The Ninth Circuit gets Gunderson Right while Finding Coverage for Slogan Infringement
11/22/2010 Articles
Since the California Court of Appeal issued its decision in Gunderson v. Fire Insurance Exchange, 37 Cal. App. 4th 1106 (1995), insurers have used it for the proposition that an "insured may not speculate about unpled third party claims to manufacture coverage." However, a closer reading of Gunderson‘s holding reveals that the key inquiry is not which claims the third party pled but rather which facts the third party pled. In the recent case of Hudson Insurance Co. v. Colony Insurance Co., No. 09-55275 (9th Cir. Nov. 5, 2010), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had the opportunity to clarify...
