Advertising Injury Insurance Policy Did Not Cover Trade Secret Claims

Case: Hayward v. Centennial Ins. Co., No. 03-17378 (9th Cir. 12/5/05)


The One Sentence Summary: An insurance policy covering "advertising injury" did not create a duty to defend a suit alleging trade secret misappropriation and wrongful solicitation of a competitor's customers.


Ninth Circuit Holdings:

• Under California law, alleged wrongful solicitation of customers using trade secret information from a former employee was not an "advertising injury" covered by insurance. The court followed the California Supreme Court's decision in
  Hameid v. National Fire Insurance of Hartford, 71 P.3d 761 (Cal. 2003)