Transamerica Insurance v. Taylor

The question presented by this appeal is whether insurance companies may properly maintain a declaratory judgment action for purposes of determining their liability for coverage when *314that question rests solely on a determination of whether the insured acted negligently or intentionally in causing the death of a third party, where this killing is the subject of a wrongful death action. For the following reasons, we hold that such an action may not be maintained.

It is firmly established in this state that the duty of an insurance company to defend an action against its insured under a policy of…