Simply Fresh Fruit, Inc. v. Continental Insurance

ORDER

The appellee’s request for publication pursuant to Ninth Cir. R. 36-2 is GRANTED. Thus, the memorandum disposition filed March 8, 1996 is hereby redesignated as an authored opinion by Judge Cecil F. Poole.

OPINION

OVERVIEW

Simply Fresh Fruit, Inc. and P & C Services, Inc. (collectively “Appellants”) appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of their insurer, Continental Insurance Company, on their complaints for breach of contract and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The district court found that Continental did not have a duty to defend Simply Fresh and P & C in two earlier actions brought by a third-party for misappropriation of trade secrets and patent infringement. Applying California law, the district court held that the underlying actions were not covered under the “advertising injury” provision of the appellants’ insurance policies. We affirm.

I.

Simply Fresh is in the business of processing and selling fresh fruit and fruit segments for use in salads and similar products. At the time the lawsuits at issue here arose, Simply Fresh had engaged the services of P & C as its primary processing facility for its fruit products.…