A New Jersey insurance company is suing its insured and a separate individual in an attempt to clear its duty to defend or indemnify the insured in an underlying suit.
Mesa Underwriters Specialty Insurance Company (MUSIC) of Branchville, N.J., filed a lawsuit Oct. 27 in the Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas against Kelvin Summons of Henderson and Kenneth Watson of Overton, alleging it has no duty to defend or indemnify Watson in an underlying suit.
This suit arises out of an underlying suit styled Kelvin Summons v. Kenneth Watson, in Rusk County District Court, which deals with an accident wherein Summons sustained injuries allegedly caused by Watson negligently operating a crane.
Summons seeks damages from Watson in the underlying suit, but MUSIC alleges its policy covering Watson does not qualify in this case because the work Watson was performing does not qualify as an insured operation listed on the policy's declaration page.
MUSIC seeks a judgment declaring no coverage exists for Summons' injuries and that it has no duty to defend or indemnify Watson for the claims raised in the underlying suit. The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Beth D. Bradley and Aaron G. Stendell of Tollefson Bradley Mitchell & Melendi in Dallas.
Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas case number 6:15-cv-00926-MHS