State Farm General Insurance v. Best in the West Foods, Inc.

On July 4, 1988, at around noon, there was a natural gas explosion at a store operated by one of the defendants, Best in the West Foods, Inc., d/b/a Super Buy Grocery (Best Foods). Best Foods was an insured under a policy issued by the plaintiff, State Farm General Insurance Company (State Farm), for the period March 1, 1988, to March 1, 1989.

In January 1989, Best Foods provided State Farm with a proof of loss, in which it requested $564,665 for the "contents” it lost and $297,763 for its loss of "earnings.” On October 25, 1989, State Farm denied Best Foods’ claim for these amounts under a…