Zieman Manufacturing Co. And Zieman Products, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co.

Zieman Manufacturing Co. and Zieman Products, Inc. (Zieman) brought suit against their insurance carrier, St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. (St. Paul). Zieman alleged that St. Paul breached a contractual duty to defend and an implied covenant of good faith in the handling of a products liability suit against Zieman. Zie-man appeals the district court’s order granting a motion for summary judgment in favor of St. Paul. We affirm.

The standard of review on a summary judgment order is whether any genuine issues of material fact exist, thereby rendering summary judgment impermissible. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Previews, Inc. v. California Union Insurance Co., 640 F.2d 1026 (9th Cir.1981). Zieman argues that summary judgment was impermissible because there are disputed facts concerning the two central legal issues: 1) whether a conflict of interest existed; and 2) whether the products liability suit could have been settled, after the amendment of the punitive damage claim, for less than the jury verdict. We agree with the district court’s conclusion that there are no facts in dispute necessary to its ruling.

The district court’s interpretation of the law of the state in which it sits…