Tustin Field Gas & Food, Inc. v. Mid-Century Ins. Co.

*222 This case involves a question of insurance coverage: When has a building or *911 part of a building "collapsed" if that term is left undefined in an insurance policy? The gas station owner in this case demanded that its insurance company pay up when the fiberglass sheath of one of its underground gasoline storage tanks split after resting on a rock for 16 years. On cross-motions for summary judgment and/or adjudication, the trial court ruled that this was not a collapse as a matter of law. We agree, and affirm. *223 FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts

A. The underground storage tanks

Tustin Field Gas & Food, Inc. (plaintiff) owns a gas station and minimart in Palm Springs, California. The station stores the gas dispensed by its pumps in two underground 15,000-gallon tanks. The tanks are located approximately 30 feet from the minimart, and are buried beneath a six or seven inch concrete slab and five or six feet of dirt. The tanks themselves are cylinders approximately 30 feet long and nine feet in diameter, and are double-walled: They have an inner wall made of steel, wrapped in a synthetic honeycomb, and then sheathed with an outer wall made of "fragile" fiberglass.…