Murder, Intrigue, Wrongful Arrest, Malicious Prosecution, and …… Insurance Coverage???

Insurance coverage disputes rarely make headlines, but this one grew out of a notorious true-crime saga: the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria and the wrongful conviction of her husband, Russ Faria, who spent more than three years in prison before being acquitted. After his exoneration, Faria sued Lincoln County for constitutional violations, prompting the county’s insurer, Argonaut Great Central Insurance Company, to argue it had no duty to defend because the alleged misconduct was malicious and began before its policy period. The Eighth Circuit rejected that argument, holding that allegations of reckless law-enforcement conduct during the policy period were enough to trigger coverage—proving that even insurance law can be unexpectedly gripping.