Unigard Insurance v. Leven

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• explaining for duty to defend to arise, insured must ask insurer for defense
• finding prejudice where insurer did not have opportunity to argue to the Department of Ecology that its insured was not a “potentially liable party” under the Model Toxics Control Act, Laws of 1989, ch. 2
• insurer was prejudiced as a matter of law by inability to argue its insured was not a potentially liable party under the Model Toxics Control Act, chapter 70.105D RCW
• “[A]n insurer’s duty to defend an action brought against its insured arises when a complaint against the insured, construed liberally, alleges facts which could, if proven, impose liability upon the insured within the policy’s coverage.”
• “[A]n insurer cannot be expected to anticipate when or 25 if an insured will make a claim for coverage; the insured must affirmatively inform 26 the insurer that its participation is desired.”
• “To establish actual prejudice, the insurer must demonstrate some concrete detriment, some specific advantage lost or disadvantage created, which has an identifiable prejudicial effect on the insurer’s ability to evaluate, prepare or present its defenses to coverage or liability.”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).