When Insured Withdraws Claim No Need to Sue for Declaratory

Published: Sept. 6, 2022, 8:21 p.m.

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When You Win it is Best to Shut Up and Accept It 

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As a young lawyer one of the first things I learned was never argue with  a judge whose tentative ruling is to grant your motion. Insurers often  seek, when there is a dispute of insurance coverage, declaratory relief  from the court about its duty to defend or indemnify the insured.  However, when there is no claim, it is a waste of the time of counsel,  the insured and the courts to bring a declaratory relief action.  

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The axiom to never argue over a win was explained by the USDC for the  Eastern District of Virginia, in Hanover Insurance Company, et al. v. C.  David Venture Management, LLC, et al., Civil Action No. 1:21-cv-790  (RDA/JFA), United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Alexandria  Division (August 30, 2022). Hanover sought a ruling it owed neither  defense nor indemnity to the defendants. The defendants, David Venture  Management, LLC and Venture Street, LLC\'s (\\u201cDefendants\\u201d) moved to  dismiss The Hanover American Insurance Company\'s (\\u201cPlaintiffs\\u201d or  \\u201cHanover\\u201d) suit.  

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BACKGROUND  

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The lawsuit for Declaratory Judgment implicates Hanover\'s potential  duties to defend or indemnify Defendants in a putative class action  brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.  Beginning on December 9, 2017, Hanover issued the first of several  Commercial General Liability (\\u201cCGL\\u201d) policies to CDVM. Hanover also  issued Commercial Follow Form Excess and Umbrella Policies  (\\u201cExcess/Umbrella Policy\\u201d) for the same effective dates. Defendant  Venture Street was added as an additional named insured on the CGL and  Excess/Umbrella Policy effective May 29, 2019.

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