Dillon v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co.

38 Cal. App. 3d 335, 113 Cal. Rptr. 396, 1974 Cal. App. LEXIS 1056
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 2, 1974
DocketCiv. 1765
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 38 Cal. App. 3d 335 (Dillon v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dillon v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co., 38 Cal. App. 3d 335, 113 Cal. Rptr. 396, 1974 Cal. App. LEXIS 1056 (Cal. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinions

Opinion

GARGANO, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County declaring that appellant, hereinafter referred to as Hartford, is obligated to defend respondents, hereinafter referred to as the Dillons, in the case of J. T. Cox v. Henry Dillon, et al, superior court action No. 139735; the complaint in that action was filed on January 6, 1969, in Fresno County.

The background facts are these.

In 1967 the Dillons had farm leases on two separate but adjoining 160-acre parcels of land located in the vicinity of Davis and Highland Avenues in Fresno County; one parcel was owned by Tango Johnston and the other by a Mrs. El wood.

[338]*338In the latter part of the year Johnston made arrangements with WinterAbajian Well Drilling to drill a well on his neighbor’s property. He also made arrangements with Walter Dan Sharp to “develop” the well, which means to pump sand out of the well casing. Johnston requested the Dillons to furnish their 1957 Model 850 Ford tractor to scrape the sand away as the well was being developed. The Dillons agreed to do so.

In the beginning the Dillons’ tractor was operated by Robert Dillon. After a few days very little sand was being pumped from the well, and J. T. Cox volunteered to drive the vehicle. Cox was an employee of Walter Dan Sharp.

On January 8, 1968, the tractor became stuck in the sand. Cox attached a chain to the front of the tractor and to the back of a Chevrolet truck owned by Walter Dan Sharp; with Seth Abajian driving the truck and Cox operating the tractor, they pulled it free and onto level ground; Cox got off the tractor and walked to the truck to remove the chain. The tractor “started some way” and commenced to move on its own volition; it came to a stop when. it struck the truck. In the meanwhile Cox got caught in the chain and was pulled under the truck. At the time the truck was standing still and Abajian was outside of it.

On January 6, 1969, Cox filed an action in the Superior Court of Fresno County against the Dillons, seeking damages for personal injuries. His complaint, in three causes of action, was predicated on the theory that the injuries were caused by a defect in the gear mechanism of the Dillons’ tractor and that the Dillons had failed to provide the injured man with a safe place of employment; the complaint inter alia alleged that the Dillons had the direction, management, control and custody of the premises and of the Ford tractor and surrounding equipment.

On July 11, 1969, the Dillons brought this action for declaratory relief in the court below to determine whether Hartford was required to defend them in the Cox personal injury lawsuit under the insurance policies the company had issued to Winter-Abajian Well Drilling and to Walter Dan Sharp. These policies contain both comprehensive automobile liability and comprehensive general liability coverage and are essentially similar; hereinafter, they will be referred to as the Hartford policies.

After issue was joined on the complaint the cause was submitted to the court for decision on the basis of the pleadings in the Cox lawsuit, the Dillons’ answers to Hartford’s interrogatories and the depositions of Robert Dillon, Henry Dillon and J. T. Cox. Thereupon, the court determined that Hartford was obligated to defend the Dillons in the personal injury [339]*339lawsuit because they were additional insureds under both the comprehensive automobile liability and comprehensive general liability sections of the Hartford policies. Judgment was entered accordingly, and Hartford has appealed.

We consider first the court’s ruling that the Dillons were entitled to a defense in the Cox lawsuit under the comprehensive automobile liability insurance sections of the policies.

In defense of the trial court’s ruling, respondents make no contention that the tractor was covered by the automobile liability sections of the Hartford policies; they admit that the tractor is not within the definition of an automobile. Respondents also state that the trial court did not make any finding that the Dillons actually were using or legally responsible for the use of the Sharp truck within the ambit of the permissive user coverage of the policies. The Hartford policies contain the usual “groundless, false or fraudulent” clause and what respondents point out is that the court found the allegations of the complaint in the personal injury lawsuit were broad enough to suggest that the Dillons were using or were legally responsible for the use of Sharp’s truck.at the time of the accident. Respondents insist, even though the allegations of the complaint may be groundless, it is potential, not actual, liability under an insurance policy that is the test for determining the insurer’s obligation to defend its insured. (Hogan v. Midland National Ins. Co., 3 Cal.3d 553, 563 [91 Cal.Rptr. 153, 476 P.2d 825].)

It is true that the duty to defend litigation brought against an insured may exist even where the coverage is in doubt and ultimately does not develop. For example, in Gray v. Zurich Insurance Co., 65 Cal.2d 263 [54 Cal.Rptr. 104, 419 P.2d 168], the Supreme Court declared that an insurance policy of the kind involved in this case contains two promises. It promises to indemnify the insured for any loss which falls within the coverage afforded by the contract. It also promises to defend the insured in any lawsuit brought by a third party in connection with a risk covered by the policy “even if any of the allegations of the suit are groundless, false or fraudulent.” Under the first promise, no liability attaches to the insurer unless the loss actually is covered by the policy. The second promise, however, is not contingent upon actual liability, and the duty to defend is “fixed by the facts which the insurer learns from the complaint, the insured, or other sources” which give rise to potential liability under the policy. (65 Cal.2d, supra, at pp. 276-277.)

The duty to defend is not without limitation; it extends only to the defense of those actions of the nature and kind covered by the policy. [340]*340(Gray v. Zurich Insurance Co., supra, 65 Cal.2d 263, 275.) If the insurer, after taking into consideration facts gathered from its own investigation or information supplied by the insured, determines that there is no potential liability under the policy, it may refuse to defend the lawsuit; “[t]his it does at its own risk, and if it later develops liability, or potential liability existed under the policy, the company will be held accountable to its insured, or to one who obtained judgment against its insured in the action it refused to defend.” (State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Flynt, 17 Cal. App.3d 538, 548 [95 Cal.Rptr. 296].)

As we have indicated, the complaint in the Cox personal injury lawsuit alleged, among other things, that the Dillons had the direction, management, control and custody of the premises and of the Ford tractor and surrounding equipment.

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Dillon v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co.
38 Cal. App. 3d 335 (California Court of Appeal, 1974)

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Bluebook (online)
38 Cal. App. 3d 335, 113 Cal. Rptr. 396, 1974 Cal. App. LEXIS 1056, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dillon-v-hartford-accident-indemnity-co-calctapp-1974.