Bartel

Filed 5/12/25; certified for publication 5/30/25 CA6 (order attached)

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

RICHARD BARTEL, H052083

(Santa Cruz County Plaintiff and Appellant, Super. Ct. No. 16CV02814)

v.

CHICAGO TITLE INSURANCE

COMPANY,

Defendant and Appellant.

This title insurance action centers on the scope of an insurer’s duty to defend a policy holder in litigation when it is not clear whether the policy covers the underlying dispute. Plaintiff Richard Bartel bought a property in rural Santa Cruz County to enjoy a quiet retirement. The property was so rural that no public roads connected to it. Bartel accessed the nearest public road by using a private road that traversed the property of his neighbors to the west. Bartel believed the private road terminated at his western property line. However, Bartel’s neighbor to the east believed he, too, had access to the private road using a route that crossed Bartel’s property. This disagreement became acute when the property of the eastern neighbor became a site for marijuana cultivation, serviced by trucks driving through…