Ringler Associates Inc. v. Maryland Casualty Co.

Ringler Associates Incorporated (Ringler) appeals from summary judgment granted in favor of respondents Maryland Casualty Company (Maryland) and Northern Insurance Company of New York (Northern). The trial court found that under a “first-publication” exclusion clause contained in a general liability insurance policy respondents had issued to Ringler, respondents had no duty to' defend or indemnify certain defamation claims asserted against Ringler in two underlying lawsuits. On appeal, Ringler contends: (a) the trial court erred in construing the first-publication exclusion broadly to bar coverage for defamatory utterances or publication of material whose first publication allegedly took place before the inception of the insurance policy; (b) respondents breached their duty to defend; (c) respondents are liable to indemnify Ringler for a share of its settlement costs; (d) by failing adequately or promptly to reserve their rights, respondent insurers waived any right to withdraw from Ringler’s defense; and (e) respondents were procedurally barred from unilaterally withdrawing from Ringler’s defense. None of Ringler’s contentions are meritorious, and we therefore affirm the…