Yahoo Defense Tab Up for Grabs in California Supreme Court Case

Yahoo! Inc., besieged by class actions accusing the pioneering internet search engine of sending unwanted ads via text message in violation of federal law, turned to its insurer to provide and pay for its legal defense.

But, despite the existence of specifically negotiated and distinct “personal injury” and “advertising injury” coverage provisions according to Yahoo, National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., denied coverage.

A San Jose federal judge agreed with the carrier, but the more circumspect US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit punted the issue to California’s Supreme Court, asking: Does a commercial liability policy that ...