Mass. Court Rules Against Insurer that Withheld Fees from Counsel

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ordered an insurer for a realty trust to pay its insured's chosen counsel the agreed-upon fee for defending it in a mold exposure case, rather than a reduced amount unilaterally imposed by the carrier. Northern Security Insurance Company Inc. v. R.H. Realty Trust & Another, No. 09-P-1757 (Mass. App. Ct.).

The court also ordered Northern Security Insurance Company Inc. also affirmed a lower court's finding that the insurer's action violated the commonwealth's Consumer Protection Act (ch. 93A), and ordered Northern Security to pay the law firm's litigation costs.

R.H. Realty Trust sought …