Declaratory Judgment Obtained By Michael F. Schmidt And Also Summary Disposition As To The Insureds’ Counterclaim For Bad Faith And Breach Of Contract Arising Out Of Claim For Insurance Coverage For An Underlying Claim Resulting From A Failed Merger Of Insurance Agencies

AMCO Insurance Company v Douglas Williams and Douglas Williams & Associates, Inc., Washtenaw County Circuit Court, declaratory action which we filed on behalf of AMCO Insurance Company to obtain a ruling that AMCO Insurance Company had no duty to defend and provide coverage to Douglas Williams and Douglas Williams & Associates, Inc. for claims made against them in an underlying action resulting from a failed merger of several insurance agencies, and we also defended AMCO against a counterclaim by Douglas Williams and Douglas Williams & Associates, Inc. for breach of contract and bad faith. After discovery, we filed a motion for summary disposition arguing that there was no coverage for the claims made in the underlying action because the allegations in the underlying complaint were incorrect as to when the events occurred and the events actually occurred outside the policy period, that coverage was barred by failure to comply with the policy conditions requiring notice of the underlying suit, the voluntary payment clause and the no action clause, by settling the underlying claim without notice to the insurer, that there was no “personal and advertising injury” as defined by the policy alleged in the underlying action and that coverage was excluded by policy exclusions for acts done with the knowledge that the act would violate the rights of another, for publication of material with knowledge of its falsity, for breach of contract and for violation of laws. The trial court granted our summary disposition in favor of AMCO on all grounds, that there was no duty to defend or provide coverage because all of the events alleged in the underlying action occurred after the policy was cancelled, that the insured’s reliance on dates in the underlying complaint was improper since the underlying information established that these dates were incorrect, and that even if the policy was not cancelled, coverage was barred by breach of the notice condition, the cooperation condition, the voluntary payment condition and the no action clause, and that in addition, all of the exclusions applied. The court also granted our summary disposition for AMCO as to any and all claims made by Douglas Williams and Douglas Williams & Associates, Inc. in the counterclaim for bad faith and breach of contract. The insureds sought reimbursement of over $100,000 in indemnity plus attorney fees in excess of $50,000