Middleton v. Imperial Insurance

Opinion

KAUS, J.

Appellants Michael J. Middleton, M.D., an anesthesiologist, and William J. Bowland, R.N.A., a nurse-anesthetist, were insured by Imperial Insurance Company (Imperial) for malpractice liability from January 1, 1971, through January 1, 1973. Their policies covered “occurrences” (alleged malpractice) during the policy period, regardless of how many years later a claim was actually made. Insurance argot, for obvious reasons, describes such policies as having a “long tail.”

Imperial later became insolvent; on January 10, 1978, the state Insurance Commissioner (Commissioner) was…