JET

How goes it with the lawsuit? Still dragging on?

Yep, some of the most expensive gl I ever bought turned out to be among the lousiest coverage, and of course you don't find out until you're already in a bind. Unless you're a Philadelphia insurance coverage attorney turned roofing contractor it's hard to understand what a policy covers even after reading it.

I hope you win this. What a long and twisted road are all things legal.

JSC Said: Its my understanding that the insurance co has a duty to defend against lawsuits, pending the outcome. They have the choice of settling or paying out the maximum coverage and washing their hands of it. In theory, they arent liable for actual bad workmanship, only the initial damage that results from it. However, if they do fight the lawsuit to the end they are liable for whatever amount the judgement may be, regardless of your policy limits. That, and the costs of litigation, is why they almost always settle.

You're absolutely correct. They DO have a duty to defend but in our case they're hanging their on the fact that they were not informed in a timely manner and therefore not able to defend. I CAN tell you this fact, they can deny coverage too, and it seems that the BS carrier we've been sold all these years does not have a very good track record when it comes to holding up their end of the bargain. In that case you sue them too. In almost 25 years in the roofing business we've never been sued or even received a lawyer letter. When it never happens to you it doesn't come up on the radar screen. You trust your agent and send them the money.........big mistake.

JET

It's my understanding that the insurance co has a duty to defend against lawsuits, pending the outcome. They have the choice of settling or paying out the maximum coverage and washing their hands of it. In theory, they aren't liable for actual bad workmanship, only the initial damage that results from it. However, if they do fight the lawsuit to the end they are liable for whatever amount the judgement may be, regardless of your policy limits. That, and the costs of litigation, is why they almost always settle.

That's terrible.

I had a recent insurance "issue". I just had the first claim my company has ever had(23yrs) last year. Luckily, it's not our fault so it should settle out fine for us. Anyways, our insurance agent had us on a policy that didn't cover water intrusion for years!!! We were completely floored.

JSC Said: I was wondering why your insurance co wasnt defending this all along, but thought you had said it was your choice to fight it on principle rather than let the insurance co settle ( and possibly cancel or increase premiums).

Yep. lawyers are just thieves for the most part. The best saying I ever heard was 99% of the lawyers are making the rest look bad. We are usually forced into their web because of another one.

Im not surprised at the outcome, as it happens all too often.

No, I informed my agent when I received the lawsuit. SHE told me we weren't covered for hurricane damage to our work. I should have insisted that she file a claim but took her word for it and paid the legal fees myself. Now I know she was wrong and should have just asked me to send her the paperwork for a claim filing. This next "go-round" with the two different law firms is on a contingency fee basis. It doesn't cost us a dime to pursue and I will really enjoy seeing this crooks sweat a little. Found out an interesting fact from this legal malpractice attorney. He told us that each year he has to fill out a form to renew his E&O policy. If he checks the box that asks, "have you ever sued a client for your fees?" he will never get insurance. I thought that was interesting to hear since I've always thought that you had to pay the a-holes regardless of how you felt about their "performance" or lack thereof. We'll see how it goes........

JET

I was wondering why your insurance co wasn't defending this all along, but thought you had said it was your choice to fight it on principle rather than let the insurance co settle ( and possibly cancel or increase premiums).

Yep. lawyers are just thieves for the most part. The best saying I ever heard was "99% of the lawyers are making the rest look bad". We are usually forced into their web because of another one.

I'm not surprised at the outcome, as it happens all too often.

Went to trial a year ago this month. We (rather our "attorney") lost and the other side won a $25K judgement, even though they sued for $61K. We appealed right away but nothing has happened on the appeal yet. In the interim we filed suit against our insurance agent (and agency) for not turning the lawsuit over to the insurance company to defend. The agency has now turned it over to their E&O carrier to settle. We used a different law firm for this matter. Just a few days ago we met with a legal malpractice attorney who will be filing suits against two of our attorneys (we had a total of five involved) for their miserable handling of the case. Attorneys have E&O coverage also so it will be an insurance claim with them. Moral of this story, NEVER depend on anyone to handle your business, make sure YOU see it through. Also, if you're not aware of what your liability insurance policy covers, take it to several "experts" immediately. You would be amazed as to what your policy does NOT cover. In the end we hope to recover the (more than) $100K we spent in legal fees. It has been a very "learning" experience.

JET