The Archdiocese of New York (ADNY) has received the go-ahead to depose Chubb Insurance CEO Evan Greenberg in the ongoing legal dispute over liability insurance coverage for clergy sex abuse claims.
Chubb sought to block the ADNY from deposing Greenberg, arguing that his testimony is unnecessary and irrelevant because the desired information could be gathered from other officers in the company.
However, a court appointed special referee has denied Chubb’s request to preclude Greenberg’s deposition.
The ADNY is suing Chubb insurers over their refusal to cover any of the thousands of clergy sex abuse claims it has faced since the Child Victims Act (CVA) was enacted in 2019.
The archdiocese is seeking to depose Greenberg because it believes that the decision not to provide coverage for the CVA cases was made at the highest levels of the Chubb company and as the chief executive officer, Greenberg had a critical role in this decision-making process.
Retired Justice Rosalyn Richter, the special referee handling discovery disputes in the case that is before the New York Supreme Court, New York County, noted that the state’s courts do not require the party seeking discovery to show that the requested disclosure cannot be obtained from another source. Rather, she noted, New York has “broad, liberal discovery rules.”
Richter ruled that ADNY can seek the deposition of Greenberg even if the archdiocese might be able to obtain the relevant information from someone else. Furthermore, she said documents in the case show that Greenberg may possess relevant information about the bad faith claim and about some of the public statements concerning the ADNY.
She also found that the deposition should proceed because of Greenberg’s potential knowledge or involvement with Mercury, a public relations entity whose work is central to ADNY’s claims in this litigation.
“A CEO in a position such as the one held by Mr. Greenberg should not expect to be insulated from questioning about his actions in a case as significant as the one here,” the referee wrote. “Thus, no basis exists to preclude the deposition which is about the business decision making process and whether any bad faith was involved.”
Richter added that since there is a confidentiality order in this case and many of the parties’ submissions are being sealed by the court, Greenberg’s deposition testimony may never become public or will have limited exposure.
Chubb Position
Chubb insurers including Century Indemnity issued more than 30 primary and excess general liability policies to the archdiocese from 1956 to 2003. Chubb has been defending the archdiocese in the VCA lawsuits under a full reservation of rights.
The Chubb insurers have maintained that the sex abuse claims do not trigger coverage because the incidents were not accidents or occurrences caused by negligence but were instead the result of intentional, known or expected occurrences and thus fall outside of their policies.
The insurers have cited media reports, admissions by church leaders, investigations by 20 state attorneys general, and the underlying lawsuits themselves as evidence that the church “knew about the sexual abuse of minors, failed to stop it, covered it up, and then lied about it.”
“Absurd and unfounded” is how ADNY has characterized Chubb’s defense that the diocese expected or intended the sexual abuse. ADNY alleges that Chubb has “violated its good faith obligations to the archdiocese and survivors” by suing its insureds and seeking to drive them into bankruptcy to settle claims at a discount. It claims that Chubb’s actions have included a publicity campaign and fearmongering in the press suggesting that the archdiocese will need to declare bankruptcy, even though the archdiocese has stressed that it has no intention of declaring bankruptcy.
While she allowed Greenberg’s deposition, the special referee ruled that Joseph Wayland, Chubb’s general counsel, cannot be deposed because some communications involving him are subject to attorney-client privilege.
Survivors’ Fund
In December 2025, ADNY Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced the archdiocese would be establishing a $300 million fund to pay for a global settlement of most of the 1,300 lawsuits it still faces from victims of clergy sexual abuse. The archdiocese has reduced staff, cut its operating budget and sold several properties to create the fund. It has also engaged a mediator to negotiate the global settlement.
The global settlement approach follows a prior compensation program begun in 2016 that led to $65 million being paid to 323 abuse victims by 2019. That process was managed by Kenneth Feinberg.
The archdiocese remains frustrated that its insurance carrier is not part of the effort to settle claims. “Despite accepting millions in premiums from the archdiocese, Chubb has steadfastly refused to honor the policies it issued,” Dolan charged in his letter announcing the $300 million fund.
Topics
Claims
New York
Chubb
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