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QBE Insurance Corp. v. Brown & Mitchell, Inc

Under Mississippi law, whether a liability carrier has a duty to defend depends on the policy language and the allegations of the complaint. Under this so-called "eight-corners" test, the allegations in the complaint are analyzed against the language in the policy to determine coverage and the duty to defend. If the complaint states a claim that is "within or arguably within the scope of coverage provided by the policy," then the insurer has a duty to defend. 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 08-61043, 12-17-2009

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Published opinion

Before JOLLY, WIENER, and BARKSDALE, Circuit Judges.

In this insurance coverage/exclusion dispute, Brown & Mitchell, Inc. (“BMI”) appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to QBE Insurance Corp. (“QBE”). QBE originally filed a declaratory judgment action to determine whether BMI’s excess commercial general liability policy (the “Policy”) required QBE to provide coverage for or defend BMI in a wrongful death suit. QBE argued that the underlying incident did not constitute an “occurrence” under the Policy or, in the alternative, that BMI’s alleged misconduct fell within the Policy’s “professional services exclusion.” In its grant of summary judgment, the district court concluded that BMI’s “intentional” conduct, as opposed to negligent conduct, i.e., an accident, excluded it from coverage without reaching whether the professional services exclusion applied. We hold that the professional services exclusion applies and, therefore, pretermit the question of whether the underlying incident constitutes an “occurrence” under the Policy. Accordingly, the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

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