Insurers Have No Duty To Defend, But May Be Liable For Unfair Insurance Practices

Mealey's (February 20, 2019, 12:33 PM EST) -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico federal judge on Feb. 14 found that insurers have no duty to defend or indemnify their insureds against two underlying wage dispute lawsuits brought by former employees but concluded that, at the very least, there is a genuine factual dispute as to whether the insurers sufficiently investigated the insureds’ claims, communicated with the insureds and implemented reasonable claims handling standards (West American Insurance Company, et al. v. Hailey Atyani, et al., No: 17-01047, D. N.M., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25188)....