Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. v. Harbor Insurance

Defendant, Harbor Insurance Company (Harbor), appeals from a summary judgment and a supplemental minute order with respect to attorneys’ fees, under which plaintiff, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (Fox), recovered from Harbor the principal amount of $548,138.90, together with interest thereon in the sum of $53,086.52, attorneys’ fees in the total amount of $47,780, and costs in the sum of $920.75. The appeal lies and is timely. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 437c, 904.1, subds. (a), (b); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3(b).)

Aside from $45,000 in attorneys’ fees awarded, we propose to affirm this excess judgment and related relief. In our view, Harbor became liable to Fox for such damages when it failed on July 23, 1975, to accept a reasonable settlement offer of the plaintiff in the underlying action, Sujac Productions, Ltd., et al. (Sujac), although there was at that time a substantial likelihood of an excess judgment against Fox and information to that effect was communicated to Harbor along with the offer by Fox’s trial counsel.

Harbor’s brief puzzles us somewhat. It first argues that the trial court incorrectly applied a rule of strict liability against Harbor. The record…