De May v. Interinsurance Exchange of Automobile Club
Opinion
Opinion
Sonenshine, J.
Background
On April 8, 1991, Bruce De May caused a vehicle accident in which his passenger, Jeannette Davenport, suffered serious permanent injuries. De May and Davenport are co-owners of the automobile and co-insureds under a policy issued by Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club of Southern California (Auto Club). They are not spouses or otherwise related to each other.
Davenport filed a personal injury suit against De May. He tendered a request for defense and indemnification to Auto Club. The policy provides, in pertinent part, “We will pay damages for which any person insured is legally liable because of bodily injury . . . arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of an [insured] automobile“We will defend . . . any suit claiming damages for bodily injury ... if covered by your policy”; “In the use of an insured automobile, the following are insured: [<][]... you;” “ ‘[Y]ou’ and ‘your’ mean the insured named in Item 1 in the declarations, and if the insured named is one person, the spouse if a resident of the same household”; and — under exclusions — “[W]e will not defend suit[s] alleging liability for, nor does the policy apply to liability for:…