Nabm

The question presented is whether an insurance company owes a duty to defend its insured, under a commercial general liability (CGL) policy, against a suit brought by employees of another business, which has a subcontracting relationship to the insured, alleging assorted labor violations as well as a cause of action for false imprisonment. The insurance company argues there is no duty to defend because the CGL policy includes an exclusion for employment-related claims. The parties filed cross-motions for summary adjudication. The trial court ruled in favor of and granted judgment for the insurance company. We will reverse.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

North American Building Maintenance, Inc. (NABM), which has its principal place of business in Fresno, provides commercial janitorial services to other companies throughout California. One such company was Target Stores, operated by the Target Corporation, Inc. (Target), with which NABM had a “Floor Maintenance Service Agreement” starting December 9, 1999, and continuing until Target cancelled the agreement on August 13, 2001. NABM, in turn, subcontracted with California Building Management Services (CBMS) to perform the actual…