Pond

Plaintiff and appellant Baxter H. Pond (Pond) appeals from a summary judgment granted by the trial court in favor of defendant and respondent the Insurance Company of North America (INA), foreclosing Pond’s suit against INA for malicious prosecution.

We conclude that the trial court’s decision was correct and affirm the judgment.

Factual and Procedural Background

The dispute now before us arose out of declaratory relief and indemnity litigation concerning insurance coverage for the defense of a prior wrongful death suit filed after a small plane crash killed all persons on board. Pond was the insurance agent who issued the policy. He claimed he was wrongly sued for indemnity by the insurer, INA, following its settlement of the wrongful death case. INA’s suit sought the settlement amount against him.

The facts on appeal are as follows:

Pond was a general insurance agent who issued the INA aircraft liability policy through an INA licensed agency, Robert Beckham and Associates, in early 1971. Among other things, the policy included specifications of the minimum pilot training requirements (pilot minimums).

The customer was Mission Beechcraft, Inc. (Mission), an Orange…