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Argued May 3, 2005; decided June 29, 2005
Raymond Corp. v National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., 6 AD3d 788, reversed.
{**5 NY3d at 160} OPINION OF THE COURT
Read, J.
Plaintiff Raymond Corporation manufactures sideloader forklifts.[FN1] Defendant [*2]National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. is Raymond's primary liability insurer. At the time of the accident prompting this lawsuit, plaintiff TBS Group, Inc., formerly Arbor Handling Services, Inc., was one of Raymond's vendors. The issue on this appeal is whether the vendor's endorsement in the commercial general liability policy that National issued to Raymond covers personal injury claims caused by the vendor's independent acts of negligence. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the vendor's endorsement only covers those claims stemming from a defective product.
I.
In 1994, Arbor sold Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, a steel distributor, two new Raymond sideloaders for installation in its Philadelphia facility. Because its new cantilever rack system[FN2] was put into place months before the sideloaders' anticipated delivery date, Ryerson asked Arbor to secure two rental units for its use in the meantime. Arbor had one rental sideloader in-house in its own fleet, and agreed to "support . . . as if it were its own" any second sideloader that Ryerson might locate either "internally or externally."[FN3]
Ryerson subsequently located a second Raymond sideloader in Chicago. Ryerson rented this unit, which was disassembled and shipped to its facility in Philadelphia. Arbor sent two service technicians to reassemble and adjust the sideloader, which was configured for use in a rail-guided system where the guide rails were both closer together and higher than at Ryerson's facility.{**5 NY3d at 161}
In a rail-guided system, guide rollers are attached to the four corners of a sideloader and engage the rails, which are secured to the floor of the aisles between the racks. With proper [*3]adjustment, the guide rollers run against the parallel-facing rails with minimal clearance. A rail

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