In his January 2019 Insurance Law IICLE Flashpoints column, Michael “Mickey” Passman examines a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision confirming that an insurer’s duty to defend is determined by the facts alleged against the insured, not the legal labels used to characterize those facts. 

In County Mutual Insurance Co. v. Jones, the Appellate Court was faced with deciding whether an insurance policy that covered “accidents” should cover allegations of deliberate wrongdoing that had been characterized by the underlying plaintiff as “negligent” acts. As has been ruled by other Illinois courts, the court held the mere recitation of the word “negligent” did not transform allegations of deliberate wrongdoing into allegations of “accidents,” and therefore coverage did not apply. 

The full article from the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education will be available here for a limited time.