Maxwell v. Hartford Union High School District

¶ 67. N. PATRICK CROOKS, J.

{dissenting). Our case law is absolutely clear about the proper procedure that an insurer must follow to contest coverage. "In cases where the coverage and liability issues are not bifurcated, insurance companies can protect themselves by defending under a reservation of rights. In this way the insurer gives up none of its rights should it ultimately be determined that coverage does not exist under the policy." Newhouse v. Citizens Sec. Mut. Ins. Co., 176 Wis. 2d 824, 839, 501 N.W.2d 1 (1993). This case illustrates precisely the kind of unfairness that reservation…