James River Insurance Co. v. Timcal, Inc.

TimCal, Inc., an insurance agent, received a letter from Fidelity National Property & Casualty Insurance Company charging it with breach of its duties as an insurance agent and informing it that Fidelity would seek to recover damages. TimCal did not inform its professional liability insurer, James River Insurance Company, about the claim until almost a year later. James River filed a complaint against TimCal and Fidelity, seeking a judgment declaring that it had no duty to defend or indemnify TimCal because TimCal failed to provide notice of Fidelity’s claim to James River within the 60-day period provided by their contract. Court granted James River’s motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Fidelity argued, in part, that James River policies define a claim as “a written demand for monetary damages,” and that Fidelity’s letter did not satisfy this definition because it did not demand a specific dollar amount. Court properly granted Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment. The term “claim” unambiguously applied to the letter, because Fidelity demanded payment of monetary damages, even though it did not specify a settlement amount or its total damages.