Insurance company won't pay $1.5 million in legal bills, including ...

An insurance company has balked at paying about $1.5 million in bills for defense costs tied to lawsuits against the city of Portland, including the wrongful death case of James Chasse.

In response, the Portland City Council this morning authorized attorneys to sue the insurance carrier to recover legal expenses already paid by the city.

The mayor and commissioners voted unanimously and without discussion to support the council resolution, which did not provide the names of cases or the amount of money in dispute.

After repeated questions from The Oregonian since last week, the city attorney's office this afternoon disclosed the amount of money and reported that nine cases are being disputed, including the high-profile death of Chasse in 2006. Officials have not yet named the other eight cases.

City Attorney Linda Meng said the disputed cases go back about 5 years and involved the city's former insurance carrier, Chartis.

-- Brad Schmidt

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/01/insurance_company_wont_pay_15.html

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