Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-92-03158/USCOURTS-ca10-92-03158-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Sun Ho Chang
Appellee
Hong Hun Chong
Appellee
Sang Yong Kim
Appellee
St. Paul Fire And Marine Casualty Insurance Company
Appellant

Document Text:

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALSF I L ..:.. O 

TENTH CIRCUIT United 8tate1Coyrtofi Appeal, 

ST. PAUL FIRE AND MARINE CASUALTY 

INSURANCE COMPANY, a Minnesota 

corporation, 

) 

) 

) 

) 

Plaintiff-Counter-Defendant-Appellant, ) 

v. 

) 

) 

) 

HONG HUN CHONG, a citizen of the Republic) 

of Korea; SANG YONG KIM, a citizen of the) 

Republic of Korea, ) 

v. 

Defendants-Counter-Claimants/ 

Cross-Claimants-Appellees, 

SUN HO CHANG, a citizen of the Republic 

of Korea, 

Defendant-Cross-Defendant-Appellee. 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

Tenth C1rcu t 

NOV 161992 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

No. 92-3158 & 92-3117 

(D.C. No. 91-CV-2141) 

(D. Kan.) 

Before MOORE, TACHA, and BRORBY, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall 

not be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, 

except for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of 

the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 

36.3. 

Appellate Case: 92-3158 Document: 010110148688 Date Filed: 11/16/1992 Page: 1 
· .. 

34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore ordered 

submitted without oral argument. 

This appeal is from an order of the district court finding a 

policy of insurance issued by appellant St. Paul Fire & Marine 

Insurance Company ambiguous and construing the policy in favor of 

the insured. Appellants allege that the policy is free from 

ambiguity and that the district court failed to properly construe 

the policy in favor of the insured. We affirm. 

This appeal arises out of a legal malpractice claim asserted 

on behalf of appellees Chong, Chang, and Kim against a Kansas 

attorney. The attorney was an insured of appellant under a 

professional liability insurance policy. The facts related to the 

malpractice claim are undisputed. The only issue involved in this 

appeal is the interpretation of a provision of the insurance 

policy limiting coverage to $100,000 for each wrongful act or 

series of related wrongful acts. We must interpret, as did the 

district court, the language of the policy to determine whether 

the malpractice acts involved in this claim were several separate 

wrongful acts or a series of related wrongful acts. The district 

court determined that the phrase "series of related wrongful acts" 

contained in the policy of insurance was ambiguous and therefore 

should be construed in favor of the insured. In our view, the 

district court was generous in describing the policies as 

ambiguous. 

With respect to each of his clients, the attorney had 

separate obligations and committed several wrongful acts with 

respect to each of these separate obligations to his clients. 

-2-

Appellate Case: 92-3158 Document: 010110148688 Date Filed: 11/16/1992 Page: 2 
Thus, although he gave the same advice to different clients, it is 

difficult to say that the advice with respect to each client was 

related to the advice given to the other two clients. Whether the 

policy is ambiguous or whether the acts with respect to each 

client are three discreet series of wrongful acts, the district 

court correctly held that appellees are entitled to the aggregate 

policy limit and that the coverage is not limited to the $100,000 

limit that would be applicable to a series of related acts. The 

district court further correctly awarded prejudgment interest on 

the policy amounts. AFFIRMED. The mandate shall issue forthwith. 

-3-

ENTERED FOR THE COURT 

Deanell Reece Tacha 

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 92-3158 Document: 010110148688 Date Filed: 11/16/1992 Page: 3