Cort
Cort v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Companies, Inc.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Fletcher, J.
This case lies at the intersection of visual-art and commercial property insurance. Appellants Robert J. Cort and the Robert J. Cort Trust (“the Corts”) argue that their property insurance policy gave rise to a duty to defend by their insurer, appel-lee St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance/Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Underwriters, Inc. (“St.Paul”),. when the Corts were sued after they covered a mural on the wall of their building. We affirm the district court’s decision that there was. no duty to defend.
*982 I. Background
In 1986, the City and County of San Francisco commissioned renowned artist Jesus “Chuy” Campusano to paint a mural in San Francisco’s Mission District. The site chosen was the south exterior wall of a former factory building owned by the Lilli Ann Corporation. After six weeks of work, Campusano and his colleague Elias Rocha finished a 46-foot by 46-foot mural of brightly colored geometric abstractions. Over the next decade, the “Lilli Ann mural” became a familiar landmark.
In January 1997, the Lilli Ann Corporation sold the building to the Corts. A little over a year later, in March 1998, the Corts purchased a general liability insurance policy…