Monticello Insurance v. Essex Insurance

Plaintiff and appellant Monticello Insurance Company (Monticello) appeals a stipulated judgment in favor of defendant and respondent Essex Insurance Company (Essex) in an action for equitable contribution.

In this action, Monticello seeks contribution from Essex for defense costs to defend mutual insured Blumenfeld Construction Company (Blumenfeld), a general contractor, against construction defect claims in an underlying action. Blumenfeld was a named insured under the Monticello policy and an additional insured under an Essex policy. Dana Drywall, Blumenfeld’s drywall subcontractor, was the named insured under the Essex policy.

The essential issue presented is whether Essex had a duty to defend Blumenfeld in the underlying action.

We conclude Essex did not owe Blumenfeld a defense because neither the pleadings nor the extrinsic evidence in the underlying action revealed a possibility that the homeowners’ claims against Blumenfeld might be covered by the diywall subcontractor’s policy. Therefore, the judgment is affirmed.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. Events preceding the instant action.

Blumenfeld was the general contractor on a project involving the…