United States Ninth Circuit

In a suit by Northrop against defendant-insurer after it denied coverage for water damage at Northrop's Mississippi subsidiary caused by Hurricane Katrina, summary judgment in favor of Northrop is reversed and remanded where: 1) contrary to the ruling below, an exclusion for flooding unambiguously bars coverage for water damage to Northrop's shipyards; and 2) a remand was required for a determination of whether California's efficient proximate cause doctrine mandates coverage of the damage notwithstanding this interpretation of the contractual language.

Appellate Information

• Argued 07/18/2008
• Decided 08/14/2008
• Published 08/14/2008

Judges

• Before:  CYNTHIA HOLCOMB HALL and PAMELA ANN RYMER, Circuit Judges, and STEPHEN M. McNAMEE, District Judge.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Kirk A. Pasich, Esq., Los Angeles, CA, for the plaintiff-appellee., Peter Abrahams, Esq., Encino, CA, for the defendant-appellant.