Mahecha

BACKGROUND

A. Mahecha's Prior Lawsuit Against Hanover and Its Purported Insured

In late 2012 in his underlying lawsuit─Mahecha v. Stacy et al. (Super. Ct. San

Diego County, 2011, No. 37-2011-00077979-CU-PN-SC) (the prior action)─Mahecha

obtained a default judgment awarding him damages in the amount of $287,050 against

Stacy, who allegedly was Hanover's insured, on Mahecha's causes of action against Stacy

for legal malpractice, intentional misrepresentation, and concealment. In that case,

Mahecha alleged that Stacy had committed malpractice while representing him in a

bankruptcy action related to a foreclosure proceeding that resulted in Mahecha's losing

3 his home.1 As pertinent here, Mahecha alleged in his verified amended complaint─in

support of his intentional misrepresentation and concealment claims─that Stacy "was not

covered by malpractice insurance" under the professional liability insurance contract

between Hanover and Stacy, that Stacy had falsely represented that he possessed

malpractice insurance that would cover any malpractice claim brought against him, and

that Stacy had concealed that he was not covered by malpractice insurance.

In…