National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford v. Visual Pak Company, Inc.

In an insurance coverage dispute, the plaintiff insurance company filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that they did not owe a duty to defend or indemnify the defendant insured. The trial court initially held that the insurers were estopped from asserting defenses contained in the policy, but reversed itself, held that a particular exclusion in the policy barred coverage and found that because there was no duty to defend the question of estoppel was moot. The defendant appealed and the appellate court affirmed, finding that the trial court correctly concluded that coverage was barred by the violation-of-law exclusion. The appellate court noted that this was contrary to a recent decision of the federal court but found that decision was wrongly decided and declined to follow it. (McBRIDE and COBBS, concurring)