United States Seventh Circuit

In a suit by an insurer seeking a declaration that it owed neither defenses nor indemnification to several of its insured companies facing negligent-hiring suits, summary judgment for plaintiff is affirmed in part and vacated and remanded in part where: 1) Indiana law did not require the insurer to cover negligent-hiring claims under the general liability policies it had issued; 2) the district court properly applied choice-of-law rules to determine that several of the insured companies were subject to Indiana law and therefore not covered for negligent-hiring claims; and 3) further factual findings were required to determine whether Indiana or Illinois law applied to a final insured company.

Appellate Information

• Argued 12/07/2007
• Decided 08/08/2008
• Published 08/08/2008

Judges

• KANNE, Circuit Judge., Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and MANION and KANNE, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Edward F. Harney, Jr., Hume Smith Geddes Green & Simmons, Indianapolis, IN, John C. Tollefson (argued), Tollefson Bradley Ball & Mitchell, Dallas, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee., Michael W. Rathsack (argued), Chicago, IL, Timothy F. Kelly, Kelly Law Offices, Crown Point, IN, for Defendants-Appellants.