Appellate Panel Affirms Trial Court Determination that Insurer Had No Obligation to Pay Hefty Fee Award.
For your insurance coverage practitioners, the next one is for you.
State Farm General Insurance Co. v. Mintarsih, Case No. B202888 (2d Dist., Div. 3 June 25, 2009) (certified for publication) decided that an insurer had no obligation to pay an attorney’s fees award of $733,323.60 incurred by insureds under “supplementary payment” provisions where the underlying wage and hour claims producing the fee award were not even potentially covered under the pertinent homeowners/personal liability umbrella policies. The Second District, Division 3 relied on its similar interpretation of similar language in Golden Eagle Ins. Corp. v. Cen-Fed, Ltd., 148 Cal.App.4th 976, 992-996 (2007) and declined to follow a statement in Prichard v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 84 Cal.App.4th 890, 912 n. 22 (2000) suggesting that an insurer’s costs liability could arise solely from claims that were not even potentially covered. (Slip Opn., at pp. 12-16.)
John W. Dillard, real estate and insurance man. Washington, Indiana, June 1941. John Vachon, photographer (1914-1975). Library of Congress.