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Team Wins Summary Judgment for Insurer and Prevails on Appeal

Partners Jack T. Friedman, Laurie J. Hepler and Larry B. Panek secured a summary judgment victory – now final after all appeals – for their client Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Company ("F&G"). The win established that F&G had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured with respect to an accident that resulted in a death and catastrophic injuries.

CBM's client insured a car dealership, whose employee rented a vehicle from the dealership's sister entity. The employee was involved in an accident that caused his own death and substantial injuries to his passenger. The passenger and the employee's survivors sued the car rental agency and the insured dealership. The dealership tendered the suit to F&G for defense and indemnity. Reserving its right to contest coverage and to seek reimbursement, F&G agreed to defend its insured, and eventually paid its policy limit to settle the underlying suit with the injured parties.

Represented by Friedman and Panek, F&G then pursued and won a summary judgment of no coverage. The insured appealed that judgment to California's First Appellate District, Division 5, but Hepler defeated that appeal as well as a subsequent petition for Supreme Court review that attracted several amici on the insured's side.