Insurance – Duty to Defend

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WI Court of Appeals – District II

Case Name: State Farm Fire & Casualty Company v. Easy PC Solutions, LLC

Case No: 2014AP2657

Officials: Neubauer, C.J., Reilly, P.J., and Gundrum, J.

Practice Area: Insurance – Duty to Defend

Wilder Chiropractic, Inc., filed a class-action lawsuit alleging Easy PC Solutions, LLC, violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and committed conversion by transmitting unsolicited facsimiles on three separate dates in September and October 2010. Easy PC tendered its defense to State Farm Fire & Casualty Company, which refused to provide a defense. Easy PC settled the lawsuit with Wilder, to whom it assigned its rights to recover from State Farm. State Farm subsequently brought this declaratory judgment action, in which the circuit court found that State Farm had no duty to defend Easy PC against Wilder’s claims. On appeal, Wilder argues the court erred in relying on a 2010-11 insurance policy and in finding that the policy excluded coverage. We disagree and affirm. The class-action complaint alleged injuries that occurred on three dates in September and October 2010, during which State Farm’s policy with Easy PC excluded coverage for TCPA and TCPA-related claims, and therefore State Farm had no duty to defend Easy PC against Wilder’s lawsuit.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.