General Star Indemnity Co. v. Superior Court

General Star Indemnity Company issued an insurance policy to Hard Rock. Hard Rock was sued and tendered defense of the suit to General Star. General Star declined to defend. Hard Rock sued General Star for breach of contract, bad faith, etc. Hard Rock then moved for summary adjudication that General Star had breached its duty to defend, and for related adjudications. At the same time, General Star moved for summary judgment in its favor. The trial court granted Hard Rock’s motion in part and denied General Star’s motion. This petition for writ of mandate followed. The issue is controlled by the rather clear language of the policy, which was attached to Hard Rock’s motion.

The Policy

1. The policy consisted, in part, of standard CGL forms.

After an initial declarations page (stating policy limits of $1 million per occurrence) followed by a page with a service of suit clause, Hard Rock’s policy contains nine pages of “CL 100” commercial general liability (CGL) forms providing the familiar coverage for “bodily injury” or “property damage” caused by an “occurrence.” The CL 100 forms also contain the familiar language providing that General Star has the duty to defend a…