Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance v. Williams Ex Rel. Stevens

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

We earlier held in this case that the defendant’s insurance carrier had received adequate notice of a tort complaint filed against the insured so as to trigger its duty to defend. We now examine the extent to which the carrier is bound to a settlement effected by the insured.

Facts

According to stipulated or otherwise undisputed facts, Betty White began babysitting children in her home in 1988. (R. at 41.) In early 1989 she began keeping Tracy Stevens’s two daughters, including Jena Williams. On one of these occasions, White’s husband molested Jena. 1

In October 1989, Jena…