Planet Insurance Company v. Mead Reinsurance Corporation, Integrity Insurance Company and Cochise County

This appeal involves the relative obligations to pay legal fees of primary and excess insurers under Arizona law. The district court in this declaratory judgment action granted summary judgment in favor of Planet Insurance Company and Integrity Insurance Company, the County’s excess insurers. Mead Reinsurance Corporation appeals. We affirm.

FACTS

Mead insured the County of Cochise (“County”), Arizona, for damages arising from bodily injury, property damage, errors or omissions, or personal injury. Generally speaking, the policy provided that Mead would indemnify the County for $975,000 per occurrence, but the County would remain liable for the first $25,000 per occurrence. The County purchased additional insurance from Planet and Integrity, which provided $9,000,000 of coverage per occurrence, but did not cover the first $1,000,000 of liability. Integrity’s coverage ran from July 1, 1980 to July 1, 1982. Planet’s coverage ran from July 1, 1982 to December 1, 1983.

In June of 1982, the members of an all-Black church filed suit against the County and several county officials. This action is referred to as Thomas v. County of Cochise. The plaintiffs alleged that as the number of…