In Williams v. American Country Insurance Co., 359 Ill. App. 3d 128, 833 N.E.2d 971, 295 Ill. Dec. 765 (2005), the plaintiff, a police officer, approached a cab, opened the door, and leaned inside. While the plaintiff was leaning inside the cab, the driver began driving, forcing the plaintiff to run alongside the cab for 15 feet. The driver was charged with and convicted of misdemeanor battery. The officer filed a civil suit against the driver and the company that owned the cab, Yellow Cab Company, alleging that the driver was the agent and servant of Yellow Cab. It alleged negligence against both defendants and negligent entrustment against Yellow Cab. The insurer of both the driver and Yellow Cab undertook the defense of the personal injury case, retaining one firm to represent Yellow Cab and another to represent the driver. In its answer to the officer's complaint, Yellow Cab denied that the driver was an agent. While that case was pending, the driver filed suit seeking a declaration that his insurer was obligated to provide him with independent counsel because of a conflict of interest. This court found that a conflict of interest existed, as the insurer "was charged with providing a full and vigorous defense" to both the cab company and the driver, whose interests in the underlying suit were in opposition to each other. Williams, 359 Ill. App. 3d at 138. It was in the driver's best interest to present a defense that he was an agent of the company, while it was in the company's best interest to establish the exact opposite. Williams, 359 Ill. App. 3d at 139. Because the interests of the driver and the cab company were "diametrically opposed," the insurer was presented with "an ethical conflict where it could not choose a defense strategy in the underlying action without harming either Williams or Yellow Cab." Williams, 359 Ill. App. 3d at 139.