Insurer Must Defend Suspended Attorney in Sexual Assault Action, Maine Federal Judge Rules

AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine federal judge has ruled that Westport Insurance Corp. has a duty to defend a suspended attorney against sexual assault and professional misconduct claims because a jury could find that he committed one or more violations of the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct while engaged in an attorney-client relationship.

In a Dec. 1 order, Judge Jon D. Levy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine noted the complaint cites several rules which “plausibly stand as independent causes of action apart from the alleged sexual assault and false imprisonment,” triggering coverage.

Clarence Spurling was …