Sentry Select Insurance v. Alaska National Insurance

MEMORANDUM **

The district court granted an interlocutory declaratory judgment ruling that, with respect to the Okada accident, the P & I policy did not impose a duty to defend on Sentry Select Insurance Company (Sentry), and the MEL policy did impose a duty to defend on Alaska National Insurance Co. (Alaska). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292 (a)(3), and affirm.

Sentry established as a matter of law that the accident occurred on dry land and was not related to the operation of the vessel insured by Sentry’s policy. In City and County of San Francisco v. Underwriters at Lloyds, London, 141 F.3d 1371 (9th Cir.1998) (CCSF), we held that “as owner” coverage in a P&I policy “has been uniformly interpreted to mean that only liability connected with negligent operation of listed ships is covered.” Id. at 1373 . We cited as “a leading Fifth Circuit case” Lanasse v. Travelers Insurance Co., 450 F.2d 580 (5th Cir.1971), which held that for an “as owner” P&I policy to apply to an accident, “[tjhere must be at least some causal operational relation between the vessel and the resulting injury.” Id. at 584 .

In the pending ease, Sentry moved for summary judgment and established as…