Opinion
Argued March 13, 2001.
May 14, 2001.
In an action for a judgment declaring that the limit of liability coverage available under the defendant's insurance policy for the infant plaintiff's injuries is $350,000, the defendant appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Dunn, J.), dated April 20, 2000, which granted the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and denied its cross motion for summary judgment declaring that the limit of liability coverage available is only $250,000.
Lewis, Johs, Avallone, Aviles Kaufman (Christine Malafi and John M. Denby, East Setauket, N.Y., of counsel), for appellant.
Russo Galgano, White Plains, N.Y. (Louis J. Galgano III of counsel), for respondents.
Before: RITTER, J.P., KRAUSMAN, H. MILLER and SMITH, JJ.
ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the motion is denied, the cross motion is granted, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, for the entry of a judgment declaring that the limit of liability coverage available under the defendant's insurance policy for the infant plaintiff's injuries is $250,000.
A party who executes a contract is presumed to know its contents and to assent to them (see, Metzger v. Aetna Ins. Co., 227 N.Y. 411; Renee Knitwear Corp. v. ADT Security Sys., 277 A.D.2d 215; Ciaramella v. State Farm Ins. Co., 273 A.D.2d 831). The defendant established, prima facie, that the second insurance policy submitted during the course of litigation was in effect at the time of the accident, and that the provision addressing the limit of liability coverage unambiguously set forth a limit of $250,000 per individual per incident (see, Matter of Mostow v. State Farm Ins. Cos., 88 N.Y.2d 321). The plaintiff Moon Choung failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether he assented to that provision (see, Metzger v. Aetna Ins. Co., supra). Therefore, the Supreme Court should have granted the defendant's cross motion for summary judgment declaring that the limit of liability coverage available under its insurance policy for the infant plaintiff's injuries is $250,000 (see, Matter of Mostow v. State Farm Ins. Cos., supra). The matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, for the entry of a judgment making that declaration (see, Lanza v. Wagner, 11 N.Y.2d 317, 334, appeal dismissed 371 U.S. 74, cert denied 371 U.S. 901).