Insurers dodge a bullet. (California Supreme Court ruling on Industrial Indemnity Co. advertising liability responsibility) (California & the Western States) (Editorial)

National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, September, 1992

"No one knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, but it's all insured." This reported quote by the California Supreme Court's Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas aptly and concisely sums up the frightening tendency of courts to see insurance coverage where none exists and none was intended. Fortunately for carriers and their premium-paying customers, the remark came during verbal arguments - in a convoluted lawsuit involving Industrial Indemnity Co.

and Bank of the West - which led to a decision shielding insurers from potentially billions of dollars in claims payments and defense costs. In fact, if an appellate court. ruling had been upheld, insurers could have been held liable for a good portion of the $195-billion savings and loan debacle. An early...

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