Supreme Court of Rhode Island
Quality Concrete Corp. v. Travelers Property Casualty Company of America
April 16, 20122012 R.I. LEXIS 47
Summary
The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment to Travelers, holding that the insurer was not obligated to provide independent counsel, that no genuine issue of fact existed regarding a conflict of interest, and that Travelers did not ratify the insured’s engagement of independent counsel. The court based its decision on the pleadings test for the duty to defend and on prior Rhode Island precedent limiting independent‑counsel rights to cases with an actual, not speculative, conflict.