Lincoln Property Company v. Travelers Indemnity
August 19th, 2015/By Admin/In Blog
The recent decision by the California Court of Appeal, First District, Third Division in the case of Lincoln Property Company v. Travelers Indemnity basically reaffirmed prior California decisions holding that if an insured seeks to file two lawsuits that each involve the same primary right of action against an insurer that the second suit will be dismissed on the ground of res judicata, collateral estoppel, retraxit or another action pending depending on the status of the first action.
In this case, the insured was sued by an employee of another company that was injured at a job site. When the insured was dissatisfied with the lack of his insurer’s response to the defense tender of the injured party’s action, the insured filed a cross-complaint in that action for breach of the duty to defend and indemnify the insured.
The insured then tried to file a second suit against its insurer alleging the same primary rights of breach of the duty to defend and indemnify but this time based on the manner in which the insurer had responded to tender. The court affirmed the dismissal of the second action by the trial court on the basis that the insured had improperly split the causes of action based on the same primary right of breach of the policy.
This case review has been brought to you by Timothy Lake, a Partner of the Firm in the Sherman Oaks office and Chair of the Firm’s Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Practice Group. Mr. Lake represents insurance carriers on a broad range of coverage issues and related matters.
