A.B.S. Clothing Collection, Inc. v. Home Insurance

WOODS (Fred), J., Dissenting.

Contrary to the majority opinion, I do not view this appeal as presenting an issue of first impression. For decades, courts, including those in California, have consistently held that insurance contracts are subject to the ordinary rules of interpretation. (See e.g., Bank of the West v. Superior Court (1992) 2 Cal.4th 1254, 1264 [10 Cal.Rptr.2d 538, 833 P.2d 545].) If contractual language is clear, it governs without regard to the insured’s subjective understanding about the terms of coverage. (Id.., at p. 1265; Bettis Rubber Co. v. Kleaver (1951) 104 Cal.App.2d…