Century Surety Co. v. Blevins

Century filed suit seeking a declaratory judgment that it is not required to defend or indemnify the insured in an underlying suit. The district court dismissed the declaratory judgment action and all counterclaims. Because Clausen v. Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Md.’s interpretation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act (LUTPA), La. Rev. Stat. 51:1406(1), makes clear that the district court was correct in holding that the insured failed to state a claim for unfair trade practices, the court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of that counterclaim; because the district court provided neither notice to the insured that it intended to dismiss all of its claims nor an opportunity to defend the sufficiency of the claims not challenged by Century, the court reversed the dismissal of these three counterclaims and remanded for further proceedings; and the court need not consider whether the district court applied the correct test or applied it correctly because some of the insured’s counterclaims have been remanded. The court vacated the dismissal of the declaratory judgment action and remanded. View "Century Surety Co. v. Blevins" on Justia Law