Farmers urges Utah Supreme Court not to adopt Illinois rule on duty to defend

At oral argument before the Utah Supreme Court, Troy Buer, counsel for Farmers Insurance Exchange, urged the justices not to adopt the so-called Illinois rule for insurer liability for failing to defend. “If the court does not adopt the Illinois rule ... there's no reason to reach the duty to defend issue,” Buer told the court, arguing that the case’s factual record would leave the duty-to-defend question unnecessary to resolve.

Buer told the court that the unique posture of the record — including a prior partial summary judgment that removed tort liability and a trial record that limited damages — meant the court could avoid deciding the duty-to-defend question if it declined to adopt Illinois’s approach. “If indemnification goes away and there's no responsibility for the judgment and no emotional distress…