Salvati v. American Insurance Company
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
855 F.3d 40 (2017)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
Lucia Salvati (plaintiff) brought a wrongful-death action for her husband’s death against his supervisor and the owners of the building where a fatal accident occurred. Those parties (insureds) had $1 million in primary insurance coverage through Western World Insurance Company and $9 million in excess coverage through American Insurance Company (AIC) (defendant). AIC repeatedly refused to provide coverage. Salvati ultimately accepted a settlement that said she would receive $6 million. In exchange for Western World paying out its $1 million limit, Salvati released it and the insureds from further liability. The insureds assigned their rights against AIC to Salvati, allowing her to seek recovery of the remaining $5 million from AIC. Salvati as assignee then sued AIC. The court dismissed Salvati’s claims, reasoning that no judgment was entered that triggered AIC’s duty to indemnify the insureds, and that AIC was not party to the settlement and not bound to pay it. Salvati appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lipez, J.)
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