Cincinnati v. Metro. Design

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 364

Syllabus

INSURANCE – ATTORNEY FEES: Because the duty to defend is significantly broader than the duty to indemnify, the trial court did not err when it determined that third-party defendant insurance company had a duty to defend its insured against a public-nuisance lawsuit, which alleged property damage as a result of the insured's negligence and sought an injunction ordering the insured to immediately restore the damaged property: although the complaint did not specifically request compensatory damages, it was still a \suit for damages\ under the insurance policy where, due to the nature of the damages and the immediate need for repair, the complaint demanded that the insured expend money to immediately restore the damaged property. Attorney fees are recoverable where an insurance company wrongfully refuses to defend an action however, the trial court erred by awarding attorney fees for the insured's consultation with a criminal defense firm where the insurance policy specifically excluded coverage for damages caused by an insured's criminal acts. The trial court did not err in declaring that an exclusion contained in the commercial general-liability insurance policy, which excluded coverage for property damage to a part of any property that must be repaired because the insured's work was incorrectly performed on it, did not apply to preclude coverage where the insured was not seeking coverage for property damage to property that was a part of the insured's contracted work, but instead was seeking coverage for damage done to property belonging to third parties.