Flooded Rye antiques dealer sues New Rochelle insurer for $180,000

When the remnants of Hurricane Ida struck Westchester last Sept. and flooded the storage facility where antiques dealer Frank Rotondo kept his artworks, at least, he thought, his insurance policy covered the losses.

He was wrong. His insurance broker, M.L. Bruenn Co., New Rochelle, had not kept the policy up to date, according to a June 20 complaint filed in Westchester Supreme Court.

York Antiques is demanding at least $180,000 in damages from M.L. Bruenn Co. and vice president Tom Bruenn, for alleged negligence and breach of contract.

M.L. Bruenn did not respond to an email asking for its side of the story.

Rotondo has been buying and selling antiques since 1981, beginning with his family’s York Furniture Co. and Cavendish Gallery, and then through his York Antiques.

The Rotondo family began using M.L. Bruenn’s services in the 1990s, the complaint states, and Frank Rotondo kept the arrangement when he formed his own business in 2013.

The Markel Insurance Co. liability policy was renewed annually, most recently on Feb. 9, 2021. It provided up to $250,000 in coverage for “objects of art, rarity, or historic merit” kept at 12 Purchase St., Rye, and up to $25,000 for an unnamed location.

Rotondo paid M.L. Bruenn a $2,724 premium.

Last May, Rotondo claims, he notified Tom Bruenn that he was vacating his Rye storefront because of the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. He asked Bruenn to change the address on the insurance policy to Safeguard Storage, 615 5th Ave., Larchmont.

Bruenn allegedly agreed to change the address, stating “Okay, no problem, everything will be taken care of.”

By June 30, Rotondo’s inventory had been moved to Safeguard Storage.

On Sept. 1, remnants of Hurricane Ida flooded Safeguard Storage, according to the complaint, and caused a total loss of his artworks.

Rotondo contacted Tom Bruenn on Sept. 3 to file an insurance claim. Bruenn allegedly replied, “We have a problem” and said he had not changed the address on the insurance policy.

Bruenn then changed the address, according to the complaint, and Rotondo filed an insurance claim.

But Markel limited the coverage to $25,000 for an unnamed location.

M.L. Bruenn had a special duty to Rotondo, the complaint argues, because after more than 30 years of providing insurance advice and services, it should have known York Antiques’ precise needs.

Rotondo is represented by White Plains attorney Neil Spector.