Opinion ID: 1837384
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Muirhead v. Baker Donelson

Text: ¶ 25. Armed with the assignment and Judge Yerger's opinion, Muirhead sued Baker Donelson, Reed, Bey and Spencer, for alleged legal malpractice in advising Great River that it had no duty to reimburse him for his legal expenses, and that he had no coverage under the policy. The case was assigned to Circuit Judge Tomie Green, who held that Judge Yerger's finding in the previous lawsuit stands as the law in the case because it wasn't appealed. Thus, Judge Green held that Great River's decision not to defend Muirhead in the original lawsuit was bad faith as a matter of law and served as res judicata on the issue, even though Baker Donelson was not a party to the suit involving Judge Yerger's decision, and had no right or opportunity to appeal. ¶ 26. During trial, Reed testified it was his decision to advise Great River that the policy did not provide coverage to Muirhead, and that Great River had no duty to reimburse his attorney fees. He testified his decision was based on, among other things, the pretrial rulings of Judge Graves in Maddox v. Muirhead , the results of the trial of that case, and the fact that this Court has never held that an insurance company is required to offer to defend a potential insured prior to a demand for coverage and representation. ¶ 27. Attorney Robert Gibbs, who testified as an expert for Baker Donelson, found significant the fact that, when Baker Donelson was asked to provide an opinion, the Maddox v. Muirhead trial was over and the results were known. This placed Baker Donelson in the advantageous position of not having to speculate on the outcome. It also allowed Baker Donelson to consider Judge Graves' pretrial rulings that neither Muirhead nor Salter were acting within the scope of their employment when the altercation occurred, and the negligence claim against Salter failed as a matter of law.