Argonaut Insurance v. Elite Home Medical & Respiratory, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Elite Home Medical & Respiratory, Inc. and Steve R. Whitford (collectively, “Elite Home”) appeal from the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Elite Home’s insurer, Argonaut Insurance Company. We affirm.

The district court correctly determined that there was no genuine dispute of material fact that Elite Home was not entitled to independent counsel under California law because Elite Home failed to provide evidence of a conflict between its interests and Argonaut’s interests. Because Argonaut did not reserve its rights as to the sexual battery claim, “there can be no actual conflict based on the application of that exclusion during the pendency of the action.” Fed. Ins. Co. v. MBL, Inc., 219 Cal.App.4th 29, 44 , 160 Cal.Rptr.3d 910 (2013). Argonaut reserved its rights only as to damages for bodily injury, which is not an issue that counsel hired by Argonaut could control in a manner that would favor Argonaut. See Cal. Civ.Code § 2860(b); Blanchard v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2 Cal.App.4th 345, 350 , 2 Cal.Rptr.2d 884 (1991). Further, the general reservations of rights contained in Argonaut’s letters to Elite Home do not create a conflict of…