Banerji, Julian vs. John Hancock Life Insurance and Unum Provident

Exclusions in a policy cannot be buried in the boilerplate verbiage of the grant of coverage. In this policy the promise of a defense under these circumstances was clear and invoked the insurer’s duty to defend.

Silver Sage Partners, Ltd. vs. City of Desert Hot Springs et al.

Year: 2002

Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit

Case Number: 02-57082, 03-55394

Issue:

Exclusions
Poor draftsmanship

State:

California

Where an insurer chooses to draft an exclusion that does not clearly and unambiguously apply to a specific claim, it cannot argue, after the fact, for a contrary interpretation. Poor draftsmanship cannot support an insurer’s argument for a narrow underwriting construction of coverage.