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An Insurer's Duty to Defend Ends After Settling the Only Potentially Covered Claim
An Insurer's Duty to Defend Ends After Settling the Only Potentially Covered Claim
By Nicolas C. Mesco, Esq. of Tressler LLP
In a case of first impression, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that an insurer’s duty to defend ended after it settled the only potentially covered claims in an underlying lawsuit. The court ruled that the insurer had properly withdrawn from the defense of the remaining claims against the insured. Society Insurance v. Bodart , 2012 Wisc. App. LEXIS 469 (Wis. Ct. App. June 7, 2012).
After being ordered to defend its insured in a declaratory judgment action, Society Insurance settled three of the five claims against its insured, J. Rich Bodart, including the only claim that was potentially covered under the Society Insurance policy. Society then notified Bodart that it would no longer defend him in the underlying lawsuit. Bodart responded by filing a motion in the declaratory judgement lawsuit to hold Society in contempt for its unilateral decision to withdraw its defense without seeking court approval. The circuit court held that Society no longer had a duty to defend and denied the contempt motion. Bodart appealed.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals noted that no Wisconsin court had ever considered whether an insurer’s duty to defend continues after it settles the only potentially covered claims. In resolving the issue, the court of appeals first considered the defense and settlement provisions of the policy. The Society policy did not explicitly address whether an insurer could unilaterally withdraw from the defense of the insured in such situations, but the court noted that Society only had a duty to defend against “suits” to which the insurance applied, and the policy gave Society the right to settle claims. Based on these provisions, the court found that a reasonable insured would understand that the contractual duty to defend ends when the suit no longer includes a claim that is even arguably covered.
The court also found that courts throughout the country have held that the duty to defend ends after all arguably covered claims have been settled and dismissed. Neither the parties nor the court had been able to locate cases holding that the duty to defend continues after the settlement or dismissal of all potentially covered claims. In addition, the court noted, the contrary rule would require insurers to cover a risk for which it had not received a premium, “which would result in a perverse incentive for insurance companies to litigate questions of coverage more aggressively, counter to the general interests of their insureds and adding costs for all involved,” and would increase the number of “declaratory judgment actions brought by insureds to force insurers to perform their contractually mandated duties.”
In dicta, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals noted that other courts have recognized exceptions, including one that prohibits an insurer from withdrawing from the defense if doing so would prejudice the insured’s defense of the remaining, non-covered claims. Another, when the insurer has acted in bad faith. For example, where the insurer has paid the claimant and colluded with the claimant in an effort to get the claimant to re-draft the complaint’s allegations in a way that leaves the insured with no coverage. However, the court found no evidence in the record that either exception was at play.
Tressler Comments: By holding that an insurer in Wisconsin may withdraw from the defense of an underlying suit after settling all potentially covered claims, the court of appeals in this case aligned Wisconsin with the rule adopted in every jurisdiction to have considered the issue. Once all arguably covered claims are dismissed, the insurer may withdraw from the defense so long as it does so in good faith and does not prejudice the insured’s defense of the remaining claims.
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