Contents
QUESTIONNAIRES
Annotated Coverage Questionnaire
Ethical Compliance Questionnaire
Yes – Ethical Compliance Questionnaire
Annotated Ethical Compliance Questionnaire
Follow Up to Poor Questionnaire Response
ACTION GUIDES
“Yes” – Insurer Concedes Full Coverage
“Maybe” – Insurer Reserves Rights to Later Deny Coverage
“No” – Insurer Denies All Coverage
Blue Ridge Settlement Cost Reimbursement
Buss Defense Cost Reimbursement
MEMORANDA OF LAW
A 40 Day Deadline to Regulatory Deadline to Deny Liability Insurance Coverage Is Poorly Enforced
Assignable Rights Under a Liability Insurance Policy
Attorney-Client Privilege Waiver
Attorney’s Fees May be Covered as Costs
Attorney’s Authority to Bind a Client
Binding Effect of Liability Suit on Coverage Dispute
Blue Ridge Settlement Cost Reimbursement
Buss Defense Cost Reimbursement
Comparative Analysis of Ethical Rules
Compendium of Cases – Collusion
Compendium of Cases – Cooperation
Compendium of Cases – Failure of Proof of Conflicts of Interest
Compendium of Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of Interest – How They May Arise
Control of the Defense – Basic Principles
Control of the Defense – Yes, No, Maybe
Cumis Rule Is Based on Attorney Ethics
Cumis Attorney Disqualification Test – When Does the Right to Independent Counsel Vest?
Defaulting Insurer Forfeits Control of the Defense
Dependent Counsel Always Represents the Insurer
Dependent Counsel Is Beholden to the Insurer
Dependent Counsel Is Not Exempt from Rule 3-310
Difference Between Dependent Counsel and Independent Counsel
Disqualifying Conflicts of Interest
Duty of Competent Representation
Duty to Advise of Right to Independent Counsel
Duty to Defend – Trigger – Step by Step Analysis
Dynamic Concepts Line of Cases
Elusive Definition of Collusion
Estoppel, Waiver, and Forfeiture
Good Faith Reliance on Advise of Counsel
How Much Must an Insurer Pay Independent Counsel?
How Often Must an Insurer Pay Independent Counsel?
Insurer-Policyholder Fiduciary-Like Relationship
Insurer Silence Usually Concedes Full Coverage
Limited Scope of Representation
Measure of Damages – Failure to Defend
“No” – Insurer Denies All Coverage
Non-delegable Duty to Comply with Rule 3-310
Policyholder’s Duty to Cooperate
Settlement – Favorable Evidentiary Presumptions
Testify Into Coverage Truthfully
Tripartite Relationship: When Harmony Turns to Dissonance
MODEL DOCUMENT
MODEL CONTRACTS
Confidential Recovery Distribution Agreement
Privilege Non-Waiver Agreement
Retainer Agreement – Cumis-Counsel
MODEL DISCOVERY
Demand for Production of Documents
Deposition Outlines
– Good Faith Reliance on Advise of Counsel
MODEL LETTERS
Concede Duty to Defend and Disqualifying Conflict
Conflict of interest Waiver Request
MODEL PLEADINGS
Response to Motion to Withdraw
Trial Brief: Overview of Duty to Defend
Verified Complaint – Declaratory Relief
Verified Complaint – Pay Cumis Counsel
PRACTICE POINTERS
Cooperation: A Strategic Choice
Cumis Counsel’s Ethical Payment by the Insurer
Dilution: Plaintiff’s Monetary Curse
How to Make a Policy Limit Settlement Offer Properly
Incentives to Confess Covered Liability
Line Dividing Cooperation from Collusion
“Maybe” – Insurer Reserves Rights to Later Deny Coverage
“No” – Insurer Denies All Coverage
Pitches and Fallacies of Dependent Counsel
TOP TEN LISTS
Top Ten Insurer Coverage Decisions
Top Ten Policyholder Coverage Responses
Top Ten Policyholder Strategies
Top Ten Procedural Options to Resolve Conflicts of Interest
Top Ten Surprising Liability Insurance Laws
Top Ten Surprising Truths When Coverage Is Denied
OTHER
CASE STUDIES
Blue Ridge – Multi-Party Coordinated Response
CODES & REGULATIONS
Code of Regs § 2695 et. seq. Summary
EDITORIALS
Dynamic Concepts: Right on the Fact; Wrong on the Law!
POLICY CONTRACT
Anatomy of a Liability Insurance Policy
– Part 2: The Primary Promise to Indemnify
– Part 3: The Primary Promise to Defend
– Part 4: The Remainder of the Policy
Various Policy Defense Language
UNPUBLISHED OPINIONS