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The Insurer Properly Reserved Its Rights to Disclaim Coverage When It Agreed to Defend a Legal Malpractice Action

The insurer agreed to defend an attorney in a legal malpractice action, but reserved its rights to disclaim coverage based upon the exclusion in the policy for actions arising from the conduct of a business owned by the attorney (as opposed to the law practice). The First Department rejected the argument that the insurer’s reservation of rights violated the policy:

The issuance of a reservation of rights allows the insurer the flexibility of fulfilling its obligation to provide its insured with a defense, while continuing to investigate the claim further. In fact, an insurance company’s failure to reserve the right to disclaim coverage may later result in the insurer being equitably estopped from doing so … . Thus, although plaintiffs are correct that the counterclaims, broadly construed, triggered defendants’ duty to provide them with a defense, defendants did not breach that duty by agreeing to do so, but with a reservation of rights to, among other things, later recoup their defense costs upon a determination of non-coverage … . Law Offs. of Zachary R. Greenhill P.C. v Liberty Ins. Underwriters, Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 04382, 1st Dept 5-21-15

 

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