Duty to defend insured in civil case terminated with criminal conviction

Insurance Matters

By Don R. Sampen

Don R. Sampen is a member of the appellate practice group of Clausen, Miller P.C., where he focuses on appellate, commercial and insurance-related litigation. He also teaches insurance law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. His column appears twice monthly.

Posted June 8, 2016 2:35 PM

The 1st District Appellate Court recently held that allegations in an underlying complaint against an insured sufficiently alleged negligence so as to require the insurer to defend, but that the duty to defend ended once the insured was criminally convicted of the alleged conduct.The case is Country Mutual Insurance Co. v. Dahms, 2016 IL App (1st) 141392. Country Mutual was represented by Carlson Law Offices. Muslin & Sandberg represented the insured, Charles Dahms.Dahms was involved in an altercation with a cab driver …

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