The New York Marine and General Insurance Company has filed a lawsuit against Amber Heard in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The insurer provided $1 million of insurance coverage for the actress from July 18, 2018, through July 18, 2019, a time period that was factually critical for the defamation case from this summer. That insured time frame includes the date that Heard wrote and retweeted the op-ed featured in the Washington Post, claiming that she was a "public figure representing domestic abuse." The insured time period also includes the date the Depp defamation lawsuit was filed, March 1, 2019.
New York Marine is suing Heard with three requests: (1) that it be absolved of any duty to pay for her defense in the recent defamation case by her ex-husband Johnny Depp, (2) that it not be required to pay the multi-million dollar judgment Depp won against her on June 1, and (3) that it not have to pay any costs of the ongoing litigation associated with Heard's appeal.
In the complaint, New York Marine points out that California insurance law provides that although an insurance company may be liable for an insured party's negligence, "an insurer is not liable for a loss caused by the willful act of the insured[.]" The insurer argues that since the Virginia jury found Heard to have acted with actual malice, or willfully when defaming Depp, the company should not have to indemnify Heard.
The suit claims that New York Marine accepted the defense of Heard's case on October 1, 2019, through the firm Cameron McEvoy, and agreed to continue its coverage through that firm. The insurer further claims that Cameron McEvoy withdrew from the case in November, 2020, and New York Marine did not approve of a change in counsel and therefore should not have to pay for Heard's legal fees.
The case is New York Marine and General Insurance Company, a New York Corporation v. Heard, 2:2022cv04685.
Editor's Note:
The duty to defend is always greater than the duty to indemnify. If there's a chance the claim would be covered by the policy, then the insurer is obligated to pay for the defense of the insured. The insurer also selects the counsel, and the duty to defend ends when the limit of liability has been exhausted by payment of a judgment or settlement. Intentional acts are never covered except for when an insured uses reasonable force to protect persons or property. Then, the standard homeowners policy will provide coverage for bodily injury or property damage that may result.