Moscarillo v. Professional Risk Management Services, Inc. (Ct. of Appeals)

Filed April 16, 2007. Opinion by Judge Clayton Greene.

From the official headnote:

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE– DUTY TO DEFEND– To establish a potentiality of coverage, an insured can refer to extrinsic evidence, however, the extrinsic evidence must relate to a cause of action actually alleged in the complaint and can not create a new, unasserted claim. An insurer’s duty to defend is not triggered when the professional liability insurance policy at issue does not provide coverage for fraud and the gravamen of the complaint in the underlying action alleges only fraud.

On appeal from a decision of the Court of Special Appeals affirming the decision below that the insurer had no duty to defend the insured ("Moscarillo") for intentional rather than negligent conduct, the Court of Appeals AFFIRMED the decisions below.

The opinion is available in PDF format.