Heide Kurtz v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co.

MEMORANDUM

Heide Kurtz, as Chapter 7 trustee for the estate of Namco Financial Exchange Corp. (“NFE”), appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Zurich American Insurance Company, Axis Insurance Company, and Twin City Fire Insurance Company (collectively “Insurers”). NFE held itself as an Internal Revenue Code § 1031 “qualified intermediary.” Rather than safeguarding customer funds, however, NFE’s high ranking officials stole millions of dollars from its clients. In this diversity action, Kurtz sought to recover on behalf of those clients under the commercial crime insurance policies that Insurers issued to NFE in 2007. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, Fanucchi & Limi Farms v. United Agri Prods., 414 F.3d 1075 , 1080 (9th Cir. 2005), and we apply California substantive law. Intri-Plex Techs., Inc. v. Crest Grp., Inc., 499 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir. 2007) (in a diversity action, the law of the forum state applies).

The district court properly granted summary judgment for Insurers on Kurtz’s breach of contract and declaratory relief…