Ongoing, multidecade class action litigation in Taiwanese courts over former factory employees’ exposure to toxic chemicals led to significant liability for Appellees, the Technicolor entities. Technicolor sought coverage for defense costs and indemnification of liability through one of their insurers, Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company. Specifically at issue are six commercial general liability insurance policies issued by Allianz consisting of three primary coverage policies and three umbrella policies.

The trial court granted Technicolor’s motions for summary judgment, holding that Allianz owed Technicolor a duty to defend under its umbrella policies. The court found Allianz liable for over $5 million in defense costs already incurred by Technicolor, plus prejudgment interest, and future defense costs.

Allianz appeals, arguing that they owe no duty to defend Technicolor because: (1) the “known loss” doctrine barred coverage of Technicolor because it knew it was facing liability at the policies’ inception; (2) coverage is barred due to a “deemer” clause in Allianz’s policies; and (3) Technicolor has other, underlying primary insurance policies through different carriers that should be responsible for defense costs. Allianz raises several other issues, including that the trial court improperly ordered it to pay defense costs for Technicolor S.A., an entity not insured by Allianz; the basis upon which it ordered Allianz to pay prejudgment interests was improper; and it improperly awarded arbitration fees for unrelated claims.

The scheduled panelists are Judge Bailey, Judge Vaidik, and Judge DeBoer.