Peter Vu v. Prudential Property & Casualty Insurance Company

ORDER

After the Northridge earthquake of January 1994 damaged his home, Peter Vu asked his insurance company, Prudential Property and Casualty Insurance, for coverage benefits. Having inspected Vu’s home, Prudential informed him that the damage was significantly below the amount of the deductible. Relying on this information, Vu took no further action until August 1995, when he discovered substantial additional damage caused by the earthquake. Vu promptly requested coverage benefits for this newly discovered damage. Prudential declined on the ground that Vu’s claim was barred by California’s one-year statute of limitations on actions for recovery of claims. Cf. Cal. Ins.Code § 2071.

Two and a half years after Vu’s original claim, but less than a year after the discovery of the additional damage, Vu filed suit in federal court, which granted summary judgment against Vu on the ground that his claim was barred by section 2071. On appeal, we certified this issue to the Supreme Court of California. Vu v. Prudential Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 172 F.3d 725 (9th Cir.1999). The California Supreme Court accepted the certification and eventually answered it. Vu v. Prudential Prop. & Cas. Ins.…