Visa, Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's London, et al.
Published: Mar. 31, 2012 | Result Date: Jan. 6, 2012 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: CGC-11-509839 Summary Judgment – Plaintiff
Facts
Visa Inc. sought coverage for liability and expenses, incurred in settling a class action lawsuit, from its insurer, Beazley Insurance Co.
Result
Judge Harold Kahn of the San Francisco Superior Court entered partial summary adjudication in favor of Visa holding that the amount of the class action settlement constituted covered 'damages' within the scope of the policy, rather than excluded 'penalties.'
Other Information
On March 21, 2012, a panel of the California Supreme Court denied Beazley Insurance Company's petition for review of a January 6, 2012 order by Judge Harold Kahn of the San Francisco Superior Court, granting summary adjudication to Visa Inc., striking counterclaims and affirmative defenses asserted by Beazley based on an exclusion to the definition of "damages" in its Technology, Media and Professional Liability insurance policies. Visa is seeking coverage for liability and expenses it incurred in settling a class action lawsuit alleging violation of California's Invasion of Privacy Act and other similar state statutes. Judge Kahn ruled, among other things, that fixed statutory damages available under the Act and similar statutes are not excluded "fines, . . . sanctions or penalties" for insurance coverage purposes because, as Visa argued, such damages represent a form of "statutory liquidated damages" designed to compensate plaintiffs for privacy violations. In its Petition for Review, Beazley cited a number of lawsuits filed within the last two years in California for alleged similar violations of California's Invasion of Privacy Act and urged the Court to accept review of this "legal issue of first impression that is critically important to insurers and policyholders throughout California." Visa opposed review on the grounds that, among other things, Judge Kahn appropriately applied longstanding California law on the interpretation of insurance contracts. As a result of the California Supreme Court's ruling, Visa's case will continue to proceed in San Francisco Superior Court, where it is scheduled for trial in September 2012.
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