Because of the new information on the IRINIO loss, ANGA had the option of not signing the Binder and could have declined the risk had it been aware of the situation. Both Gagliardi and Hatzel testified that they had read this Binder but that they did not recall seeing its reference to the IRINIO loss. Jones testified that ANGA would not have accepted the risk if it had known of the additional losses to the IRINIO and the MARIAM. On July 30, Gagliardi signed the Binder on behalf of the plaintiff insurers without asking anyone at Leeds about the IRINIO loss.