Insurance clash over pedo pediatrician

JOHNSTOWN, Penn. — The insurer NORCAL won its motion to bifurcate and stay counterclaims brought against it by the pediatric clinic that employed Johnnie Barto, a doctor serving at least 79 years for sexually assaulting more than 30 children, most of them his patients. The court will first determine whether NORCAL owes the clinic defense and indemnification from a state-court lawsuit alleging it covered up Barto’s behavior, then can address the clinic’s counterclaims for bad faith and breach of fiduciary duty.