Truck Ins. Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum Corp.

Summary

The court held that standardized first-level excess insurance provisions in continuous-injury claims require vertical exhaustion: an insured may access a first-level excess policy once the directly underlying primary policy for the same policy period is exhausted, without first exhausting primary policies from other periods. The court rejected the contrary interpretation of the excess policies but did not decide whether equitable contribution between Truck and the excess insurers should ultimately be awarded. The matter was reversed and remanded for consideration of the equitable and other arguments bearing on contribution.