COURT HOLDS INSURER HAS NO DUTY TO DEFEND AND INSURED WHO WAS NOT NAMED AS A DEFENDANT IN THE LAWSUIT AND WHERE THE INSURED DID NOT TENDER THE LAWSUIT TO THE INSURER.

In a case involving insurance coverage questions under a homeowners policy and related extra-contractual claims, a federal court in Dallas, held that an insurer did not have a duty to defend or indemnify the insured for lawsuits that alleged business-related claims, in which the insured was not a defendant, or that the insured did not tender to the insurer.

The court also concluded that the insured could not recover based on theories of waiver and estoppel or based on extra-contractual claims. Safeco Insurance Co. of Indiana v. Hiles, 2011 WL 3500998 (N.D. Tex., J. Fitzwater, Aug. 9, 2011).