David Simantob

David Simantob (Partner-Los Angeles) and David Morrow (Of Counsel-Los Angeles) obtained summary judgment and defeated the insured’s cross-motion for summary judgment on behalf of a liability insurer in an insurance coverage and bad faith case pending in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. Both Davids initiated the case, seeking declaratory relief to the effect that the insurer’s policies had no duty to defend or indemnify in an underlying proceeding concerning breach of a settlement agreement, disparagement, misappropriation and copyright violations. The insured, a medical device manufacturer, filed a counterclaim for bad faith, alleging that the insurer tortiously refused to defend the underlying proceeding. The Wilson Elser team moved for summary judgment, arguing that the underlying proceeding did not seek covered damages and that the policies’ Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition Exclusions precluded coverage for the entire action. The court agreed, granting their motion for summary judgment and denying the insured’s cross-motion. This was the first time that particular type of exclusion had been construed broadly enough to exclude coverage for an entire action if it includes any claims for intellectual property infringement and unfair competition.