JUDGMENT Contract – Plaintiff insured contends defendant insurance company is obligated to pay costs incurred before defendant was notified of underlying claim.

U.S. District Court - Southern District of Florida

The plaintiff company, a defendant in an underlying copyright infringement case, sought more than $________ in defense costs from the defendant insurance company. The plaintiff contended that the Florida Claims Administration Statute (FCAS) applied and that under the statute, the defendant was estopped from denying reimbursement of such expenses. The defendant insurance company asserted that it was not obligated for costs under its policy incurred before the plaintiff tendered the defense to the defendant insurance company.

The defendant maintained that the policy unambiguously provided that coverage extends to defense costs incurred by the insured at the defendant’s request and that another provision clearly prohibited the insured from voluntarily assuming any obligation or incurring any expense without the defendant’s consent. The plaintiff maintained that under the plain language of the policy there is coverage for the defense costs incurred without defendant’s knowledge and consent, and that there was no exclusion under the policy for pre-tender costs.The court rejected the plaintiff’s coverage arguments and found Traveler’s policy only provided coverage for expenses incurred with Travelers permission and knowledge.