The United States District Court for the Central District of California, applying California law, held that a no voluntary payments clause in an employment practices liability policy barred coverage for post-tender discovery costs incurred without the insurer’s prior written consent. The California Endowment v. Radnor Specialty Ins. Co., 2026 WL 1243672 (C.D. Cal. May 6, 2026). The Court rejected arguments that the insurer had waived or was estopped from relying on the provision based on its earlier payment of expenses incurred without its consent as a “special accommodation.”
The coverage dispute arose from an employment practices lawsuit filed against a nonprofit organization. The insurer accepted the defense subject to a reservation of rights and retained defense counsel to represent the insured. While the defense was ongoing, the insured entered into an agreement with an electronic discovery vendor for document production services without obtaining the insurer’s consent. The
