Ace, Travelers in Fight Over Who Potentially Might Owe Dish Legal Fees

Travelers Property Casualty's attempt to add Ace American Insurance as a defendant in its lawsuit against Dish Network "is blatant forum shopping," Ace said in memorandum in opposition Thursday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Illinois. Travelers sued Dish in 2012, Ace a year later, with both seeking determinations they aren't responsible for defense costs as Dish fights claims by the FTC and California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio alleging violations of the telemarketing sales rule because Dish helped dealers make robocalls (see 0903260144). Travelers in December filed a motion to amend its complaint to assert a claim against Ace, seeking defense cost contributions from Ace to the extent the two insurers are found to owe Dish defense costs. In its response motion, Ace said Travelers has had years to transfer or consolidate the Ace and Travelers suits, but it "permitted parallel proceedings to continue in different jurisdictions until long after it received an unfavorable ruling ... that it had a duty to defend Dish" and months after it became evident Travelers and Dish were at loggerheads regarding summary judgment. Travelers didn't comment Friday.