Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company v. Continental National American Insurance Companies and Transcontinental Insurance Company
Opinion
Opinion
Sneed, J.
Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company (Hartford) appeals the decision of a district court rejecting and dismissing its claims against Continental National American Insurance Companies and Transcontinental Insurance Company (collectively, Transcontinental). Hartford seeks here, as it sought below, to have Transcontinental bear the expenses of defending an action against the County of Mariposa which both Hartford and Transcontinental insured. On the basis of the language of the companies’ policies we conclude that Hartford, not Transcontinental, had the obligation of defending the action. Thus we affirm the district court’s judgment.
I.
FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW
An employee of the County of Mariposa (the County) in the State of California killed three persons in an automobile accident on March 5, 1983. Representatives of the deceased filed wrongful death actions against the County shortly afterward. The County, at the time, had insurance coverage for bodily injury or death arising out of a single accident under both a $100,000 primary insurance policy with Hartford and a $5,000,000 excess insurance policy with Transcontinental.