When Does Duty to Defend Begin
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2001 Liability LitigationMost liability policies stipulate that insurers have the right and duty to defend claims. Usually, if the policy does not contain a duty to defend provision, no duty exists. The duty to defend is not triggered unless any of the allegations against the insured may be covered under the policy. Even if a suit is frivolous or groundless, the insurer must defend against allegations potentially covered by the policy provisions. Courts in Texas and Illinois recently grappled with the question of when the duty to defend kicks in. In Scottsdale Insurance Co. v. Travis, No. 05-99-01831-CV, 2001 Tex. App. LEXIS 3462 (May 29, 2001), a Texas appeals court ruled that an insurer does not have a duty to defend actions that did not occur within the policy period. The case involved Richard Robinson, a manager for a janitorial service called Maintenance Houston, who resigned and started his own janitorial service company
