Bell Gardens Bicycle Casino v. Great American Insurance

MEMORANDUM **

Plaintiff-Appellant Bell Gardens Bicycle Casino (“the Casino”) appeals the district court’s order granting Great American Insurance Company’s (“Great American”) motion for summary judgment and denying the Casino’s cross-motion for summary judgment on the Casino’s claims for breach of an insurance contract, promissory fraud, and bad faith. We review de novo the district court’s decision to grant summary judgment, Palmer v. Pioneer Inn Assocs., Ltd., 338 F.3d 981, 984 (9th Cir.2003), and we affirm.

The Casino argues that Great American breached its crime insurance policy by denying coverage under the forgery and theft provisions. The forgery provision provides coverage for loss caused by “forgery or alteration” of a covered instrument that is drawn upon the Casino. The term “forgery” is not defined in the policy, so we interpret the word in its “ordinary and popular sense.” Cal. Civil Code § 1644 ; Bank of the W. v. Superior Ct., 2 Cal.4th 1254 , 10 Cal.Rptr.2d 538 , 833 P.2d 545, 551-52 (1992). “Forgery” is commonly understood to mean “[a] false or altered document made to look genuine by someone with the intent to deceive.” Black’s Law Dictionary 661 (7th ed.1999).…