Hartford Casualty Insurance v. Power Play Products, Inc.

MEMORANDUM *

Power Play Products, Inc., et al. (“PPP”) appeals the district court order granting Hartford Casualty Insurance Company’s (“Hartford”) motion for summary judgment and denying PPP’s motion for partial summary judgment, and the district court’s imposition of discovery sanctions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 37.

The district court properly granted Hartford’s motion for summary judgment and denied PPP’s motion for partial summary judgment. California Insurance Code § 533 precludes indemnification for malicious prosecution judgments, and the judgment against Cables & Accessories, Inc. (“C&A”) did not reflect, nor did the jury find, that C&A was vicariously liable for the acts of Richard Shih. See Cal. Ins.Code § 533 (denying insurer liability for willful acts of the insured); see also Downey Venture v. LMI Ins. Co., 66 Cal. App.4th 478 , 78 Cal.Rptr.2d 142, 156-57 (1998) (concluding that § 533 bars indemnification for a malicious prosecution judgment). Summary judgment was proper because there was no genuine issue of material fact that the insurance policy did not cover the malicious prosecution judgment in favor of PPP.

The district court did not…