The case dates from a 1997 limosine crash that happened after a golf outing where Detroit Red Wing Fetisov and his teammates were celebrating their victory over The Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup finals. Konstantinov and Mnatsakanov suffered disabling brain injuries. At the time of the injury, Konstantinov was one of the premier defenseman in the NHL and could never play hockey again. The players were leaving the golf outing in a limosine owned by the Gambino Limosine Company and driven by Richard Gnida. The limousine company paid its full two million dollars ($2,000.000.00) in coverage but the players won an arbitration award which led to an over two hundred million dollar judgment in Michigan. The players then filed suit in Middlesex County, New Jersey to enforce the judgment against the Detroit Red Wing and NHL insurers. The case resulted in dozens of depositions of the Detroit Red Wings as well as NHL officials over the course of the six years. In essence, plaintiffs were attempting to prove that the golf outing was a “team event” which occurred in the business of the Red Wings and that the limousine should be considered a covered automobile for the purposes of the NHL policies. The NHL was insured by a series of carriers in the amount of over Two Hundred Million Dollars ($200,000,000.00) for such an occurrence.

The Middlesex Superior Court ruled that the limousine company was not a named insured under the hockey team’s policy and granted judgment in favor of the insurers. The Court basically ruled that the event was a player event that was neither supported nor paid for by the organization.

After the grant of summary judgment, an intense procedural battle began. The matter was argued twice in front of the New Jersey Appellate Division as a result of one Justice eventually recusing himself. Appeal Court’s decision was eventually unanimous upholding the summary judgment dismissal of the coverage suit. In April, 2007, the New Jersey Supreme Court justices voted five to one to deny certification; however, the plaintiffs filed for reconsideration and two justices actually changed their vote and the vote to deny certification became four to two. A third petition for reconsideration was filed challenging the procedure of that denial but that third petition for reconsideration was denied on October 16, 2007.

Obviously, the coverage win is an important victory for insurers in the pro-policy holder New Jersey appellate courts. If any of the court’s found that coverage existed, the carriers faced paying the judgment in excess of Two Hundred Million Dollars ($200,000,000.00).