Atlanta International Insurance v. Bell

This case presents an issue of first impression: whether defense counsel retained by an insurance company to defend its insured can be held answerable to the insurer for professional malpractice. The Court of Appeals held that defense counsel may not be sued by the insurer for malpractice.

We agree with the analysis of the dissent articulated in section (i)(b) that principles of common-law negligence do not generally require imposition of third-party liability in the malpractice context. We *516also agree with the dissent that something less than a plenary attorney-client relationship exists…