Duty to Defend

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: Bradley Moore v. Zurich American Insurance Company, et al.

Case No.: 2017AP781

Officials: Brash, P.J., Kessler and Dugan, JJ.

Focus: Duty to Defend

Konecranes, Inc., Brian Angelroth, and Michael Carroll (collectively, “Konecranes”) appeal from judgments of the circuit court, entered on orders following a jury’s verdict, against Konecranes in favor of plaintiff Bradley Moore and third-party defendant Badger Alloys, Inc. Konecranes contends the circuit court erred when it partially denied Konecranes’ motion for summary judgment, which had asserted, among other things, that Badger had breached its contractual duties to defend and indemnify Konecranes. The circuit court had concluded that any duty was contingent upon the allocation of liability, and that there was “a genuine factual dispute as to whether Konecranes’ liability in any way arises out of the acts or omissions of Badger Alloys[.]” We conclude that there was no duty to defend under the contract in question and that the circuit court properly determined that the duty to indemnify was contingent. The circuit court therefore properly denied the motion for summary judgment in part, so we affirm the judgments.

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.