Cooper Companies, Inc. v. Transcontinental Insurance

I. Introduction

This is an appeal from a declaratory judgment entered in favor of the insurer, respondent Transcontinental Insurance Company (Transcontinental), and against the insured, appellant The Cooper Companies, Inc. The trial court held that two liability insurance policies issued to Cooper Laboratories (Cooper Labs), and its wholly owned subsidiary, CooperVision (later renamed The Cooper Companies; hereafter sometimes Cooper) by Transcontinental from July 1, 1982, to August 1, 1985 (policy period) did not provide coverage to Cooper and two of its subsidiaries, which were acquired after the expiration of the policy period, for bodily injury claims arising during the policy period alleged to have been caused by breast implants manufactured and distributed by the two subsidiaries. We affirm the judgment.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

Cooper Labs was a Palo Alto-based company that, in the early 1980’s, manufactured and sold various medical and dental drugs, devices and diagnostics. During that period, it also pursued a policy of acquiring and divesting itself of businesses that developed and/or marketed other such products, as well as ophthalmic and…