Court upholds insurer's business exclusion coverage
BY
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha K. Ternus
DES MOINES -- An insurance company did not have to indemnify and defend an anesthesiologist who was sued by a former colleague, the Iowa Supreme Court recently ruled.
Both the appellants, John C. Peterson and his wife, and appellee Ohio Casualty Group filed for summary justice to the Supreme Court. A district court had earlier ruled that Ohio Casualty "had no obligation to indemnify or defend the Petersons" in their suit against Richard J. Holcomb and the Supreme Court affirmed that decision.
The case involved a defamation lawsuit filed by Holcomb against Peterson in 1999, following Holcomb's firing from their joint anesthesiology practice. Peterson sought indemnity and defense from his insurer, Ohio Casualty, against the lawsuit but the insurer stated that Holcomb's claim fell within the "business pursuits" exclusions of Peterson's two insurance policies.
The Supreme Court agreed, finding that Peterson defamed Holcomb as "part of a deliberate course of conduct designed to exclude him from their long-standing business relationship."
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