Policyholders vs. Insurers: 3 Arguments to Make When Selecting Defense Counsel & Hourly Rates
Day 2 of One Month to Better Investigations and Reporting-Selection of Investigative Counsel
Consider the lawyer who lacks a working familiarity with trusts, and with estate planning generally. He prudently and ethically refers a client in need of an estate plan to a well-respected lawyer who also happens also to be...more
The insureds were sued for alleged environmental contamination from the operation of a marine terminal and chemical storage facility. The claimants alleged that hazardous materials leaked from storage tanks over a fifty-year...more
When hostilities break out between individual co-trustees, incumbent trust counsel faces a representation conundrum. In §8.8 of Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook (2025), see appendix below, we grapple with the...more
This is the first in a series of discussions about issues that arise on a regular basis after policyholders file an insurance claim. Many liability insurance policies require the insurer to defend the insured. This “duty...more
The past year once again saw a breadth of court decisions addressing a wide variety of directors and officers and professional liability insurance coverage issues. At various levels, state and federal courts across the...more
Civil Code section 2860 authorizes the retention of independent counsel in the event a conflict of interest arises between the insurer and its insured. Under the statute a conflict of interest is deemed to arise “when an...more
It is a settled principle of insurance law that a liability insurer’s duty to defend is broader than its duty to indemnify. In most jurisdictions, if any portion of a complaint against a policyholder is even potentially...more
In this episode, Eric Jesse explains ways to prevent your insurer from taking a one-size-fits-all approach to its defense obligations, from asserting your right to select your own counsel to challenging its definition of...more
In a major shift in Ohio law, Ohio spouses are now legally permitted to enter into postnuptial agreements as of March 23, 2023. After a long history (more than 130 years) of rejecting postnuptial agreements, Ohio joins 48...more
For more than 130 years, Ohio has strictly prohibited postnuptial agreements and spouses were not able to enter into agreements with each other that altered their spousal rights. Additionally, Ohio has restricted amendments...more
When confronted with information suggesting that employees, consultants, or other business partners have engaged in serious misconduct (or to quote Ray Parker, Jr., “when there’s somethin’ strange…in the neighborhood”), most...more
This morning, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Seila Law v. CFPB. Authoring the opinion for a five-justice majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s...more
Dan Dunne, in a Compliance and Ethics Professional article, entitled “Foxes and henhouses: The importance of independent counsel”, said a critical element in any investigation is “fair and objective evaluation by the...more
North Carolina has the third most planned communities in the United States after California and Florida. All of these planned communities typically evolve in a similar three-step process. First, a real estate developer...more
Many commercial real estate loans are “non-recourse,” which means in general terms that foreclosing on the real estate securing the loan is the lender’s sole remedy for a borrower’s failure to repay the loan. The lender is...more
Owens v. Katherine L. Corrigan & Klc, 2018 Fla. App. LEXIS 9174 (Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District, 6/27/18; Not final until disposition of any motion for rehearing.)...more
A cornerstone of California law is that the duty to defend arises whenever the lawsuit against the insured seeks damages on any theory that, if proved, would be covered by the policy. Indeed the duty to defend is so broad...more
In Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Co. v. VisionAid, Inc., No. 15-1351P2-01A (1st Cir. Nov. 15, 2017), the First Circuit Court of Appeals ended long-running insurance coverage litigation arising from policyholder VisionAid, Inc.’s...more
A key component of this fair and objective evaluation is the WHO question; that is, who should supervise the investigation and who should handle the investigation? You should have independent counsel should handle any serious...more
Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein’s appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller last week was a blockbuster development in the investigation of the administration....more
The Nevada Supreme Court has found that an insurer must provide independent counsel for its insured when a conflict of interest arises between the insurer and the insured, adopting California’s “Cumis Counsel” rule. While...more
On August 10, 2015, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision that could have broad implications regarding an insurer’s right to seek reimbursement of unreasonable fees and costs directly from so-called Cumis...more
In Centex Homes v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. (No. E060057, filed 5/22/15), a California Court of Appeal held that a developer’s declaratory relief lawsuit seeking a declaration of the right to independent counsel was...more
On May 5, the California Supreme Court will hear argument in a case that has the potential to profoundly change the relationship between the insurer, its insured and the insured’s independent defense counsel under Civil Code...more
A bill recently introduced in the Illinois State Senate known as the Insureds Independent Counsel Act, while, if enacted, will only apply in that State, is instructive as to when an insurance company must supply independent...more