Old Republic Ins. Co. v. Stratford Ins. Co., No. 14-1179 (1st Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseA tractor-trailer was involved in an auto collision that caused serious bodily injury. The owner of the tractor (Owner) obtained primary insurance for the tractor through Old Republic Insurance Company (Old Republic). The operator of the tractor (Operator) obtained separate insurance through Stratford Insurance Company (Stratford). Old Republic filed suit against Stratford seeking a determination as to Stratford’s insurance obligations. The First Circuit (1) affirmed the district court’s conclusion that the Operator and Stratford never intended Stratford to provide primary coverage to the tractor, leaving Old Republic as the primary insurer and Stratford as the excess insurer; and (2) as to the question regarding Stratford’s duty to defend as an excess insurer of the tractor, the best course of action is to certify this question of New Hampshire law to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.