{"id":"court_ctb_1787_16","court":"CTB","case_no":"22-50073","doc_number":1787,"sub_number":16,"doc_type":"UNKNOWN","filed_date":null,"title":"John F. O'Connor 202 429 8095 joconnor@steptoe.com ![](_page_0_Picture_4.jpeg)","summary_zh":null,"summary_en":null,"body_en":"John F. O'Connor 202 429 8095 joconnor@steptoe.com\n\n![](_page_0_Picture_4.jpeg)\n\n1330 Connecticut Avenue, **NW**  Washington, DC 20036-1795 202 429 3000 main www.steptoe.com\n\nMay 3, 2023\n\n## **VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL**\n\nJohn A. Gibbons, Esq. Blank Rome LLP 1825 Eye Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 j gibbons@blankrome.com\n\n## Re: **Genever Holdings, LLC -- Cancellation of Insurance Policies**\n\nDear John:\n\nWe have been retained by AIG Property Casualty Company (\"AIG\") to respond to your letter of April 30, 2023 to Michael Bono, Esq., of Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP. Your letter, sent on behalf of the Trustee of the bankruptcy estate of Ho Wan Kwak, asks AIG to reconsider its cancellation of certain insurance policies (the \"Policies\") issued to Genever Holdings LLC (\"Genever\") that insure property at 781 Fifth Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10022 (the \"Unit\") and two additional condominiums in the same building. After consideration of your position, AIG declines to rescind its cancellation of the Policies.\n\nThe Policies permit AIG to cancel the Policies upon \"[ d]iscovery of willful or reckless acts or omissions increasing the hazard insured against\" as well as \"[p ]hysical changes in the property insured occurring after issuance ... which result in the property becoming uninsurable in accordance with [AIG's] objective, uniformly applied underwriting standards in effect at the time the policy was issued or last voluntarily renewed.\" As you are aware, on the morning of March 15, 2023, the Federal Bureau oflnvestigation (\"FBI\") arrested Ho Wan Kwak at the Unit on charges of financial fraud. Later the same day, while investigators were still searching the Unit, a fire erupted at the Unit that significantly damaged the Unit. As noted in public media accounts, the FBI and Fire Department ofNew York are investigating the origin and cause of the fire given its suspicious nature.\n\nAt the time AIG first insured Genever, AIG was informed that Genever's direct owner was Ho Wan Kwak. Prior to the fire, no one advised AIG that this representation was incorrect. It appears, however, that this representation was inaccurate when made and was inaccurate at the\n\n**Steptoe**\n\n3\n\nJohn A. Gibbons, Esq. May 3, 2023 Page 2\n\ntime AIG issued the Policies. It appears that the actual facts are that Genever was owned by a corporation incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (Genever Holdings Corporation) and that Ho Wan Kwak was the sole shareholder in that corporation. Also, AIG learned after the fire that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut had issued an order on August 10, 2022 directing the transfer of the shares of Genever Holdings Corporation to the Trustee assigned to Ho Wan Kwak's bankruptcy proceeding, solely in his capacity as Trustee, for the benefit of Ho Wan Kwak's estate, in order to prevent any purported sale of the Unit in violation of the orders of the bankruptcy court.\n\nYour letter incorrectly asserts that AIG' s cancellation alleges wrongdoing personally on the part of Mr. Despins. This is not correct. As Trustee, Mr. Despins stands in the shoes of the Debtor, here Ho Wan Kwak, with respect to claims in his capacity as Trustee. *See, e.g., Hirsch v. Arthur Andersen & Co.,* 72 F.3d 1085, 1093 (2d Cir. 1995); *see also Wight v. BankAmerica Corp.,* 219 F.3d 79, 86 (2d Cir. 2000); *In re 1031 Tax Grp.,* 42 B.R. 178, 193 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2009). Here, the transfer of shares in Genever Holdings Corporation was intended to prevent an unlawful sale of the property owned by Genever Holdings Corporation. It was not intended to confer upon Mr. Despins personally the economic benefits of ownership and, as we understand it, Ho Wan Kwak continued to possess and have full access to the Unit at all relevant times. Thus, the conduct of Ho Wan Kwak is imputed to Genever and the Trustee of his bankruptcy estate for purposes of rights and obligations under the Policies.\n\nIn addition, physical changes in the property have made it uninsurable. The Unit has suffered substantial damage under highly suspicious circumstances that are currently under investigation by federal and state government agencies. The resident of the Unit, who inaccurately had been represented to AIG as the direct, sole owner of Genever, is in federal custody on serious fraud charges, and the shares in the corporation that actually owns the Unit have been transferred to a bankruptcy Trustee who neither resides in the Unit nor has any economic interest in the Unit other than in his role as Trustee standing in the shoes of Ho Wan Kwak. In these circumstances, AIG falls comfortably within the bases in which it is entitled to cancel the Policies.\n\nYour letter closes by stating that \"Genever is examining the extent to which AIG's conduct may violate the Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay, among other things.\" The Policies, here, however, were issued postpetition. \"An analysis of the case law relevant to postpetition insurance agreements reveals that an insurer of a debtor is entitled to cancel a *postpetition*  insurance policy pursuant to its contractual provisions without violating the stay on the grounds that the stay never became effective.\" *In re New England Marine Servs., Inc.,* 174 B.R. 391,396 (Bankr. E.D.N.Y. 1994); *see also In re Douglas,* 18 B.R. 813, 815 (Bankr. W.D. Tenn. 1982); *Bolin Oil Co. v. Reliance Ins. Co. (In re Bolin Oil Co.),* 51 B.R. 936, 939 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 1985); *Bogey's Barn, Ltd. v. Indiana Ins. Co. (In re Bogey's Barn Ltd.),* 47 B.R. 555, 556 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 1985); *Heaven Sent, Ltd. v. Centennial Ins. Co. (In re Heaven Sent, Ltd.),* 50 B.R. 636, 639 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. 1985); *In re Patterson,* No. 09-22709, 2010 WL 1240735, at \\*2\n\n3\n\n**Steptoe**\n\nJohn A. Gibbons, Esq. May 3, 2023 Page 3\n\n(Bankr. D. Conn. Mar. 19, 2010) (\"[A]n insurer of a debtor is entitled to cancel a postpetition insurance policy pursuant to its contractual provisions without lifting the stay on the grounds that the stay never became effective.\" ( quoting *In re New England Marine Servs.,* 174 B.R. 391 at 396)).\n\nSincerely yours,\n\n*8:f:I1~*","body_zh":"John F. O'Connor 202 429 8095 joconnor@steptoe.com\n\n1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036-1795 202 429 3000 main www.steptoe.com\n\n2023年5月3日\n通过电子邮件发送\n\nJohn A. Gibbons, Esq. Blank Rome LLP（普衡律师事务所） 1825 Eye Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 jgibbons@blankrome.com\n事由：Genever Holdings, LLC —— 取消保险单事宜\n\n尊敬的 John：\n\n我们受 AIG Property Casualty Company（美亚财产保险公司，简称“AIG”）委托，就您于 2023年4月30日 致 Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP 律师事务所 Michael Bono 律师的信函作出回复。您代表 Ho Wan Kwok（郭文贵）破产财团的受托人（Trustee）发出的信函中，要求 AIG 重新考虑其取消向 Genever Holdings LLC（简称“Genever”）签发的若干保险单（简称“保单”）的决定，该保单承保位于 781 Fifth Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10022 的物业（简称“该单元”）以及同栋大楼内的另外两套公寓。在考虑了贵方的立场后，AIG 拒绝撤回取消保单的决定。\n\n保单允许 AIG 在“发现增加承保风险的故意或轻率作为或不作为”以及“承保财产在签发后发生实质性物理变化……导致该财产根据保单签发或最后一次自愿续保时有效的 [AIG] 客观、统一适用的核保标准变为不可承保”时取消保单。正如您所知，2023年3月15日 上午，Federal Bureau of Investigation（联邦调查局，简称“FBI”）以金融欺诈指控在该单元逮捕了 Ho Wan Kwok。同日稍晚，在调查人员仍在搜查该单元时，该单元突发火灾，造成该单元严重受损。正如公共媒体报道所指出的，鉴于火灾的可疑性质，FBI 和 Fire Department of New York（纽约市消防局）正在调查起火源及起火原因。\n\n在 AIG 最初为 Genever 承保时，AIG 被告知 Genever 的直接所有权人是 Ho Wan Kwok。在火灾发生前，没有人告知 AIG 该陈述是不正确的。然而，事实表明，该陈述在作出时是不准确的，并且在\n\nSteptoe\nJohn A. Gibbons, Esq. 2023年5月3日 第 2 页\n\nAIG 签发保单时也是不准确的。实际情况似乎是：Genever 由一家在英属维尔京群岛注册成立的公司（Genever Holdings Corporation）所有，而 Ho Wan Kwok 是该公司的唯一股东。此外，AIG 在火灾后得知，United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut（美国康涅狄格区破产法院）曾于 2022年8月10日 发布命令，指示将 Genever Holdings Corporation 的股份转让给指定负责 Ho Wan Kwok 破产程序的受托人，且仅以其作为受托人的身份、为了 Ho Wan Kwok 破产财团的利益持有，以防止任何企图违反破产法院命令出售该单元的行为。\n\n您的信函错误地断言 AIG 的取消决定是在指控 Despins 先生个人存在不当行为。这是不正确的。作为受托人，Despins 先生在其作为受托人身份的主张方面，继承了债务人（即本案中的 Ho Wan Kwok）的权利与法律地位。参见，例如 Hirsch v. Arthur Andersen & Co., 72 F.3d 1085, 1093 (2d Cir. 1995)；另见 Wight v. BankAmerica Corp., 219 F.3d 79, 86 (2d Cir. 2000)；In re 1031 Tax Grp., 42 B.R. 178, 193 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2009)。在本案中，转让 Genever Holdings Corporation 股份的目的是为了防止非法出售 Genever Holdings Corporation 所拥有的财产。其目的并非赋予 Despins 先生个人所有权的经济利益，并且据我们了解，Ho Wan Kwok 在所有相关时间段内仍继续占有并完全进出使用该单元。因此，就保单项下的权利和义务而言，Ho Wan Kwok 的行为归责于 Genever 及其破产财团受托人。\n\n此外，该财产发生的实质性物理变化已使其不再具备可承保性。该单元在高度可疑的情况下遭受了重大损害，目前联邦和州政府机构正在对此进行调查。该单元的居住者——曾被向 AIG 不准确地陈述为 Genever 的直接、唯一所有权人——目前因严重的欺诈指控而被联邦拘留，而实际拥有该单元的公司的股份已转让给破产受托人，该受托人既不居住在该单元，除了作为受托人继承 Ho Wan Kwok 的法律地位之外，对该单元没有任何经济利益。在此等情况下，AIG 完全符合其有权取消保单的依据。\n\n您的信函在结尾处指出，“Genever 正在审查 AIG 的行为在何种程度上可能违反了《破产法典》的自动中止（automatic stay）等规定”。然而，本案中的保单是在提出破产申请后签发的。“对与申请后保险协议相关的判例法进行分析表明，债务人的保险人有权根据其合同条款取消申请后的保险单，而不会违反中止令，理由是该中止令从未生效。”In re New England Marine Servs., Inc., 174 B.R. 391, 396 (Bankr. E.D.N.Y. 1994)；另见 In re Douglas, 18 B.R. 813, 815 (Bankr. W.D. Tenn. 1982)；Bolin Oil Co. v. Reliance Ins. Co. (In re Bolin Oil Co.), 51 B.R. 936, 939 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 1985)；Bogey's Barn, Ltd. v. Indiana Ins. Co. (In re Bogey's Barn Ltd.), 47 B.R. 555, 556 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 1985)；Heaven Sent, Ltd. v. Centennial Ins. Co. (In re Heaven Sent, Ltd.), 50 B.R. 636, 639 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. 1985)；In re Patterson, No. 09-22709, 2010 WL 1240735, at *2\nSteptoe\n\nJohn A. Gibbons, Esq. 2023年5月3日 第 3 页\n\n(Bankr. D. Conn. Mar. 19, 2010)（“债务人的保险人有权根据其合同条款取消申请后的保险单，而无需申请解除中止令，理由是该中止令从未生效。”（援引自 In re New England Marine Servs., 174 B.R. 391 at 396））。\n\n谨上，\n\n[签名]","key_entities":["Despins","Je"],"ecf_references":[],"word_count":1005,"status":"published","published_at":null,"created_at":null,"updated_at":"2026-08-23 12:38:48"}