Breach of Contract Exclusion Archives - The Insurance & Reinsurance Report

January 31, 2017 Duty to Defend / Personal and Advertising Injury

A Contract by Any Other Name Would … Still Be a Contract: Wisconsin Court of Appeals Enforces Breach of Contract Exclusions to Preclude Coverage for Business Competition Claim

In Great Lakes Beverages, LLC v. Wochinski (Jan. 18, 2017), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that AMCO had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured against the underlying third-party tortious interference with contract claim because the breach of contract exclusions applicable to personal and advertising injury squarely applied.

As background, K-Way Systems contracted with Wochinski to purchase his company. The purchase agreement contained an asset purchase agreement, a covenant not to compete, and a supply agreement. Relations between the two parties turned sour, …

March 22, 2016 Duty to Defend / Personal and Advertising Injury

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say, Says California Federal District Court

A California federal district court determined a standard Breach of Contract Exclusion under Coverage B of a CGL policy did not preclude the duty to defend for alleged disparagement. In MedeAnalytics, Inc. v. Federal Insurance Co., the United States District Court for the Northern District of California interpreted the exclusion very narrowly, finding it applied only to actual — and not alleged — breaches of contract and found a duty to defend.

As background, the claimant alleged the policyholder made disparaging comments in order …