MARTORELLO

ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN PART AND DENYING SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN PART

The parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment came on for hearing before the court on February 10, 2010. Plaintiff Charles Martorello (“Martorello” or “plaintiff’), appeared through his counsel, Terrence J. Coleman. Defendant Sun Life Assurance Company (“Sun Life” or “defendant”), appeared through its counsel, Julie Schwartz and Robert J. Guite. Having read all the papers submitted and carefully considered the relevant legal authority, the court hereby GRANTS plaintiffs motion and DENIES defendant’s motion, for the reasons stated at the hearing, and summarized as follows.

The heart of the parties’ dispute here boils down to whether, under the terms and definitions of the Sun Life Policy, bonuses are to be included in the calculation of “disability earnings.” Because standard rules of contract interpretation apply to insurance contracts, the court looks to the terms of the Policy for resolution. According to its terms, an employee’s entitlement to partial disability benefits is determined based upon a comparison of that employee’s “Disability Earnings,” and his “Indexed Total Monthly Earnings.” See…