In re: Association of County Commissions of Alabama Liability Self-Insurance Fund, Inc. v. Doris Jordan

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama granted the association's petition for a writ of mandamus and directed the Greene Circuit Court to vacate its stay of the association's declaratory-judgment action, but only to the extent the association seeks a determination of its present duty to defend the Greene County Commission against the county workers' pending tort claims. Following Ex parte Alfa Mutual Insurance Co. and Smith v. North River Insurance Co., the Court held that a duty-to-defend determination presents an issue different from the issues in the tort action, so the circuit court exceeded its discretion by refusing to consider it; the Court declined, however, to disturb the stay as to the association's indemnification and coverage-limit questions, for which the association cited no precedent supporting mandamus relief. The Court expressed no opinion on the applicability of the policy's exclusionary provisions, on how the duty-to-defend question should be resolved, or on how the duty might change with evidentiary developments. All nine justices concurred; there were no separate opinions.