Bank of the West v. Superior Court
2 Cal.4th 1254
Cal. 1992.
Jul 30, 1992. (Approx. 13 pages)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
833 P.2d 545, 10 Cal.Rptr.2d 538, 61 USLW 2102
BANK OF THE WEST, Petitioner,
v.
THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Respondent; INDUSTRIAL
INDEMNITY
COMPANY et al., Real Parties in Interest.
SUMMARY
The trial court granted summary adjudication of issues in favor of
a comprehensive liability insurer, declaring that provisions in a
policy issued to a bank covering "damages" the insured must
pay for injury arising out of "unfair competition" in the
course of "advertising activities," did not cover restitutionary
relief paid by the bank under § 17203 of the Unfair Business
Practices Act (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.). The claims
paid by the bank were based on the inadequacy of disclosures to consumers
and illegality of the terms of loans to finance automobile insurance
premiums. (Superior Court of Contra Costa County, Nos. C88-04328,
C88-04346 and C89-00665, Richard S. Flier, Judge.) The Court of Appeal,
First Dist., Div. Four, No. A050298, granted the bank's petition for
a writ of mandate and vacated the trial court's order.
The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeal. The
court held that insurance coverage for "advertising injury"
due to "unfair competition" is limited to claims under the
common law and excludes statutory claims; that the policy provision
covered "damages," which are available for common law unfair
competition, but not relief under Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17203,
which provides for disgorgement or restitution. So read, the provision
was not ambiguous and no construction in favor of the insured was
called for. The court further held that the settlement payment represented
disgorgement, since if it did not it would not have been for a violation
of the act, and if not for such a violation, it could not have been
for "unfair competition." The court also held that the claims
were not based on "unfair competition" arising under "advertising
activities" so as to be insurable under the policy. Although
the bank advertised the loan program in question to insurance agents
for customers desiring to pay insurance premiums in installments,
consumers were not aware of the advertising activities. The policy
provision required a causal connection between "advertising activities"
and "advertising injury." A mere remote connection between
the bank's advertisements and the lending practices resulting in the
consumer claims *1255 did not give rise to coverage. (Opinion by Panelli,
J., with Lucas, C. J., Arabian, Baxter and George, JJ., concurring.
Separate concurring opinion by Mosk, J., with Kennard, J., concurring.)HEADNOTES
Classified to California Digest of Official Reports
(1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) Insurance Contracts and Coverage § 79--Risks
Covered by Liability Insurance--Damages for Unfair Competition--Restitution
Under Unfair Business Practices Act.
The trial court properly granted summary adjudication of issues in
favor of a comprehensive liability insurer, declaring that provisions
in a policy issued to a bank covering "damages" the insured
must pay for injury arising out of "unfair competition"
in the course of "advertising activities," did not cover
restitutionary relief paid by the bank in settlement of a consumer
class action alleging violations of the Unfair Business Practices
Act (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.). Insurance coverage
for "advertising injury" due to "unfair competition"
is limited to claims under the common law and excludes statutory claims;
the provision covers "damages," which are available for
common law unfair competition, but not by way of relief under §
17203 of the act, which provides for disgorgement or restitution.
So read, the provision was not ambiguous and no construction in favor
of the insured was called for. The settlement payment represented
disgorgement, since if it did not it would not have been for a violation
of the act, and if not for such a violation, it could not have been
for "unfair competition." (Disapproving United Farm Workers
of America v. Superior Court (1975) 47 Cal.App.3d 334, 344 [120 Cal.Rptr.
904], to the extent it is inconsistent with the court's opinion.)
[See Cal.Jur.3d, Insurance Contracts and Coverage, § 322; 11
Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law (9th ed. 1990) Equity, § 95.]
(2) Unfair Competition § 3--Unfair Practices--Purpose.
The primary purpose of the Unfair Business Practices Act (Bus. &
Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) is to extend to the entire consuming
public the protection once afforded only to business competitors,
since the common law tort of unfair competition, which required a
showing of competitive injury, did not provide an effective remedy
for consumers. Statutory "unfair competition" extends to
all unfair and deceptive business practices, and thus cannot be equated
with the common law definition of unfair competition. *1256
(3) Insurance Contracts and Coverage § 15--Interpretation Against
Insurer-- Ambiguity.
Although insurance contracts have special features, they are still
contracts to which the ordinary rules of contractual interpretation
apply, including Civ. Code, § 1649, providing that ambiguous
or uncertain terms are to be interpreted in the sense in which the
promisor believed the promisee understood it. As applied to a promise
of coverage in an insurance policy, the rule protects not the subjective
beliefs of the insurer but, rather, the objectively reasonable expectations
of the insured. Only if this rule does not resolve the ambiguity is
it resolved against the insurer. Thus, a court faced with an argument
for coverage based on assertedly ambiguous policy language must first
attempt to determine whether coverage is consistent with the insured's
objectively reasonable expectations. In so doing, the court must interpret
the language in context, with regard to its intended function in the
policy, since language in a contract must be construed in the context
of the instrument as a whole, and in the circumstances of that case,
and cannot be found to be ambiguous in the abstract.
[See 1 Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law (9th ed. 1987) Contracts, §
699.]
(4) Insurance Contracts and Coverage § 79--Risks Covered by Liability
Insurance--Return of Wrongfully Acquired Property.
One may not insure against the risk of being ordered to return money
or property that has been wrongfully acquired. Such orders do not
award "damages" as that term is used in insurance policies.
(5) Unfair Competition § 10--Actions--Damages and Injunctive
Relief.
The purpose of Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17203, authorizing courts
to make orders to restore to any person in interest any money or property
which may have been acquired by unfair competition, is to deter future
violations of the Unfair Business Practices Act (Bus. & Prof.
Code, § 17200 et seq.) and to foreclose retention by the violator
of its ill-gotten gains. If insurance coverage were available for
monetary awards under the act, a person found to have violated the
act would simply shift the loss to his or her insurer and, in effect,
retain the proceeds of the unlawful conduct, a result inconsistent
with the act's deterrent purpose. Insurable "damages" do
not include claims for costs incurred in disgorging money that has
been wrongfully acquired; hence, there is no insurance coverage for
such claims under Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17203.
(6) Unfair Competition § 4--Acts Constituting Unfair Competition--
Advertising--What Constitutes.
Claims settled by a bank that were *1257 based on the inadequacy of
disclosures to borrowers and illegality of the terms of the loans,
did not amount to "unfair competition" arising under "advertising
activities" so as to be insurable under a comprehensive liability
policy. Although the bank advertised the loan program in question
to insurance agents for customers desiring to pay insurance premiums
in installments, consumers were not aware of the advertising activities.
The policy provision required a causal connection between "advertising
activities" and "advertising injury." A mere remote
connection between the bank's advertisements and the lending practices
resulting in the consumer claims did not give rise to coverage.
COUNSEL
Severson & Werson, Jan T. Chilton and William L. Stern for Petitioner.
Martha Chuchill, Thomas & Porrozzo, Michael H. Porrozzo, Anderson,
Kill, Olick & Oshinsky, Eugene R. Anderson, William G. Passannante,
Cotchett, Illston & Pitre, Joseph W. Cotchett, Susan Illston,
Marie Seth Weiner, Morgan, Ruby, Schofield, Franich & Fredkin,
Allen J. Ruby, Lexie D. Schroeder, Thomas T. Anderson, Sherry N. Bass,
David A. Beck, Morrison & Hecker, P. John Owen, Ann S. DuRoss,
Richard J. Osterman, Jr., Joan E. Smiley, Nossaman, Guthner, Knox
& Elliott, Kurt W. Melchior, Jared E. Peterson, Alison S. Hightower,
Patricia Lee Connors, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, Denise
M. Amantea, Richard F. Cauley, Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Robertson
& Falk, Denis T. Rice, Helane L. Morrison, Kathryn M. Nelson,
H. Joseph Escher III and Alan T. Foster as Amici Curiae on behalf
of Petitioner.
No appearance for Respondent.
Lawrence O. Monin, Michael A. Mathews, Andre Hassid, Crosby, Heafey,
Roach & May, Raoul D. Kennedy, Peter W. Davis, Richard de Saint
Phalle, Dolores A. Dalton, Paul H. Breslin, Frank Gilbert, Jesse I.
Santana, James C. Martin and James H. Kallianis, Jr., for Real Parties
in Interest.
Baker, Hostetler, McCutchen & Black, Philip K. Verleger, Donna
R. Black, Martin J. McTigue, Jr., Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn,
Phyllis E. Andelin, McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth,
James P. Wagoner, James H. Wilkins, Robert K. Landen, Morton, Lulofs
& Allen, Michael Charles Comyns, Horvitz & Levy, Ellis J.
Horvitz, Peter Abrahams, Lisa Perrochet, Alan I. Widiss, Cummins &
White, James D. Otto, Kent M. Bridwell, Haight, Brown & Bonesteel,
Roy G. Weatherup, Lawrence A. *1258 Tabb, Greines, Martin, Stein &
Richland, Irving H. Greines and Feris M. Greenberger as Amici Curiae
on behalf of Real Parties in Interest.
PANELLI, J.
Comprehensive general liability (CGL) insurance policies generally
include coverage for "advertising injury." This coverage,
as ordinarily written, applies to "damages" the insured
must pay for injury arising out of "unfair competition"
occurring in the course of the insured's "advertising activities."
We granted review to consider questions regarding the scope of coverage
afforded by this standard policy language. As we shall explain, we
hold that the CGL policy does not cover claims for advertising injury
that arose under the Unfair Business Practices Act. (Bus. & Prof.
Code, § 17200 et seq. [FN1] )FN1 All further references to statutes
are to the Business and Professions Code except as noted or as the
context may require.
Facts and Procedural History
Plaintiffs Industrial Indemnity Company and Industrial Insurance
Company of Hawaii, Ltd. (collectively Industrial) have sued for
a declaratory judgment determining their obligations under a CGL
policy issued to Central Bank. Defendant Bank of the West is Central
Bank's successor in interest. (This opinion refers to both entities
collectively as the Bank.) Judgment has not been entered. However,
by granting Industrial's motion for summary adjudication of issues
the trial court has decided that language in the Bank's CGL policy
relating to "advertising injury" does not give rise to
coverage for the particular claims involved in this case. It is
this order that we are reviewing. We are not called upon to decide
any other coverage issues or any issues involving the duty to defend.
The coverage dispute arises out of the Bank's settlement of a consumer
class action entitled Fallat v. Central Bank (Super. Ct., S.F.,
No. 865597). To summarize the relevant facts, the Bank developed
a program to finance automobile insurance premiums for consumers
who preferred to pay in installments. The Bank did not advertise
the so-called "Coast Program" directly to consumers. Instead,
the Bank informed insurance agents that it was willing to lend money
to finance premiums and that it would pay fees to agents who referred
such business to the Bank. Nor did consumers apply directly to the
Bank for loans. Instead, when a consumer expressed a desire to extend
payment the insurance agent would ask for a down payment of 20 to
30 percent, obtain the consumer's power of attorney, and apply for
a loan *1259 in the consumer's name. Sometime later, the consumer
would receive notice of the loan's acceptance by the Bank and disclosure
of its terms. Until receiving such notice, many consumers were unaware
both of the Coast Program's existence and that loans had in fact
been made. Many were also unaware of the terms of the loans, which
included interest at rates of over 126 percent, as well as substantial
fees and penalties. Some consumers, upon receiving notification,
sought to cancel their loans by paying the balance due. However,
the Bank did not permit cancellation.
In their complaint against the Bank, the Fallat plaintiffs alleged
violations of the federal Truth-in-Lending Act (15 U.S.C. §
1601 et seq.), the Unruh Act (Civ. Code, § 1801 et seq.), the
Unfair Business Practices Act (§ 17200 et seq.), and a state
statute that prohibits excessive liquidated damages (Civ. Code,
§ 1671). The Fallat plaintiffs also alleged that the loans
were unconscionable and that the Bank had breached the covenant
of good faith and fair dealing.
The case was removed to federal court, which remanded all but the
federal claims. (Fallat v. Central Bank (N.D. Cal., No. C-86-6521
RFP).) On the Fallat plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment,
the federal court held that the Bank had violated the Truth-in-Lending
Act by miscalculating and misdisclosing the interest rate and by
failing to give disclosures required by federal law before the loans
were consummated. (See 15 U.S.C. § 1638.) In its order, the
court explained that the Bank's miscalculation of interest "resulted
in an understatement of an already astronomical APR by over 20 percentage
points." The court also found that the additional "error"
of untimely disclosure "was built into the incentives given
to insurance agents responsible for recommending the Coast Program
to their clients." As the court explained, "[t]o the extent
insurance agents' compensation is tied to their level of policy
sales, such agents have a strong incentive to 'sell' a loan program
like the Coast Program without making the required [Truth-in-Lending
Act] disclosures that could jeopardize a potential sale."
Several months after the federal court ruled, the state court in
Fallat addressed the parties' motions for summary adjudication of
issues related to the state law claims. The court's order disposing
of these motions eliminated the plaintiffs' claims under the Unruh
Act (Civ. Code, § 1801 et seq.) and the covenant of good faith
and fair dealing but allowed the remaining claims to proceed.
The federal and state court rulings considerably narrowed the scope
of the dispute between the Fallat plaintiffs and the Bank. Although
the plaintiffs continued to seek injunctive and declaratory relief,
the only remaining *1260 claims under which plaintiffs sought to
recover money were their claims under the Unfair Business Practices
Act (§ 17203), the statute prohibiting excessive liquidated
damages (Civ. Code, § 1671), and the Truth- in-Lending Act
(15 U.S.C. § 1640). In their complaint, the Fallat plaintiffs
incorporated each of their claims into their request for relief
under the Unfair Business Practices Act. Indeed, the Fallat plaintiffs'
only demand for money, other than for punitive damages and attorneys'
fees, was for "restitution ... of any and all amounts collected
by defendants through their unlawful and unfair business practices
...." (Cf. § 17203 [authorizing such relief].)
It was in this posture that the Fallat case settled. Pursuant to
a class- wide settlement agreement, the Bank paid the plaintiffs
$500,000 and attorneys fees, and agreed to make several changes
in the operation of its Coast Program. The settlement agreement
did not characterize the $500,000 payment as attributable to any
particular claim. However, in the parties' joint motion for approval
of the settlement the Fallat plaintiffs' counsel expressed the opinion
that $500,000 represented the amount that could be recovered either
as the return of unlawful liquidated damages (Civ. Code, §
1671) or as the maximum statutory recovery under the Truth-in-Lending
Act (15 U.S.C. § 1640(a)(2)(b)).
At some point before the Fallat parties agreed to settle, the Bank
began to assert that its CGL policy covered the claims in that action.
Industrial responded by filing a complaint for declaratory judgment,
asking the court to declare that the policy did not provide coverage.
The Bank cross-complained for breach of the insurance contract.
The ensuing litigation focused on a single theory of coverage: The
Bank sought to prove that the amounts it had paid to the Fallat
plaintiffs were "damages" for "unfair competition"
that occurred in the course of the Bank's "advertising activities."
To support its argument, the Bank looked to the statutory definition
of "unfair competition" contained in the Unfair Business
Practices Act. (§ 17200.) [FN2] Industrial, in contrast, sought
to prove that the policy referred to the common law tort of unfair
competition rather than to conduct prohibited by the act. Industrial
also sought to prove that insurance was not available for restitutionary
relief under the act, [FN3] and that the Fallat plaintiffs' claims
had not occurred "in the course of [the Bank's] advertising
activities" within the meaning of the policy. *1261 FN2 Section
17200 provides:
"As used in this chapter, unfair competition shall mean and
include unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practice and unfair,
deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising and any act prohibited
by Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17500) of Part 3 of Division
7 of the Business and Professions Code." (Italics added.)
FN3 The only nonpunitive monetary relief available under the Unfair
Business Practices Act is the form of restitution described in section
17203: "Any person performing or proposing to perform an act
of unfair competition within this state may be enjoined in any court
of competent jurisdiction. The court may make such orders or judgments,
including the appointment of a receiver, as may be necessary to
prevent the use or employment by any person of any practice which
constitutes unfair competition, as defined in this chapter, or as
may be necessary to restore to any person in interest any money
or property, real or personal, which may have been acquired by means
of such unfair competition." (Italics added.)Industrial moved
for summary adjudication of issues to obtain a ruling on the Bank's
theory of coverage. The superior court granted the motion. In its
order, the court decided the following issues in Industrial's favor,
thus holding, in effect, that coverage for "advertising injury"
did not include the Fallat plaintiffs' claims:
"1. The phrase 'unfair competition' in the policies insuring
[the] Bank and issued by Industrial ... means the common law tort
of unfair competition;
"2. The Fallat claim does not allege, and could not be amended
to allege, the common law tort of unfair competition;
"3. The policies insuring [the] Bank issued by Industrial ...
do not cover claims for equitable or restitutionary relief such
as provided for in Business and Professions Code Section 17203;
and
"4. The acts on which the Fallat claim was based did not occur
in the course of [the] Bank's or the Coast Program's 'advertising
activities' within the meaning of the policies referred to in paragraph
1."
When the Bank challenged this ruling in a petition for writ of mandate,
the Court of Appeal found coverage and vacated the trial court's
order. The court did not conclude that the Fallat plaintiffs had
alleged common law claims for unfair competition. Instead, contrary
to the weight of authority, the court held that the policy term
"unfair competition" was ambiguous and could refer either
to the common law or to conduct prohibited by the Unfair Business
Practices Act. The court resolved the perceived ambiguity against
Industrial.
In response to Industrial's further argument that insurable "damages"
do not include the restoration of amounts obtained through violations
of the Unfair Business Practices Act, the Court of Appeal concluded
that the Fallat action could be viewed as seeking compensatory damages
in addition to statutory restitution. Although the act does not
authorize compensatory damages, the court believed that the law
on this point was uncertain. The court also resolved this perceived
uncertainty in the law against Industrial. Finally, the court held
that the instances of "unfair competition" alleged in
*1262 the Fallat complaint had "occurred in the course of [the
Bank's] advertising activities" within the meaning of the policy.
We granted Industrial's petition for review.
Discussion
(1a) The ultimate question before us is whether language in the
CGL policy concerning "advertising injury" provides coverage
for the claims asserted in the Fallat action and, thus, for the
Bank's payment to settle such claims.
The relevant policy language provides: "The company [Industrial]
will pay on behalf of the insured [the Bank] all sums which the
insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because
of ... advertising injury to which this insurance applies .... 'Advertising
injury' means injury arising out of an offense committed during
the policy period occurring in the course of the named insured's
advertising activities, if such injury arises out of libel, slander,
defamation, violation of right of privacy, unfair competition, or
infringement of copyright, title or slogan." (Italics added.)
This language appears in a "Liability Extended Coverage Endorsement"
attached to the Bank's CGL policy. Through various renewals, the
policy was in effect from April 1, 1984, to April 1, 1986. The language
of the endorsement generally follows that of a form drafted in 1973
by the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), an organization that
develops standard policy forms for the insurance industry and collects
statistical data and estimates risks relevant to the forms. (See
generally In re Insurance Antitrust Litigation (9th Cir. 1991) 938
F.2d 919.) In 1986 ISO developed a revised CGL policy that replaced
the term "unfair competition" with "style of doing
business." However, several insurance companies continue to
offer coverage under the older form and many coverage disputes under
the older form, including this case, remain pending.
A. The Policy Term "Unfair Competition" Does Not Refer
to Conduct Prohibited by
the Unfair Business Practices Act.
The Court of Appeal, as already mentioned, held that the CGL policy's
reference to "unfair competition" was ambiguous and could
refer either to statutory or to common law claims. Industrial challenges
this conclusion.
The Court of Appeal's decision in this case stands virtually alone
among published opinions in holding that the CGL policy's standard
language *1263 covers claims under a state statute prohibiting unfair
business practices. The authority against coverage for such claims
is overwhelming. (Seaboard Sur. Co. v. Ralph Williams' N.W. Chrys.
P., Inc. (1973) 81 Wn.2d 740, [504 P.2d 1139, 1140-1143]; Ruder
& Finn Inc. v. Seaboard Sur. Co. (1981) 52 N.Y.2d 663 [439 N.Y.S.2d.
858, 422 N.E.2d. 518, 522]; Pine Top Ins. v. Public Util. D. 1 of
Chelan Cty. (E.D.Wash. 1987) 676 F.Supp. 212, 215-217; Globe Indem.
Co. v. First American State Bank (W.D.Wash. 1989) 720 F.Supp. 853,
855- 857; Westfield Ins. Co. v. TWT, Inc. (N.D.Cal. 1989) 723 F.Supp.
492, 496; Boggs v. Whitaker, Lipp & Helea, Inc. (1990) 56 Wn.App.
583 [784 P.2d 1273, 1275-1276]; Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Trans
World Assur. Co. (N.D.Cal. 1990) 745 F.Supp. 1524, 1528- 1529; Tigera
Group, Inc. v. Commerce & Industry Ins. (N.D.Cal. 1991) 753
F.Supp. 858, 859-861; Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Dynasty Solar,
Inc. (N.D.Cal. 1990) 753 F.Supp. 853, 855-858.)
In two published opinions, lower federal courts in the Ninth Circuit
have found a duty to defend claims under the Unfair Business Practices
Act. (American States Insurance Co. v. Canyon Creek (N.D.Cal. 1991)
786 F.Supp. 821, 827-828; Keating v. National Union Fire Ins. Co.
(C.D.Cal. 1990) 754 F.Supp. 1431, 1435-1437, 1441.) However, these
holdings are against the clear weight of authority both generally
and in the Ninth Circuit. (See the cases cited above.)
The majority of courts have concluded that the term "unfair
competition" as used in policy language defining "advertising
injury" refers to the common law tort of unfair competition
rather than to conduct prohibited by unfair business practice statutes.
As we shall explain, this conclusion substantially limits the scope
of coverage.
The common law tort of unfair competition is generally thought to
be synonymous with the act of "passing off" one's goods
as those of another. The tort developed as an equitable remedy against
the wrongful exploitation of trade names and common law trademarks
that were not otherwise entitled to legal protection. (See generally
1 Callmann, Unfair Competition, Trademarks & Monopolies (4th
ed. 1981) §§ 2.01-2.03.) According to some authorities,
the tort also includes acts analogous to "passing off,"
such as the sale of confusingly similar products, by which a person
exploits a competitor's reputation in the market. (See Rest., Torts,
§§ 711-743; see also 1 Callmann, supra, § 2.04.)
Expansion of legal remedies against deceptive business practices
occurred not so much through the common law as through the enactment
of statutes, particularly the Federal Trade Commission Act. (15
U.S.C. § 45.) Of particular importance was a 1938 amendment
to the act, which expanded the *1264 Federal Trade Commission's
(FTC) preexisting jurisdiction over "unfair methods of competition"
to include "unfair or deceptive acts or practices." (52
Stat. 111 (1938), amending 15 U.S.C. § 45.) This amendment,
which became a model for state regulatory statutes, gave the FTC
jurisdiction over unfair business practices that harmed the public,
whether or not such practices also implicated the interests of competitors.
(See FTC v. Sperry & Hutchinson Co. (1972) 405 U.S. 233, 239-244
[31 L.Ed.2d 170, 176-179, 92 S.Ct. 898.) A host of so-called "little
FTC Acts" followed, including California's Unfair Business
Practices Act. (§ 17200 et seq.; see also Civ. Code, former
§ 3369.)
(2) The primary purpose of these statutes was to "extend[]
to the entire consuming public the protection once afforded only
to business competitors." (Barquis v. Merchants Collection
Assn. (1972) 7 Cal.3d 94, 109 [101 Cal.Rptr. 745, 496 P.2d 817],
interpreting Civ. Code, former § 3369.) The common law tort
of unfair competition, which required a showing of competitive injury,
did not provide an effective remedy for consumers. (See Committee
on Children's Television, Inc. v. General Foods Corp. (1983) 35
Cal.3d 197, 209 [197 Cal.Rptr. 783, 673 P.2d 660]; Barquis v. Merchants
Collection Assn., supra, 7 Cal.3d at pp. 109-110.) In contrast,
statutory "unfair competition" extends to all unfair and
deceptive business practices. For this reason, the statutory definition
of "unfair competition" "cannot be equated with the
common law definition ...." (Barquis v. Merchants Collection
Assn., supra, 7 Cal.3d at p. 109, interpreting Civ. Code, former
§ 3369.)
(1b) The majority of published opinions, as already mentioned, hold
that insurance coverage for "advertising injury" due to
"unfair competition" is limited to claims under the common
law and excludes statutory claims. The Bank takes issue with these
holdings. (3) Because the CGL policy does not define "unfair
competition," that term, according to the Bank, is ambiguous
and must be construed against the insurer. (See Gray v. Zurich Insurance
Co. (1966) 65 Cal.2d 263, 269 [54 Cal.Rptr. 104, 419 P.2d 168].)
The Bank has invoked this rule of construction too early in the
interpretive process. While insurance contracts have special features,
they are still contracts to which the ordinary rules of contractual
interpretation apply. (See AIU Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (1990)
51 Cal.3d 807, 822 [274 Cal.Rptr. 820, 799 P.2d 1253] (AIU).) The
fundamental goal of contractual interpretation is to give effect
to the mutual intention of the parties. (Civ. Code, § 1636.)
If contractual language is clear and explicit, it governs. (Civ.
Code, § 1638.) On the other hand, "[i]f the terms of a
promise are in any respect ambiguous or uncertain, it must be interpreted
in the sense in which the promisor *1265 believed, at the time of
making it, that the promisee understood it." (Id., § 1649;
see AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 822.) This rule, as applied to a
promise of coverage in an insurance policy, protects not the subjective
beliefs of the insurer but, rather, "the objectively reasonable
expectations of the insured." (AIU, supra, at p. 822.) Only
if this rule does not resolve the ambiguity do we then resolve it
against the insurer. (See AIU, supra, at p. 822.)
In summary, a court that is faced with an argument for coverage
based on assertedly ambiguous policy language must first attempt
to determine whether coverage is consistent with the insured's objectively
reasonable expectations. In so doing, the court must interpret the
language in context, with regard to its intended function in the
policy. (Producers Dairy Delivery Co. v. Sentry Ins. Co. (1986)
41 Cal.3d 903, 916- 917 & fn. 7 [226 Cal.Rptr. 558, 718 P.2d
920].) This is because "language in a contract must be construed
in the context of that instrument as a whole, and in the circumstances
of that case, and cannot be found to be ambiguous in the abstract."
(Id., at p. 916, fn. 7, italics added; cf. Civ. Code, § 1641.)
(1c) It is obviously possible to argue that the term "unfair
competition," in the abstract, might refer to statutory claims.
As the Bank correctly observes, policy terms must be read in their
"ordinary and popular sense" (Civ. Code, § 1644;
see also AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 822; cf. Reserve Ins. Co. v.
Pisciotta (1982) 30 Cal.3d 800, 807 [180 Cal.Rptr. 628, 640 P.2d
764]), and definitions of "unfair competition" in standard
dictionaries generally include acts that harm the public as well
as acts that harm competitors only. One dictionary, for example,
defines "unfair competition" as "business competition
effected by an act that is deceptive and in effect a fraud on the
public or that otherwise violates the legal and equitable rights
of a competitor or the public." (See Webster's Third New Internat.
Dict. (unabridged ed. 1961) p. 2494; cf. Random House Dict. of the
English Language (unabridged ed. 1979) p. 1549 [giving "unfair
competition" as a synonym for "unfair practices"].)
While the foregoing argument is probably correct as a matter of
abstract philology, it is defective as a matter of policy interpretation
because it disregards the context. The policy does not purport to
cover "unfair competition" in the abstract; instead, it
covers "damages" for "advertising injury" caused
by "unfair competition." Read in this context, the term
"unfair competition" can only refer to a civil wrong that
can support an award of damages.
Damages are available for common law unfair competition (see generally
4 Callmann, supra, §§ 22.48-22.51) and for each of the
other wrongs *1266 enumerated in the CGL policy's advertising injury
coverage (i.e., libel, slander, defamation, violation of right of
privacy, and infringement of copyright, title or slogan).
In contrast, damages are not available under section 17203. (Dean
Witter Reynolds, Inc. v. Superior Court (1989) 211 Cal.App.3d 758,
774 [259 Cal.Rptr. 789]; Industrial Indemnity Co. v. Superior Court
(1989) 209 Cal.App.3d 1093, 1095- 1097 [257 Cal.Rptr. 655]; 11 Witkin,
Summary of Cal. Law (9th ed. 1990) Equity, § 95, p. 776; see
also Chern v. Bank of America (1976) 15 Cal.3d 866, 875 [127 Cal.Rptr.
110, 544 P.2d 1310] [interpreting the nearly identical language
of section 17535].) The only nonpunitive monetary relief available
under the Unfair Business Practices Act is the disgorgement of money
that has been wrongfully obtained or, in the language of the statute,
an order "restor[ing] ... money ... which may have been acquired
by means of ... unfair competition." (§ 17203; cf. §§
17206, 17207 [penalties].)
The Bank argues that the term "damages" for insurance
purposes includes virtually all forms of monetary relief, including
disgorgement orders under section 17203. However, the argument is
too broad. (4) It is well established that one may not insure against
the risk of being ordered to return money or property that has been
wrongfully acquired. Such orders do not award "damages"
as that term is used in insurance policies. (See Jaffe v. Cranford
Ins. Co. (1985) 168 Cal.App.3d 930, 934-935 [214 Cal.Rptr. 567];
AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 836; see also O'Neill Investigations
v. Ill. Emp. Ins., etc. (Alaska 1981) 636 P.2d 1170, 1173-1177;
Central Dauphin School v. American Cas. Co. (1981) 493 Pa. 254 [426
A.2d 94, 95-97, 21 A.L.R.4th 884]; Haines v. St. Paul Fire &
Marine Ins. Co. (D.Md. 1977) 428 F.Supp. 435, 439-442; Seaboard
Sur. Co. v. Ralph Williams' N.W. Chrys. P., Inc., supra, 504 P.2d
at pp. 1140- 1143.)
(5) To explain the conclusion that insurable damages do not include
the costs of disgorgement under section 17203, it is necessary to
review the scope and purpose of the Unfair Business Practices Act
and its remedial provisions.
The Unfair Business Practices Act defines "unfair competition"
as any "unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practice and
unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising ...." (§
17200.) The Legislature intended this "sweeping language"
to include " 'anything that can properly be called a business
practice and that at the same time is forbidden by law.' "
(Barquis v. Merchants Collection Assn., supra, 7 Cal.3d at pp. 111,
113, citation omitted.) In drafting the act, the Legislature deliberately
traded the attributes of tort *1267 law for speed and administrative
simplicity. As a result, to state a claim under the act one need
not plead and prove the elements of a tort. Instead, one need only
show that "members of the public are likely to be deceived."
(Chern v. Bank of America, supra, 15 Cal.3d at p. 876; see also
Committee on Children's Television, Inc. v. General Foods Corp.,
supra, 35 Cal.3d at p. 211.)
Section 17203, which incorporates the broad, statutory definition
of "unfair competition," permits "any court of competent
jurisdiction" to enjoin "[a]ny person performing or proposing
to perform an act of unfair competition ...." (§ 17203.)
The section also authorizes courts to make such orders as "may
be necessary to restore to any person in interest any money or property,
real or personal, which may have been acquired by means of such
unfair competition." (Ibid.) The purpose of such orders is
"to deter future violations of the unfair trade practice statute
and to foreclose retention by the violator of its ill-gotten gains."
(Fletcher v. Security Pacific National Bank (1979) 23 Cal.3d 442,
449 [153 Cal.Rptr. 28, 591 P.2d 51] [interpreting the nearly identical
language of section 17535]; see also People v. Superior Court (Jayhill)
(1973) 9 Cal.3d 283, 288-289 & fn. 3 [107 Cal.Rptr. 192, 507
P.2d 1400, 55 A.L.R.3d 191].) The Legislature considered this purpose
so important that it authorized courts to order restitution without
individualized proof of deception, reliance, and injury if necessary
to prevent the use or employment of an unfair practice. (Committee
on Children's Television, Inc. v. General Foods Corp., supra, 35
Cal.3d at p. 211; see also Fletcher v. Security Pacific National
Bank, supra, 23 Cal.3d at pp. 449-453.)
If insurance coverage were available for monetary awards under the
Unfair Business Practices Act, a person found to have violated the
act would simply shift the loss to his insurer and, in effect, retain
the proceeds of his unlawful conduct. Such a result would be inconsistent
with the act's deterrent purpose. As we have previously explained,
" '[t]o permit the [retention of even] a portion of the illicit
profits, would impair the full impact of the deterrent force that
is essential if adequate enforcement [of the law] is to be achieved.
One requirement of such enforcement is a basic policy that those
who have engaged in proscribed conduct surrender all profits flowing
therefrom.' " (Fletcher v. Security Pacific National Bank,
supra, 23 Cal.3d at p. 451, quoting Securities & Exchange Com'n
v. Golconda Mining Co. (S.D.N.Y. 1971) 327 F.Supp. 257, 259-260
[brackets in Fletcher].)
The Court of Appeal below, which found coverage for statutory unfair
competition claims under section 17203, sacrificed the deterrent
goal of the Unfair Business Practices Act to a rule of construction,
i.e., the principle that insurance policies should be interpreted
to maximize coverage. The sacrifice, *1268 however, is unnecessary
if one applies the rule that insurable damages do not include costs
incurred in disgorging money that has been wrongfully acquired.
This rule bars coverage for claims under section 17203.
This was the reasoning of the court that first addressed the issue
that is now before us. (Seaboard Sur. Co. v. Ralph Williams' N.W.
Chrys. P., Inc., supra, 504 P.2d 1139 (Seaboard).) The insured in
Seaboard, an automobile dealer, had been sued by the Attorney General
of Washington for violations of Washington's Consumer Protection
Act. The Washington statute, like California's Unfair Business Practices
Act, prohibited "unfair methods of competition and unfair or
deceptive acts or practices" and authorized the court to award
injunctive relief and disgorgement but not damages. The dealer's
liability insurer sued for declaratory relief to establish that
it had no duty to defend under policy language providing coverage
for "unfair competition" that caused "advertising
injury." The Supreme Court of Washington held that the insurer
had no duty to defend because the action did not threaten the insured
with a judgment for "damages" within the meaning of the
policy. (Id., at pp. 1140- 1143.)
The principle that underlies the Seaboard decision is recognized
in California law. The leading case is Jaffe v. Cranford Ins. Co.,
supra, 168 Cal.App.3d 930 (Jaffe). The insured in Jaffe, a psychiatrist,
was prosecuted by the Attorney General for the fraudulent receipt
of Medi-Cal payments. The insured's malpractice insurer refused
to provide a defense in the criminal action. After the insured was
acquitted, he sued the insurer for reimbursement of his defense
costs. Observing that his policy covered "damages," the
insured argued that one consequence of a conviction might have been
an order requiring him to reimburse the state for Medi-Cal overpayments.
(See Welf. & Inst. Code, § 14172.)
The Jaffe court rejected the insured's argument as dependent on
an overly broad interpretation of the term "damages."
As the court explained, " '[d]amages' describes a payment made
to compensate a party for injuries suffered. [In contrast, the return
of Medi-Cal overpayments] is more properly characterized as restitutionary
rather than compensatory in nature. The defendant is asked to return
something he wrongfully received; he is not asked to compensate
the plaintiff for injury suffered as a result of his conduct. At
least absent demonstrably unusual circumstances, we have doubts
whether an insurance policy which purported to insure a party against
payments of a restitutionary nature would comport with public policy.
Although the concept of 'restitution' may have a broader meaning
in other contexts, we limit our reference to it here to situations
in which the defendant is required to restore to the plaintiff that
which was wrongfully acquired." (Jaffe, supra, 168 Cal.App.3d
at p. 935.) *1269
This reasoning has also found acceptance in other jurisdictions.
For example, in O'Neill Investigations v. Ill. Emp. Ins., etc.,
supra, 636 P.2d 1170, the Supreme Court of Alaska held that a debt
collector's professional liability insurance did not cover a claim
under that state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection
Act for the restoration of money acquired from consumers through
unfair collection practices. (See id., at pp. 1173-1177.) In Central
Dauphin School v. American Cas. Co., supra, 426 A.2d 94, 95-97,
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a school district's
liability insurance policy did not cover a claim by taxpayers for
the return of unlawfully collected taxes. Similarly, in Haines v.
St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., supra, 428 F.Supp. 435, 439-442,
the federal court for the District of Maryland held that a law firm's
professional liability insurance did not cover an action by the
Securities Exchange Commission that threatened the insured with
a judgment requiring it to disgorge attorneys' fees; the action
did not seek "damages" within the meaning of the insurance
policy.
The public policy rationale that underlies these holdings, explicitly
or implicitly, is this: When the law requires a wrongdoer to disgorge
money or property acquired through a violation of the law, to permit
the wrongdoer to transfer the cost of disgorgement to an insurer
would eliminate the incentive for obeying the law. Otherwise, the
wrongdoer would retain the proceeds of his illegal acts, merely
shifting his loss to an insurer. (Cf. Jaffe, supra, 168 Cal.App.3d
at p. 935; Central Dauphin School v. American Cas. Co., supra, 426
A.2d at p. 96.) [FN4]FN4 The Bank argues that Industrial waived
the "public policy" issue by failing to raise it below.
To the contrary, Industrial has advanced this position throughout
the litigation. Citing Jaffe, supra, 168 Cal.App.3d 930, as authority,
Industrial argued in its motion for summary adjudication that "[c]laims
for ... restitutionary relief ... such as authorized by Sections
17200 et seq. do not entail 'damages' under liability insurance
policies." Industrial prevailed on this issue in the trial
court and renewed it in the Court of Appeal, which discussed the
issue in its opinion. Upon close examination, the Bank's claim of
"waiver" boils down to the observation that Industrial
did not attach the "public policy" label to its argument.The
Bank does not argue that monetary relief under the Unfair Business
Practices Act is not intended to serve the goal of deterrence. Instead,
the Bank argues that insurance for statutory restitution is permissible
because the holding in Jaffe, supra, 168 Cal.App.3d 930, did not
survive this court's decision in AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d 807. To the
contrary, AIU confirms the holding in Jaffe.
The insured in AIU, who had allowed hazardous wastes to contaminate
groundwater, was ordered to reimburse the government for its cleanup
and response costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act. (42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.)
One of the questions *1270 before us was whether the government's
suit for reimbursement of cleanup costs was an action for "damages"
within the meaning of a CGL policy. We held that the suit did seek
"damages" because the judgment awarding reimbursement
was analogous to a judgment awarding damages for injury to property,
measured by the cost of restoring the property to its original condition.
Under the applicable statutes, the government could have proceeded
against the insured either by requiring the insured to take remedial
action or by taking remedial action itself and suing for reimbursement.
The government chose the latter alternative. (AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d
at pp. 829-837.)
The insurer in AIU argued that the Jaffe rule barred coverage for
reimbursement of cleanup costs because such costs were a form of
"restitution" rather than "damages." However,
we rejected the analogy to Jaffe because "[r]eimbursement of
response costs ... is not restitutive in the narrow sense identified
by Jaffe as inappropriate for insurance coverage." (AIU, supra,
51 Cal.3d at p. 836.)
Contrary to the Bank's argument, AIU did not overrule Jaffe or hold
that any award capable of bearing the "restitution" label
is insurable as "damages." We did hold in AIU that insurable
"damages" include monetary awards that represent compensation
for harm to third parties, even if such awards bear the label "restitution."
However, we were also careful to note prior holdings to the effect
that, "as a matter of public policy, an insured's payment of
certain types of restitution cannot be covered by insurance."
(AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 836.) We mentioned two illustrations
of the rule: Jaffe, supra, 168 Cal.App.3d 930, which held that liability
insurance would not cover the insured's restitution of Medi-Cal
overpayments, and State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Superior Court
(1987) 191 Cal.App.3d 74 [236 Cal.Rptr. 216], which held that insurance
would not cover the insured's payment of statutory restitution to
the victims of crime. To emphasize the distinction between what
is insurable and what is not, we noted that Jaffe bars coverage
only in " 'situations in which the defendant is required to
restore to the plaintiff that which was wrongfully acquired.' "
(AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 836, quoting Jaffe, supra, 168 Cal.App.3d
at p. 935, italics added.)
The Bank also contends that a rule of public policy barring coverage
for actions under the Unfair Business Practices Act would contradict
Insurance Code section 533.5. In this statute, the Legislature declared
that "[n]o policy of insurance" shall provide "coverage"
or "any duty to defend" in "any action or proceeding"
brought under the Unfair Business Practices Act "by the Attorney
General, any district attorney, any city prosecutor, or any *1271
county counsel ...." While section 533.5 thus bars insurance
in statutory unfair competition actions brought by the government,
the Bank argues that the section also authorizes, by implication,
insurance in actions brought by private plaintiffs.
The argument is easily met. The history of section 533.5 does not
suggest that the Legislature gave any thought to the availability
of insurance coverage in private actions under the Unfair Business
Practices Act. As originally enacted, section 533.5 did not even
refer to the act. Instead, it barred coverage in all civil and criminal
actions, whatever the theory of liability, brought by the Attorney
General, a district attorney, or a city prosecutor. (Stats. 1988,
ch. 489, § 1, p. 1896.) In 1990, the Legislature limited the
statute's reach to criminal actions and actions under the Unfair
Business Practices Act. (Stats. 1990, ch. 1512, § 1.)
This legislative history might support the inference that the Legislature
has equated actions under the Unfair Business Practices Act with
criminal actions, at least for insurance purposes. (Obviously, the
comparison does not advance the Bank's argument for coverage.) However,
the legislative history does not support the additional inference
that the Legislature actually considered the availability of insurance
coverage in actions brought by private plaintiffs. On that point
the history is silent. Lacking relevant legislation, the question
can only be resolved by applying the more general principles of
law on which we rely.
(1d) It remains to be considered whether the amount that the Bank
paid to settle the Fallat action represented disgorgement under
the Unfair Business Practices Act. The Bank strenuously argues that
its payment did not represent disgorgement because the superior
court had already dismissed, prior to settlement, the plaintiffs'
claims under the Unruh Act (Civ. Code, § 1801 et seq.) for
recovery of excessive finance charges. The claims still being asserted
at the time of settlement were pursuant to a state statute prohibiting
excessive liquidated damages (Civ. Code, § 1671) and the Truth-in-Lending
Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1638, 1640). The Bank asserts that these
claims amounted to claims of "unfair competition" under
the CGL policy because the Fallat plaintiffs incorporated them into
their claim for statutory unfair competition under section 17203,
which also survived summary adjudication. [FN5]FN5 The superior
court held that the Fallat complaint "[did] not allege, and
could not be amended to allege, the common law tort of unfair competition."
(Italics added.) This ruling followed the Bank's acquiescence in
Industrial's argument that competitive injury is an element of common
law unfair competition (Committee on Children's Television, Inc.
v. General Foods Corp., supra, 35 Cal.3d at p. 209; Barquis v. Merchants
Collection Assn., supra, 7 Cal.3d at pp. 109-110) and that the Fallat
plaintiffs' claims did not implicate the interests of the Bank's
competitors. Now, the Bank argues that "competitive injury
has been cast aside as a requirement for common-law unfair competition
claims ...." However, common law cases cited by the Bank establish
only that courts may enjoin the unfair use of trade names or the
sale of confusingly similar goods. (E.g., Academy of Motion Picture,
etc. v. Benson (1940) 15 Cal.2d 685 [104 P.2d 650]; American Philatelic
Soc. v. Claibourne (1935) 3 Cal.2d 689 [46 P.2d 135].)The problem
with this argument is that it contradicts the Bank's theory of coverage.
To argue for coverage, the Bank takes the position that the policy
*1272 term "unfair competition" includes claims under
the Unfair Business Practices Act. Next, to avoid the rule that
disgorgement is not a form of "damages" for insurance
purposes, the Bank argues that its settlement payment did not represent
disgorgement. However, disgorgement is the only nonpunitive monetary
remedy available under the Unfair Business Practices Act. (See §
17203 [authorizing relief "to restore to any person in interest
any money or property, real or personal, which may have been acquired
by means of such unfair competition"].) Thus, if the settlement
payment did not represent disgorgement, it could not have been for
a violation of the act. However, if the payment was not for a violation
of the act, it could not have been for "unfair competition"
and, hence, was not covered even under the Bank's broad definition
of that term.
In summary, the Unfair Business Practices Act does not authorize
an award of damages, and a definition of "unfair competition"
that cannot support a claim for damages cannot reflect the objectively
reasonable expectations of the insured. Accordingly, we hold that
the policy term "unfair competition" does not refer to
conduct that violates the Unfair Business Practices Act. [FN6] (§
17200 et seq.) Because the context elucidates the meaning, there
is no need to resort to the rule that ambiguities are resolved against
the insurer. (See AIU, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 822.)FN6 The Bank
argues that coverage restricted to claims of common law unfair competition
would be illusory because a plaintiff must show fraud to recover
damages under that theory (e.g., Wood v. Peffer (1942) 55 Cal.App.2d
116, 125-126 [130 P.2d 220]) and because Insurance Code section
533 bars insurance for losses "caused by the willful act of
the insured." We see no occasion to address this argument.
No common law claim is involved in this case and, regardless of
the scope of coverage for such claims, it is clear that claims under
the Unfair Business Practices Act are not covered.The Court of Appeal
reached a different conclusion on this point because it believed
that the case law was "in conflict as to whether damages are
recoverable under section 17203." However, we perceive no conflict.
In Chern v. Bank of America, supra, 15 Cal.3d 866, we expressly
held that damages were not available under section 17535, another
section of the Unfair Business Practices Act that authorizes courts
to order the restoration of money acquired through misleading advertising.
(15 Cal.3d at p. 875.) The language of section 17535 is nearly identical
to that of section 17203, *1273 which was based on the former. In
addition, the history of section 17203 demonstrates that the Legislature
expressly intended both sections to be "interpreted in the
same way." (Assem. Com. of Research, Report on Assem. Bill.
No. 3279 (1975-1976 Reg. Sess.), p. 1.) Chern effectively overruled
the earlier, contrary holding in United Farm Workers of America
v. Superior Court (1975) 47 Cal.App.3d 334, 344 [120 Cal.Rptr. 904],
which the Court of Appeal in the case before us read to create a
"conflict."
It is true that this court once expressly declined to decide a litigant's
claim for compensatory damages under the Unfair Business Practices
Act. (Committee on Children's Television, Inc. v. General Foods
Corp., supra, 35 Cal.3d at p. 215; cf. id., dis opn. of Bird, C.
J., at pp. 223-228 [opining that damages should be available under
the Unfair Business Practices Act].) However, in view of Chern's
express holding that damages are not available under the act, the
Court of Appeal read far too much into Committee on Children's Television,
Inc., supra. Today, the point is too well settled to warrant extensive
discussion. [FN7]FN7 See Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. v. Superior
Court, supra, 211 Cal.App.3d at page 774; Industrial Indemnity Co.
v. Superior Court,
supra, 209 Cal.App.3d at pages 1095-1097; see also E.W. French &
Sons, Inc. v. General Portland Inc. (9th Cir. 1989) 885 F.2d 1392,
1401-1402; Little Oil Co., Inc. v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (9th Cir.
1988) 852 F.2d 441, 445; Kates v. Crocker National Bank (9th Cir.
1985) 776 F.2d 1396, 1398; Burt on Behalf of McDonnell Douglas v.
Danforth (E.D.Mo. 1990) 742 F.Supp. 1043, 1052-1054; Xerox Corp.
v. Apple Computer, Inc. (N.D.Cal. 1990) 734 F.Supp. 1542, 1550,
footnote 14; Newport Components v. NEC Home Electronics (C.D.Cal.
1987) 671 F.Supp. 1525, 1550-1552; Meta- Film Associates, Inc. v.
MCA, Inc. (C.D.Cal. 1984) 586 F.Supp. 1346, 1363; see also 11 Witkin,
Summary of Cal. Law, supra, at page 776. United Farm Workers of
America v. Superior Court, supra, 47 Cal.App.3d 334, is disapproved
to the extent it is inconsistent with our opinion.In conclusion,
we hold that the superior court properly granted Industrial's motion
for summary adjudication of issues on the theory that the Fallat
complaint did not seek "damages" for "unfair competition"
within the meaning of the CGL policy. The Court of Appeal's decision
to the contrary was erroneous and must be reversed.
B. The Fallat Plaintiffs' Injuries Did Not Occur "In the Course
of" the Bank's
Advertising Activities.
(6) The Bank's CGL policy covers "damages" for "unfair
competition" only if such conduct "occur[s] in the course
of the ... insured's advertising activities." Because the Bank
did not advertise its Coast Program to consumers, Industrial argues
that the unlawful lending practices alleged in the Fallat complaint
did not occur in the course of the Bank's advertising activities.
While we have concluded that the Fallat complaint did not seek "damages"
for "unfair competition" within the meaning of the CGL
policy, other *1274 questions about the scope of coverage for "advertising
injury" continue to have substantial importance. For that reason
we shall address, as an alternative, independent basis for our decision,
the parties' arguments about the requisite connection between "advertising
activities" and "advertising injury."
As already discussed, the state and federal court orders granting
summary adjudication narrowed the Fallat plaintiffs' claims for
monetary relief to a few claims based on unlawful lending practices.
These included the claims under the Truth-in-Lending Act for failing
to make timely and correct disclosures (15 U.S.C. §§ 1638,
1640) and under a state statute that prohibits excessive liquidated
damages (Civ. Code, § 1671). In their complaint, the Fallat
plaintiffs incorporated both of these claims into their request
for disgorgement under the Unfair Business Practices Act. (§
17203.) Arguing that the remaining claims thus amounted to "unfair
competition," the Bank asserted a claim for coverage under
the policy.
The trial court, in its order granting Industrial's motion for summary
adjudication, found that "[t]he acts on which the Fallat claim
was based did not occur in the course of [the Bank's] 'advertising
activities' within the meaning of the policies ...." While
the Bank advertised its Coast Program to insurance agents through
representatives and trade journals, it does not appear that consumers
were aware of these advertising activities. Thus, it is only with
considerable difficulty that the Bank is able to argue that the
alleged acts of "unfair competition" "occur[ed] in
the course of ... [the Bank's] advertising activities."
In order to base a claim for coverage on advertising directed to
insurance agents, the Bank must take the difficult position that
the CGL policy does not require a causal connection between "advertising
activities" and "advertising injury." Instead, according
to the Bank, there is coverage if any connection, however remote,
exists between the Bank's advertisements and the lending practices
that harmed the Fallat plaintiffs, even if the advertisements, themselves,
did not cause the harm.
This argument has not found acceptance in other jurisdictions. Those
courts that have addressed the issue in published opinions have
rejected coverage claims based on injuries that did not have a causal
connection with the insured's advertising activities. (National
Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Siliconix Inc. (N.D.Cal. 1989) 729 F.Supp.
77, 79-80; Meyers & Sons Corp. v. Zurich American Ins. (1989)
74 N.Y.2d 298 [546 N.Y.S.2d. 818, 545 N.E.2d. 1206-1209]; Lazzara
Oil Co. v. Columbia Casualty Co. (M.D.Fla. 1988) 683 F.Supp. 777,
780; cf. First Bank & Trust Co. v. N.H. Ins. Group (1983) 124
N.H. 417 [469 A.2d 1367, 1368].) *1275
The reasoning that supports the requirement of a causal connection
is clear and persuasive: "Taken to its extreme, [the argument
that no causal relationship is necessary] would lead to the conclusion
that any harmful act, if it were advertised in some way, would fall
under the grant of coverage merely because it was advertised. Under
this rationale, for instance, injury due to a defective product
which is sold as a result of advertising activity and which later
harms a consumer may fall within the coverage grant. The definition
of 'advertising' is quite broad and may encompass a great deal of
activity. Thus, a great many acts may fall within the ambit of advertising,
extending advertising injury coverage far beyond the reasonable
expectations of the insured." (National Union Fire Ins. Co.
v. Siliconix Inc., supra, 729 F.Supp. at p. 80, fn. omitted.)
Under this rule, it has been held that a claim of patent infringement
does not "occur[] in the course of ... advertising activities"
within the meaning of the policy even though the insured advertises
the infringing product, if the claim of infringement is based on
the sale or importation of the product rather than its advertisement.
(National Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Siliconix Inc., supra, 729 F.Supp.
at p. 80 [sale]; Meyers & Sons Corp. v. Zurich American Ins.,
supra, 545 N.E.2d at pp. 1208-1209 [importation].) Similarly, there
is no coverage for a bank's failure to provide an advertised service
in a proper manner. (First Bank & Trust Co. v. N.H. Ins. Group,
supra, 469 A.2d at p. 1368.)
The single published opinion that the Bank cites as direct authority
[FN8] to the contrary does not actually support the Bank's position.
(John Deere Ins. Co. v. Shamrock Industries, Inc. (D.Minn. 1988)
696 F.Supp. 434, affd. on other grounds (8th Cir. 1991) 929 F.2d
413 (John Deere).) The insured in John Deere started a business
in competition with his former employer. The employer filed suit,
alleging that the employee's product infringed the employer's patents
and constituted a misuse of its trade secrets. The employee tendered
the claim to his CGL insurer, who refused to defend and sued for
declaratory relief.FN8 The Bank cites several cases that use or
discuss the terms "advertising" and "in the course
of" in other contexts. (E.g., Committee on Children's Television,
Inc. v. General Foods Corp., supra, 35 Cal.3d 197, 210 [concerning
statutory prohibitions against false "advertising"]; West
American Ins. Co. v. California Mutual Ins. Co. (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d
314, 319-323 [240 Cal.Rptr. 540] [concerning the requirement that
injury must occur "in the course of" employment for workers'
compensation insurance purposes].) These cases offer little help
to a court interpreting a CGL policy.One of the issues before the
court was whether the alleged instances of patent infringement and
misuse of trade secrets had "occurred in the course *1276 of
[the employee's] advertising activities" within the meaning
of a CGL policy. (John Deere, supra, 696 F.Supp. at pp. 435-440.)
The insurer argued that it was the sale of the infringing product,
rather than the employee's representations to potential purchasers,
that constituted infringement and misuse of trade secrets. In opposition,
the employee argued that the policy did not require a causal relationship
between "advertising activities" and the alleged harm.
The court did not resolve the issue. Instead, the court disposed
of the case on the principle that claims "need only arguably
fall within the coverage of the policies" to give rise to a
duty to defend. (Id., at p. 440.) This limited disposition is of
no assistance to a court deciding a coverage dispute.
We believe that the apparent majority rule, under which "advertising
injury" must have a causal connection with "advertising
activities," best articulates the insured's objectively reasonable
expectations about the scope of coverage. This conclusion is partly
a matter of interpretation and partly a matter of common sense.
As a matter of interpretation, the context of the CGL policy strongly
indicates the requirement of a causal connection. The other types
of "advertising injury" enumerated in the policy often
do have a causal connection with advertising. "Defamation,"
whether libel or slander, occurs upon publication. (See Civ. Code,
§§ 45, 46.) "Violation of right of privacy,"
in the advertising context, is virtually synonymous with unwanted
publicity. (See, e.g., Civ. Code, § 3344.) "Infringement
of copyright, title or slogan" typically occurs upon unauthorized
reproduction or distribution of the protected material. (See 17
U.S.C. § 106.) Reading the term "unfair competition"
in this context, an objectively reasonable insured would not conclude
that the term "unfair competition" could refer to claims
that bore no casual relationship to its advertising activities.
Moreover, as a matter of common sense, an objectively reasonable
insured would not expect "advertising injury" coverage
to extend as far as the Bank argues it should extend. Virtually
every business that sells a product or service advertises, if only
in the sense of making representations to potential customers. [FN9]
If no causal relationship were required between "advertising
activities" and "advertising injuries," then "advertising
injury" coverage, *1277 alone, would encompass most claims
related to the insured's business. However, insureds generally expect
to obtain such broad coverage, if at all, only by purchasing several
forms of insurance, including coverage for "errors and omissions
liability," "directors and officers liability," "completed
operations and products liability," and/or other coverages
available as part of a CGL policy. (See, e.g., 3 Cal. Insurance
Law (Matthew Bender 1990) pp. 43-55 et seq., 47-36 et seq., 49-80
et seq. [examples of policy forms for various coverages].)FN9 Although
we need not address the issue, we note that courts have disagreed
on the question of what constitutes "advertising" for
these purposes. Most of the published opinions hold that "advertising"
means widespread promotional activities directed to the public at
large. (International Ins. v. Florists' Mut. Ins. (1990) 201 Ill.App.3d
428
[147 Ill.Dec. 7, 559 N.E.2d 7, 9-10]; Playboy Enterprises v. St.
Paul Fire & Marine Ins. (7th Cir. 1985) 769 F.2d 425, 428- 429;
Fox Chemical Co., Inc. v. Great Am. Ins. Co. (Minn. 1978) 264 N.W.2d
385, 386; cf. First Bank & Trust Co. v. N.H. Ins. Group, supra,
469 A.2d at p. 1368.) Of the published opinions, only the courts
in American States Insurance Co. v. Canyon Creek, supra, 786 F.Supp.
821, 828, and John Deere, supra, 696 F.Supp. 434, 440, appear to
have held that the term "advertising" can also encompass
personal solicitations.For these reasons, we hold that "advertising
injury" must have a causal connection with the insured's "advertising
activities" before there can be coverage. Applying this rule
to the case before us, it is evident that the Fallat plaintiffs'
claims were not so connected with the Bank's advertising activities.
The only claims in the Fallat complaint that might be described
as claims for "unfair competition," and which survived
summary adjudication, were claims for the restoration of amounts
allegedly acquired through violations of the Unfair Business Practices
Act. (§ 17203.) These claims, which were based on the inadequacy
of disclosures to consumers and the illegality of the terms of the
loans, do not have a sufficient causal connection with advertisements
directed solely to insurance agents.
Arguing against this conclusion, the Bank observes that its "advertising
activities" included the payment of referral fees to insurance
agents and that such fees, as the federal court found, gave the
insurance agents an incentive to "sell" the Bank's loans
without first making the disclosures required by federal law. [FN10]
This contention, however, merely restates the argument that harm
caused by a defective product or service is "advertising injury"
simply because the product or service was incorrectly described.
As already discussed, this argument has been rejected as an unreasonable
extension of coverage. (See National Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Siliconix
Inc., supra, 729 F.Supp. at p. 80.)FN10 The Bank also argues that
the loan application itself, which incorrectly disclosed the interest
rate and other charges, can be viewed as a form of direct advertising
to consumers. However, it was this document that, in many cases,
was signed by the insurance agent rather than the customer pursuant
to a power of attorney. As the federal court found, it was the Bank's
practice to send the application to the consumer only after it had
been accepted by the Bank and, thus, become the actual loan agreement.
(See ante, pp. 1258-1259.)We thus conclude, as did the superior
court, that the acts underlying the Fallat plaintiffs' claims did
not occur in the course of the Bank's advertising activities within
the meaning of the CGL policy. *1278
Disposition
The judgment of the Court of Appeal is reversed.
Lucas, C. J., Arabian, J., Baxter, J., and George, J., concurred.
MOSK, J.
I concur in the majority opinion insofar as it holds that disgorgement
of sums obtained in violation of section 17203 of the Business and
Professions Code is not "damages" for "advertising
injury" caused by "unfair competition" under the
policy. In my view, the opinion should conclude with the statement
of this principle and its application to the facts of the case.
Discussion of the second point made by the majority, that there
must be a causal connection between "advertising injury"
and "advertising activities," and that such a connection
was not established, is entirely unnecessary to the opinion. I express
no view as to its validity.
Kennard, J., concurred.
Cal. 1992.
Bank of the West v. Superior Court (Indus. Indem. Co.)
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Copr. (C) Bancroft-Whitney and West Group 1998 |