Opinion
S253593
11-17-2022
YAHOO INC. v. NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, PA
Opinion filed
We answer the Ninth Circuit's question as follows: A CGL insurance policy that provides coverage for “personal injury,” defined, in part, as “injury . . . arising out of . . . [o]ral or written publication, in any manner, of material that violates a person's right of privacy,” can cover liability for violations of the right of seclusion if such coverage is consistent with the insured's objectively reasonable expectations. Such a policy can also trigger the insurer's duty to defend the insured against a claim that the insured violated the TCPA by sending unsolicited text messages that did not reveal any private or secret information, provided that the alleged TCPA violation amounts to a right-of-seclusion violation under California law. The fact that such a policy has been modified by an endorsement with regard to advertising injuries may affect such coverage and such duty to defend, but we have no occasion to decide that issue here.
Majority Opinion by Jenkins, J.
-- joined by Cantil-Sakauye, C. J., Corrigan, Liu, Kruger, Groban, and Guerrero, JJ.