insured.‖ Usher parked a Chevrolet van he owned in his driveway. He
left the van’s side door open while he loaded the van in preparation
for a camping trip. While Usher was inside his house, several
children, including 2-year-old Graham Coburn, began playing near
the van. One of the children climbed into the driver’s seat and moved
the shift lever from park to reverse. The van rolled backward,
crushing Coburn and killing him. Coburn’s parents sued Usher for
negligence. Is the accident covered by Usher’s homeowners’ policy?
National American Insurance Company of California v. Coburn, 209
Cal. App.3d 914, 257 Cal.Rptr. 591, Web 1989 Cal.App. Lexis 356
(Court of Appeal of California)
50.6 Malpractice Insurance Donald Barker, a wealthy Oregon
resident, went to the law firm Winokur, Schoenberg, Maier,
Hamerman& Knudson to have his estate planned. An attorney at the
firm repeatedly told Barker that he could convey half of his $20million estate to his wife tax free under Oregon’s marital deduction.
Barker had his will drawn based on the law firm’s advice. It was not
until after Barker died three years later that Barker’s family learned
that Oregon does not recognize the marital deduction. As a result, the
will’s beneficiaries were subject to significant estate taxes. The
beneficiaries sued the law firm for negligence, and the case was
settled for $2 million. At the time Barker was being advised by the
law firm, it had a professional malpractice insurance policy with the
Travelers Insurance Company (Travelers) that covered ―all sums
which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages
because of any act or omission of the insured arising out of the
performance of professional services for others in the insured’s
capacity as a lawyer.‖ The policy expired one year prior to Barker’s
death. Is Travelers liable for the $2 million settlement? Travelers
Insurance Company v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of
Pittsburgh, 207 Cal. App.3d 1390, 255 Cal.Rptr. 727, Web 1989
Cal.App. Lexis 130 (Court of Appeal of California)
50.7 Duty to Defend When Michael A. Jaffe, a child psychiatrist
practicing in California, was accused of Medi–Cal fraud and theft, he
requested that his malpractice insurer, Cranford Insurance Company
(Cranford), provide his criminal defense. Cranford refused to defend