Shaheen, Cappiello, Stein & Gordon, P.A. v. Home Insurance

719 A.2d 562, 143 N.H. 35, 1998 N.H. LEXIS 64
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
DecidedSeptember 30, 1998
DocketNo. 96-118
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 719 A.2d 562 (Shaheen, Cappiello, Stein & Gordon, P.A. v. Home Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shaheen, Cappiello, Stein & Gordon, P.A. v. Home Insurance, 719 A.2d 562, 143 N.H. 35, 1998 N.H. LEXIS 64 (N.H. 1998).

Opinion

HORTON, J.

The defendant, The Home Insurance Company (Home Insurance), appeals a ruling of the Superior Court {Mohl, J.) granting a petition for declaratory judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, Shaheen, Cappiello, Stein & Gordon, P.A. (Shaheen PA.) and Dorothy M. Bickford, seeking coverage under a lawyer’s professional liability policy issued by the defendant. We affirm.

The trial court found the following facts. In 1984, the plaintiffs represented Deborah Coffin for the purpose of executing a prenuptial agreement between Coffin and her prospective husband, Jonathan Rearick. Bickford, an attorney with the Shaheen firm, [37]*37received a draft of a prenuptial agreement prepared by Coffin’s Connecticut attorney that included a provision providing for the distribution of certain property to the spouse who contributed the funds to acquire it. Inexplicably, this provision was omitted from the final agreement.

After executing the agreement, Coffin and Rearick were married. They later purchased a home with Coffin’s funds. The house was conveyed to Coffin and Rearick in joint tenancy. By September 1990, Coffin sought legal advice from Robert Stein of Shaheen EA. for divorce proceedings, which commenced in December 1990. On April 18, 1991, Stein wrote a memorandum to Bickford, which opined that “the prenuptial agreement actually signed does not cover the dissolution of jointly-held property . . . .” Stein and Bickford exchanged memoranda regarding the omitted provision. Stein discussed with Coffin the possibility of successfully arguing that the agreement, even without the omitted provision, mandated that she was entitled to sole ownership of the marital home. Coffin expressed confidence in Stein and his legal abilities, and approved the firm’s continuing representation in her divorce action.

On November 15, 1991, Shaheen EA. applied for renewal coverage with Home Insurance. In response to the question, “is any lawyer aware of . . . any incident, act or omission which might reasonably be expected to be the basis of a claim or suit arising out of the performance of professional services for others,” Shaheen EA. did not disclose the Coffin matter because the firm believed that no claim would arise pending resolution of the interpretation of the prenuptial agreement.

On August 27, 1992, a hearing was held before the Marital Master CLarry B. Fletcher, Esq.) in the Sullivan County Superior Court. The master observed that the agreement was silent regarding the disposition of the marital home, and indicated he would likely dispose of it under equitable principles in accordance with RSA chapter 458. Stein informed Coffin that she would have a potential malpractice claim against Shaheen EA. if the master ruled as suggested, and in a memorandum, requested that Bickford obtain a copy of Shaheen EA.’s current malpractice policy to “determine whether we need to put our carrier on notice of a potential claim to be made.” This was Bickford’s only communication relative to the Coffin divorce since her exchange of memoranda with Stein in the spring of 1991.

On September 17, 1992, the marital master concluded that the prenuptial agreement did not cover the disposition of the [38]*38marital home. In October 1992, Stein informed Home Insurance about Coffin’s potential malpractice claim, approximately eighteen months after Shaheen EA. first learned of the potential problem. In November 1992, Home Insurance informed Shaheen EA. that it would be reserving its rights, and, in March 1993, sent Shaheen EA. a reservation of rights letter.

In late 1993, Home Insurance informed Shaheen EA. that it was. closing its file since no claim had been made and no suit had been filed. One representative of Home Insurance indicated that “there was nothing for [them] to do” until a claim was filed. In December 1993, Shaheen EA. learned that a malpractice action would be brought against Bickford only, who had left Shaheen EA. Bickford alleges that Shaheen P.A. purchased a “tail” policy to cover her acts prior to her departure. Home Insurance declined to appoint defense counsel for Shaheen EA. because the firm was not named as a party.

In April 1994, .Home Insurance first learned that a writ had been served against the plaintiffs alleging malpractice. In a letter sent on April 22, 1994, Home Insurance denied any obligation to provide professional malpractice coverage to the plaintiffs, claiming that the October 1992 notice was untimely. The plaintiffs then filed a declaratory judgment action in superior court. During the proceedings, the plaintiffs’ expert witness, Andrew Dunn, Esq., testified as to when a reasonable attorney should expect an act or omission to give rise to a claim for coverage. The trial court relied on the expert’s testimony and ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

Although Home Insurance raises several issues on appeal, we need address only three: (1) whether the trial court erroneously admitted expert testimony regarding the reasonableness of the plaintiffs’ actions; (2) whether the trial court erroneously ruled that the plaintiffs were not aware of an “act or omission which would reasonably be expected to be the basis of a claim or suit”; and (3) whether the policy was void because the plaintiffs failed to notify Home Insurance of the potential claim on the 1992 renewal application.

Home Insurance first challenges the admission of Attorney Dunn’s expert testimony. The determination of an expert’s qualification to testify rests within the sound discretion of the trial court. N.H. R. EV. 702; Public Serv. Co. of N.H. v. Town of Seabrook, 133 N.H. 365, 373, 580 A.2d 702, 707 (1990). We will not reverse such a decision unless we find that the trial court clearly abused its [39]*39discretion. See Public Serv. Co. of N.H., 133 N.H. at 373-74, 580 A.2d at 707.

Since the standard of care by a reasonable attorney involves questions of “technical, or other specialized knowledge,” an expert’s testimony on the reasonability of an attorney’s conduct is admissible. N.H. R. Ev. 702. Having found Attorney Dunn qualified as an expert, the trial court may properly rely on his testimony in determining the plaintiffs’ reasonableness. See N.H. R. Ev. 702; Rothbart v. Rothbart, 141 N.H. 71, 77, 677 A.2d 151, 155 (1996). The trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing Dunn to testify,

We next address Home Insurance’s argument that the plaintiffs were aware of an act or omission which would reasonably be expected to be the basis of a claim or suit. We interpret insurance policies “in the same manner as any other contract.” Hudson v. Farm Family Mut. Ins. Co., 142 N.H. 144, 146, 697 A.2d 501, 503 (1997). “Interpretation of a contract, including whether a contract term or clause is ambiguous, is ultimately a question of law for this court to decide.” Merrimack School Dist. v. Nat’l School Bus Serv., 140 N.H. 9, 11, 661 A.2d 1197, 1198 (1995) (brackets and quotation omitted). We construe ambiguous policy language in favor of providing coverage to the insured. See, e.g., Weeks v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 140 N.H.

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Bluebook (online)
719 A.2d 562, 143 N.H. 35, 1998 N.H. LEXIS 64, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shaheen-cappiello-stein-gordon-pa-v-home-insurance-nh-1998.