Columbia Casualty Co. v. Northwestern National Insurance

This is an appeal from a judgment of dismissal entered after the trial court granted cross-defendant Northwestern National Insurance Company’s (Northwestern) motion for judgment on the pleadings on Columbia Casualty Company’s (Columbia) cross-complaint. We conclude that the allegations of Columbia’s cross-complaint state a good cause of action for declaratory relief against Northwestern that is not refuted by judicial notice or a concession by Columbia. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment.

I

The Context of This Appeal

In May 1985 Jacquelyn Johnson (Johnson) was seriously injured when an automobile in which she was a passenger was struck by a Coca Cola Bottling Company of San Diego (Coca Cola) truck. In August 1985 Johnson filed an action against Coca Cola which Coca Cola ultimately settled for $1,850,000. The case at bench arises out of a dispute over the relative obligations of Northwestern and Columbia, both of which issued policies insuring Coca Cola, to indemnity Coca Cola for its liability to Johnson.

On August 4, 1988, Coca Cola filed an action against Columbia seeking a declaration that Columbia was obligated to indemnify it for $850,000 of the sum it had paid…