Ticor Title Insurance Company Of California v. American Resources, Ltd.

859 F.2d 772 TICOR TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA, a California corporation, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. AMERICAN RESOURCES, LTD., a Hawaii corporation, Individually and Through the Trustee for the Estate of American Resources, Ltd., and Harold Chu, Defendants-Appellants. No. 87-2425. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted April 6, 1988. Decided Oct. 18, 1988. Harold Chu, Honolulu, Hawaii, for defendants-appellants. Wesley W. Ichida, Case & Lynch, Honolulu, Hawaii, for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Before WALLACE, REINHARDT and NOONAN, Circuit Judges. REINHARDT, Circuit Judge: 1 The district court granted Ticor Title Insurance Co.'s ("Ticor Title") summary judgment motion for federal declaratory relief. The court held that Ticor Title had no duty to defend or indemnify American Resources, Ltd., in several suits brought against it. American Resources was a party to a joint venture that owned the land insured by Ticor Title. American Resources appeals. I. Facts 2 Although the facts pertaining to this lawsuit are complex, a full recounting is not necessary. We need only observe that…