Dish Network Corp. v. Ace American Insurance Co., No. 20-0268 (2d Cir. 2021)
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The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment holding that an insurance company was not obligated under an insurance policy to defend the insureds in underlying copyright infringement suits. At issue is whether the insureds were subject to the policy exclusion for injury purportedly caused by an insured in the business of "broadcasting" or "telecasting."
The court concluded that the insurance company does not owe the insureds a duty to defend under the policy because "broadcasting," as used in its Media Exclusion is not ambiguous and applies to the insureds' business. Furthermore, the insureds' argument that the plain and ordinary meaning of "broadcasting" does not apply here fails. In this case, the language of the policy does not suggest an intention to adopt a specialized definition of "broadcasting." Therefore, the court rejected the insureds' invitation to discard the plain and ordinary meaning of the term "broadcasting" in favor of its preferred definitions. Accordingly, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment to the insurance company.
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