Insurance
California Insurance Code section 533 prohibits insurance companies from providing indemnity for intentional acts. Last month, the First District Court of Appeal published a new case addressing whether an insured successor to a paint manufacturer that had promoted the use of lead paint was entitled to indemnity for a settlement payment of $101,666,666 made by the insured. A video discussing the case is above and my summary of the case is below.
New Insurance Decision
Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's etc. v. Conagra Grocery etc. (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 1164981: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order granting plaintiff insurance carriers' motion for summary judgment in a coverage action where plaintiffs alleged they were not obligated to indemnify defendant for its payment of $101,666,666 made to settle an underlying lawsuit where defendant was found liable for a public nuisance as the successor to paint manufacturer W.P. Fuller & Co. (Fuller) which had promoted the use of lead paint for interior and exterior use despite having known for nearly a century that such use of lead was hazardous to human beings. The trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs, holding that Insurance Code section 533 precluded coverage as a matter of law because it precludes indemnification for liability arising from deliberate conduct that the insured expected or intended to cause damage because the courts in the underlying litigation clearly and repeatedly found that Fuller intentionally promoted lead paint with knowledge that damage to children was at least highly probable. (C.A. 1st, April 19, 2022.)
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California Case Summaries Monthly™: short summaries (one paragraph), organized by legal topic, of every new civil case published California courts every month.
California Case Summaries Quarterly™: short, organized summaries of every new civil case, published by California courts every quarter, with the official case citations.
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California Case Summaries Annual™: short, organized summaries of every new civil case published the year before, with the official case citations, published every January.
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Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
California Case Summaries™
Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
Lawyer Master Mentoring™
CA Civil Trial Attorney Since 1980
ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President San Diego County Bar Assn., SD ABOTA Chapter
Phone: (619) 990-4312. Email: [email protected]
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