Chubb Ltd. units must defend the Archdiocese of New York in hundreds of sex abuse claims filed against it based upon its coverage’s plain language, a New York court ruled Friday.

Chubb said in a statement it will appeal the ruling.

The “Chubb insurers simply do not have a cause of action,” said Judge Suzanne J. Adams of the New York Supreme Court in New York in Century Indemnity Co. et al. v. The Archdiocese of New York et al. The New York Supreme Court is New York’s trial court.

The ruling notes that in early 2019, New York enacted the Child Victims Act, which allows individuals to bring civil actions arising out of alleged childhood sexual abuse until their 55th birthday.

It says the archdiocese and associated policyholders are now defending about 1,500 CVA actions alleging childhood sexual abuse as far back as the 1930s, with about 86% of these actions implicating Chubb primary and excess policies.

The ruling says, “The plain language of the insurance policies at issue covers bodily injury and negligence as alleged in the underlying CVA actions against the movants, and the complaint sets forth no facts that would support a declaratory judgment that the Chubb Insurers have no obligations to indemnify, and consequently no obligation to defend” the CVA-related lawsuits.

Chubb said in its statement, “We will appeal this erroneously decided ruling. The fact remains that the (archdiocese) has failed to provide information on thousands of cases of horrific sexual abuse.

“That information can answer the key question — what did they know and when did they know it? — which will determine whether the (archdiocese) has proof of coverage under their insurance policies. We intend to find out.”

The Archdiocese issued a statement that said in part, “The court’s decision is an important step in helping to resolve meritorious cases and bring some measure of healing and justice to victim-survivors.”

It said, “The Archdiocese of New York has time and again demonstrated its commitment to expeditiously resolving all meritorious claims,” and hopes that with the decision the insurer will “become a willing partner in its efforts to provide relief to victim-survivors.”