Wilkinson v. Citation Insurance

In Preferred Mut. Ins. Co. v. Gamache, 426 Mass. 93 (1997) (Gamache), and its progeny, we articulated an exception to the “American Rule,” under which parties to litigation generally bear the expense of their own attorney’s fees regardless of the outcome of the case. The Gamache exception allows those who purchase insurance contracts containing a duty to defend provision to recover their attorney’s fees when they must resort to litigation against their insurer to enforce that duty. In the present case, we must consider whether to extend that exception to circumstances where the dispute…