United States Liability Insurance v. Benchmark Construction Services, Inc.

LIPEZ, Circuit Judge.

In this declaratory judgment action, Benchmark Construction Services, Inc. (“Benchmark”) and its insurer, United States Liability Insurance Company (“USLIC”), debate the scope of an employer’s liability exclusion in a dispute over the insurer’s duty to defend and indemnify Benchmark in an underlying personal injury lawsuit. Ruling on cross motions for summary judgment, the district court concluded that USLIC had no duty to defend or indemnify Benchmark in the personal injury lawsuit. Given ambiguities in the exclusion, which must be construed in the insured’s favor, we…