CLARKSBURG — Admiral Insurance Company has filed a complaint seeking a ruling that it is not obligated to defend or indemnify Morgantown attorney William C. Brewer or his former law firm, Brewer & Giggenbach PLLC, in connection with a pending malpractice lawsuit in Preston Circuit Court.
The complaint for declaratory judgment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, and the underlying case was filed in December 2021 by Rhonda Degarmo and centers on Brewer’s alleged representation of both sides in a complex asset transfer involving family members and businesses.
Degarmo, who also serves as executrix of her late husband Eric Larew’s estate, claims Brewer violated legal and ethical obligations by failing to disclose conflicts of interest and acting in ways that benefitted himself in unrelated litigation.
Admiral's complaint states that Brewer and his now-defunct firm are being sued in Preston Circuit Court. Brewer has since formed a new firm, William C. Brewer & Associates, also based in Morgantown.
Admiral argues that its professional liability insurance policy, issued to Brewer’s current firm and effective from July 17, 2021, to July 17, 2022, does not require the company to provide defense or indemnification in this matter.
The insurer points to several policy exclusions and definitions, including limitations related to prior claims, conflicts of interest and acts not disclosed to previous insurers.
The underlying complaint alleges that Brewer represented Degarmo, her late husband, and his parents — known as the Senior Larews — in the purchase and sale of business assets, preparing loan documents without addressing the inherent conflict of interest.
After Eric Larew’s death, Degarmo alleges Brewer continued representing her and the estate, while withholding that the Senior Larews had sued him for malpractice based on the same transactions.
Degarmo also claims Brewer advised her to make loan payments from personal and estate funds that were not actually owed, with the intention of reducing his exposure in the malpractice suit brought by the Senior Larews.
In September 2024, the advice constituted a separate instance of attorney malpractice, causing financial harm to Degarmo, the estate, and various companies, according to the underlying complaint.
Degarmo's lawsuit accuses Brewer of negligence, theft and conversion, legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty.
Among the damages she seeks are reimbursement of legal fees and punitive damages. Brewer denies the allegations and sought coverage for the lawsuit under the Admiral policy, but Admiral initially denied the claim in January 2022.
Brewer’s previous malpractice insurer also denied coverage for the new claim in February 2022, citing that the limits of that policy had been exhausted in the defense and indemnification of the prior suit filed by the Senior Larews.
That insurer concluded that the current suit “fundamentally concerns the same transactions and alleged conflicts” as the earlier case.
Brewer, through his attorney, argued that the amended complaint filed by Degarmo includes “new claims wholly unrelated to the alleged conflicts of interest” addressed in the earlier suit and requested Admiral authorize a $750,000 settlement offer.
Admiral again denied coverage on July 30, 2025.
Admiral’s federal complaint notes that its policy excludes coverage for intentional wrongdoing, the return of legal fees and any claims involving personal profit.
It also notes that coverage is not available for claims based on acts or omissions that an insured should have reasonably expected to be the basis of a claim before the policy began.
The insurance company is asking the court to declare that it owes no duty to defend or indemnify Brewer or his former firm in the Degarmo lawsuit and that it has fulfilled its obligations under the terms of the policy.
Admiral is represented by William H. White Jr. of Kiernan Trebach.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number: 1:25-cv-00072
