Lawyer wins coverage dispute in fee fight

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted June 17, 2020 10:51 AM

Illinois State Bar Association Mutual Insurance Co. doesn’t want to provide professional liability coverage for lawyers engaged in fee fights with former clients. And ISBA Mutual thought it wasn’t obligated to defend Michael D. Canulli against Maria Freda’s negligence complaint for two reasons: (1) The damages alleged by Freda were the fees (more than $100,000) she incurred when Canulli represented her in a divorce case and he filed a third-party complaint that was allegedly “useless and unnecessary.” (2) The ISBA Mutual …

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