Apartment Store v. Mount Vernon Fire Insurance

MEMORANDUM *

The Apartment Store appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Mount Vernon Fire and Insurance Co. The Apartment Store contends that Mount Vernon had a duty to defend and indemnify it in two lawsuits brought by former tenants. We have jurisdiction over this diversity action under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we apply Montana law. See Bell Lavalin, Inc. v. Simcoe and Erie Gen. Ins. Co., 61 F.3d 742, 745 (9th Cir.1995). We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment, Burlington Ins. Co. v. Oceanic Design & Constr., Inc., 383 F.3d 940, 944 (9th Cir.2004), and we affirm.

Under Montana law, “[t]he duty to defend arises when a complaint against an insured alleges facts, which if proven, would result in coverage.” Farmers Union Mut. Ins. Co. v. Staples, 321 Mont. 99 , *137 90 P.3d 381, 385 (2004). “[T]he proper focus of [this] inquiry is the acts giving rise to coverage, not the language of the complaint.” Burns v. Underwriters Adjusting Co., 234 Mont. 508 , 765 P.2d 712, 713 (1988). The “duty to defend may be triggered by notification to the insured of facts asserted in the pleadings, discovery, or final issues declared ready for trial,…