Dart Industries Inc. v. Commercial Union Insurance Company - 202 Cal LEXIS 5465
Rexall Drug Company, a predecessor in interest of Plaintiff, Dart Industries, Inc., ("Dart") manufactured and marketed the drug Diethylstilbestrol ("DES"), a synthetic estrogen used to prevent miscarriages in the 1940s to the late 1960s. Women who were exposed to DES in utero filed suit against Dart for damages caused by DES. Dart sought a defense and indemnification from the insurer, Commercial Union Insurance, Co., ("Commercial"). The applicable insurance policy was lost or destroyed. Dart brought a suit against Commercial for failure to defend. In an attempt to prove the existence and material facts of the policy, Dart provided testimony of Charles Pyne, the insurance agent/broker who had knowledge of the policy and its provisions. The Court of Appeal held that Dart had to prove the actual language of the lost policy to be entitled to coverage. The Supreme Court reversed.
