Civil Case (Center) 31842-09-22 Anonymous et al. v. Natan Meller et al.

Judgment

1. The discussion before us deals with the interpretation of the term "sinkhole" and the scope of the application of the exception that appears in the insurance policy.

At the center of the discussion was the question of insurance coverage for the unfortunate event that occurred on July 21,2022, in which the late Klil Kimhi died after he was swept away by a hole that opened in a swimming pool in a villa in Karmei Yosef.  Media Maven, which organized the fun day at the villa, sued the Ayalon insurance company, which insured it with a modular insurance policy for the business.  Ayalon, for its part, rejected the insurance coverage on the grounds that the "sinkholes" exception included in the insurance policy exists.

The question you will ask here is whether the hole that opened in the pool is indeed considered a sinkhole for the purposes of the policy.

Background - The Event, the Proceedings and the Parties' Claims

2. During a "fun and team-building day" held at a private swimming pool in a villa in Carmei Yosef on July 21,2022, a tragic tragedy occurred that led to the death of the deceased, the late Klil Kimhi. The deceased was invited to the event by Media Maven Ltd.  (hereinafter: "Maven Media" or "The Insured) with which he had business and professional relations.  At around 2:30 P.M., while some of the attendees, including the deceased, were swimming and playing ball in the pool, the floor of the pool collapsed and a deep hole suddenly opened in it.

Following the collapse of the floor, the pool water was pumped very hard into the cistern and swept the deceased Klil Kimchi and another person underground.  The other guy was injured and scratched from the concrete and iron fragments, but managed to escape and be saved, while the deceased was sucked deep into the depths of the ground and it was very difficult to rescue him.  Many rescue forces, special sniffer dogs and fire brigades were called to the scene and began searching operations to locate the deceased.  Only a few hours later, the body of the deceased was located, using a sniffer dog, a depth of several meters in the underground cavity of an ancient cave in chalk soil.

3. The plaintiffs, the estate of the deceased and his parents, filed a lawsuit (in its amended version) against a number of defendants who they claimed were responsible for the disaster. Thus, the owners of the land and the pool in which the terrible incident occurred were sued; the Gezer Regional Council - the local authority that was negligent in supervising the conditions of the land and the construction of the pool in its area; Media Maven and N.Z.  Marketing and Advertising Ltd.  - were sued as the ones who invited the deceased and others and organized the formation day; Additional defendants were also sued who carried out various works on the pool over the years, including its construction, renovations, maintenance work and leak tests.  The plaintiffs claimed that these parties were negligent in the areas of planning, construction, maintenance and supervision of the pool, which led to the serious failure.  Third-party notices were submitted between the defendants, among themselves.  Relevant to the subject of the discussion here is a notice to a third party filed by Media Maven vs.  Ayalon Insurance Company Ltd.  (hereinafter: "Ayalon Insurance Company" or "איילון"), the details of the notice to a third party and the issue arising from it will be presented below.
4. After a number of hearings were held and affidavits of the main witness were submitted, a settlement was submitted in the spirit of the court's proposal and in view of the circumstances that are the subject of the proceeding, between the plaintiffs and the defendants. In accordance with the settlement agreement, the charges of the paying parties are separate, in the sense that each of them is responsible for paying only his share.  In addition, as part of the settlement agreement, the claim against some of the defendants was dismissed.  The total amount of the settlement was divided in specific percentages and amounts among the defendants who were part of the settlement.  As for Maven Media, its share in the settlement agreement was 7.5%, and the amount was paid through Ayalon Insurance Company.  It was agreed that the proceedings between these parties would continue and the legal-factual dispute between them would be clarified.
5. As far as the notice to a third party is concerned, it was sent by Media Maven to Ayalon Insurance Company after a demand for legal representation and full insurance coverage for Media Maven's liability was rejected, despite a modular insurance policy for the business, 2021 Edition, No. 21/7-39-150025, Insurance Period from February 7,2022 to July 31,2022 (hereinafter: "The Policy", a copy attached to the affidavit of the main witness of Media Maven).

The Ottoman Settlement [Old Version] 1916 Ayalon rejected the insurance coverage based on Chapter 9 of the policy, "Exception 13, which excludes "liability and/or loss and/or damage caused directly and/or indirectly as a result of the appearance and/or formation of pits or soil sinkholes known as sinkholes".