Qualcomm, Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London

In this insurance coverage dispute, plaintiff Qualcomm, Incorporated (Qualcomm), appeals from a judgment entered after the court sustained without leave to amend the demurrer of defendant Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London (Underwriters), to Qualcomm’s complaint for declaratory relief and breach of contract. Underwriters, which had issued an excess director and officer insurance policy to Qualcomm, refused to pay under that policy after Qualcomm settled a coverage dispute with its primary insurer for an amount less than the primary insurer’s policy limit and released its primary insurer. In its complaint, Qualcomm sought a judicial declaration that Underwriters was obligated to indemnify Qualcomm for unreimbursed litigation defense expenses and settlement costs incurred by Qualcomm in excess of the primary policy limit. In sustaining Underwriters’s demurrer, the trial court ruled excess coverage had not been triggered as a matter of law and Qualcomm’s causes of action failed in part under a provision requiring Qualcomm to maintain the primary policy, in view of the complaint’s allegations that Qualcomm had settled with the primary insurer in exchange for a…