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Great American Insurance Company v. Riso, Inc.

479 F.3d 158 (2007)

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Great American Insurance Company v. Riso, Inc.

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
479 F.3d 158 (2007)

  • Written by Noah Lewis, JD

Facts

Riso, Inc. (defendant), a distributor of digital duplicating machines, parts, and supplies, faced an antitrust lawsuit brought by school districts, Modesto City Schs. v. Riso Kagaku Corp. The suit accused Riso of things such as refusing to sell replacement parts to independent service providers and disparaging the products of competitors so that school districts would not purchase replacement parts from them. Riso had a commercial general liability policy with Great American Insurance Company (GAIC) (plaintiff) under which GAIC would defend Riso in personal-injury suits, which was defined to include slander, libel, or disparagement of goods, products, or services. GAIC refused to defend Riso against the school districts. After the antitrust case settled, Riso filed in Massachusetts state court seeking a declaratory judgment that GAIC had a duty to defend. GAIC removed the case to federal court, and cross-motions for summary judgment were filed on the question of whether GAIC had a duty to defend. The district court found in favor of GAIC on the basis that the policy covered only the tort of product disparagement, not antitrust suits. Riso appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Boudin, C.J.)

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