Tinseltown Video, Inc. v. Transportation Insurance

— Plaintiffs Tinseltown Video, Inc. (doing business as Blockbuster Video), Gary Leonhard and Jeff D’Arcy (collectively, Tinseltown) appeal from various orders and a judgment on the pleadings entered in favor of defendant Transportation Insurance Company (Transportation). This appeal raises issues regarding the scope of personal injury liability coverage in á comprehensive general liability policy (policy) that Transportation issued to its insured Tinseltown, and whether Transportation owed a duty to defend Tinseltown against a third party lawsuit (the Chew action) brought against Tinseltown by partners (hereafter, the Chews) of a partnership which owned the video stores.

Specifically, we are asked to determine whether policy language insuring Tinseltown’s liability for personal injury arising out of a “wrongful eviction from, wrongful entry into, or invasion of the right of private occupancy of a room, dwelling or premises,” provided potential coverage for a “trespass” claim asserted in the Chew action alleging Tinseltown intermeddled with the Chews’ use of the partnership’s real property which consisted of two Blockbuster Video stores. The determination of this issue in…