⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Tenth Circuit considers whether Twin City and The Hartford had to defend Tri County Telephone Association against a class action over the sale of a member-owned Wyoming telephone cooperative. Members approved the sale in December 2014, and the cooperative became a for-profit company on January 2, 2015. Joe Campbell, a director who opposed the deal as undervalued, and his wife Barbara later brought a class action for former members, alleging the sale cost them tens of millions of dollars. The class-action defendants won summary judgment, and the Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed. Tri County paid its own defense costs and sued Twin City and The Hartford, but the federal district court held the action was one excluded claim even after chief financial officer Steve Harper was added. This appeal turns on when Campbell stopped serving, whether adding Harper created a separate claim, and whether any part of the suit required a defense.

Tri County Telephone Association v. Twin City Fire Insurance Company, et al. (No. 26-8007) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, argued September 16, 2026.