Federal Court Rejects Insurer’s Discretion in Terminating the Duty to Reimburse Defense Costs Under a Directors and Officers Liability Policy
Last month, the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed what has been axiomatic in California since at least Gray v. Zurich, 65 Cal. 2d 263, 278 (1966): People buy liability policies for peace of mind, expecting to be defended in case they are sued. Any potential for coverage at all, therefore, triggers the duty to defend, and the duty is not dependent on the "malleable, changeable and amendable" pleadings in the underlying action.