Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich v. Vigilant Insurance

Opinion

McINTYRE, J.

Civil Code section 2860 (all undesignated statutory references are to this code) requires that an insurer provide independent counsel to its insured in certain conflict situations, and subdivision (c) of this section requires the arbitration of “any dispute concerning attomey[] fees . . ..” In this appeal we address the question of whether this section encompasses disputes between an insurer and its insured over the insurer’s responsibility for defense expenses incurred by the insured’s independent counsel. We conclude section 2860 does not require the arbitration of…