Duarte v. Pacific Specialty Ins. Co. CA1/2
Not long after Victor Duarte bought an insurance policy from Pacific Specialty Insurance Company (Pacific) to cover a rental property he owned, he was sued by his tenants. When Pacific refused to defend him against the tenants’ claims, Duarte sued Pacific, seeking, among other things, a declaration that Pacific was required to defend him in the tenant suit. The trial court granted Pacific’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that Pacific was entitled to rescind the policy because Duarte “made material misrepresentations and/or concealed material facts” when he applied for the policy and that rescission rendered the policy unenforceable from the outset, and therefore Duarte never had any coverage and was not entitled to any benefits from the policy. The “misrepresentations” at issue here concern Duarte’s responses of “no” to questions 4 and 9 in the insurance application. Question 4 is, at best, ambiguous: “Has damage remained unrepaired from previous claim and
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