Use of Uninsured Vehicle To Transport Victim To Site of Assault Does Not Trigger UM Coverage

On August 14, 2018, in a case of apparent first impression in New Mexico, the New Mexico intermediate appellate court in Crespin v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Am., 2018 (N.M. Ct. App. 2018) upheld a lower court’s ruling that transporting a minor in an uninsured motor vehicle to another location in order commit a sexual assault does not trigger uninsured motorist (UM) coverage because the assault did not arise out of the use of the uninsured vehicle. The decision rebuffs a novel attempt to …

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Insurers Have No Duty To Defend Chiropractor Against Failure To Warn of Sexual Assault Claim

In Hanover American Insurance Co. v. Balfour, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 874 (10th Cir. Jan. 21, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed an Oklahoma federal district court’s rulings in favor of two insurers arising out of a claim against a chiropractor for negligent failure to warn her patient of the insured’s husband propensity to commit a sexual assault.  The Tenth Circuit first found that under the subject chiropractor’s malpractice policy, the underlying complaint failed to allege “professional services.”  The Tenth …

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