First Defiance Financial Corp. v. Progressive Casualty Insurance

In affirming the district court’s coverage conclusion, today’s majority adopts a simplistic interpretation of the policy terms that disregards important coverage limitations. As I see it, the policy required a direct loss to First Defiance, and Hunt’s theft from non-custodial customer investment accounts does not qualify as such a loss. Furthermore, neither the policy language nor the history of fidelity coverage supports the majority’s view that the customer accounts constituted First Defiance’s “Covered Property.” I respectfully dissent.

I

The majority presents this case as a simple matter of…