Insured Contracts: When the Carrier Gets It Wrong
Insured Contract Coverage, Excess Judgments, and Extra-Contractual Exposure The first two installments in this series were about coverage that exists. Part One located the insured contract provision in the Commercial General Liability (“CGL”), commercial…
When the Carrier Breaches First: Answering Cooperation and Consent Defenses
The insured’s refusal to accept a belated defense is not non-cooperation — it is the privileged consequence of the insurer’s first material breach. Introduction A litany of denials and affirmative defenses commonly follows the filing of an insurance…
Personal Counsel for the Defended Policyholder
When coverage is intact and the insurer is defending, the insured still has interests no one in the defense triangle is positioned to protect. Introduction Much of the writing on personal or independent counsel for an insured assumes a coverage fight:…
Five Misconceptions About Missouri Insurance Law That Cost Practitioners Cases
Introduction Insurance coverage litigation in Missouri is governed by a body of statutory and common law that is, in its broad outlines, familiar to most civil practitioners. The duty to defend, the duty to indemnify, the vexatious refusal statute, the…
The Eight Corners Rule Plus in Missouri: When the Duty to Defend Arises
How Missouri courts determine whether an insurer must defend its insured — the comparison test, the three-part Allen v. Bryers standard, the low threshold for triggering the duty, and the consequences of a wrongful refusal Missouri Injury & Insurance…
What Is a Reservation of Rights and Why Does It Matter
A guide to the reservation of rights in the third-party liability context — what it is, what it must contain, the conflict of interest it creates, the insured’s right to refuse, the right to independent counsel, and its role in the bad faith and §…
Missouri Liability Insurance: The Structure of the Policy, the Duties It Creates, and the Rules That Govern Coverage Disputes
A foundational overview for practitioners and sophisticated readers Missouri Injury & Insurance Law | missouriinjuryandinsurancelaw.com Introduction Every liability insurance dispute in Missouri rests on the same foundation: a…
The Insurer’s Gambit: Federal Declaratory Judgment Actions in Bar & Restaurant Liability Disputes
What Golden Bear Ins. Co. v. Levee Bar & Grill Teaches About Forum Strategy — and How Defense Counsel Could Have Played It Differently Golden Bear Ins. Co. v. Levee Bar & Grill, LLC, No. 4:24-CV-00764-DGK (W.D. Mo. May 15, 2025) Missouri Injury…
When Your Insurer Intervenes Against You: What Claims Must You Assert Right Now?
Lyda v. Allstate and the Potential Compulsory Counterclaim Trap in § 537.065 Litigation Missouri Injury & Insurance Law | missouriinjuryandinsurancelaw.com On March 24, 2026, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, decided Lyda v. Allstate…
Bad Faith in Missouri: The Duty to Defend, the Duty to Settle, and the Full Measure of Damages Under Scottsdale
A unified framework for understanding the insurer’s twin obligations and the consequences when either is breached Missouri Injury & Insurance Law | missouriinjuryandinsurancelaw.com Introduction Missouri’s bad faith…