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
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
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
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
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
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
The court in Perma-Pipe, Inc. v. Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation, Case No. 13 C 2989, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54867 (N.D. Ill. April 21, 2014), held that a CGL insurer breached its duty to defend by refusing to pay for...more
On February 20, 2013, in a matter of first impression in the state of Florida, the Third District Court of Appeal ruled 2-1 that an additional insured was entitled to the appointment of separate and independent defense...more