Willful Conduct Precluded Defense Benefits

(Consultant) Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Continential Ins. Co., 159 Fed. Appx. 827, 2005 WL 3418636, 10th Cir. Wy. O., Dec. 14, 2005).  The court found that California Insurance Code § 533 precluded coverage for the insureds intentional and purposeful design to steal creditor's intellectual property and drive its products off the shelf. G&A represented the claimant. (G&A recommended pursuit in California whose pertinent choice of law rules would have applied Wyoming law where Insurance Code 533 is not applicable.) Geyser selected counsel on a contingent fee to pursue the claim in Wyoming which applied California law finding that Ins Code § 533 prohibited insurance coverage for any willful act, which precluded coverage for 7up to whose rights Geyser succeeded the end assignment of rights.