Attorney Fees.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Continental Western Insurance Company v. Country Mutual Insurance Company

Case No.: 20-2962

Officials: FLAUM, SCUDDER, and KIRSCH, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Attorney Fees

In the aftermath of a serious collision between an ambulance and semi-truck, a question lingered: Who owned the ambulance? This inquiry turned contentious as two insurance companies looked to sidestep primary coverage obligations arising from three post-accident lawsuits. The ambulance service's formation through a joint enterprise and status as a separately insured party complicated the resultant ownership determination. The district court determined that defendant-appellant Country Mutual Insurance Company's named insured owned the ambulance, holding Country Mutual responsible for primary coverage for the defense costs in question. Accordingly, the district court found that plaintiff-appellee Continental Western Insurance Company's named insured did not own the ambulance such that Continental only owed coverage in excess of Country Mutual's...