Selective Insurance Co. of South Carolina v. Target Corp.

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Brown was injured at a Gurnee, Illinois Target store when a fitting room door came off its hinges and fell on her. In Brown’s negligence suit, Target filed a third-party complaint against Harbor, Target’s supplier of fitting rooms for the store, seeking contribution and indemnification. Discovery revealed that the same door fell on another Target customer approximately one week before it fell on Brown. Target and Harbor settled with Brown. Target tendered its defense of Brown’s lawsuit to Harbor’s insurer, Selective, claiming that it was an additional insured under its contract with Harbor. Selective sought a declaratory judgment that it had no duty to defend or indemnify. The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment of $714,450.24 in favor of Target, concluding that: Target was an additional insured on Harbor’s policy because of a Supplier Qualification Agreement that required Harbor to designate Target as an additional insured and their Program Agreement for the fitting rooms; Brown’s allegations fell within the scope of the policy, since they could reasonably be read to assert a bodily injury caused by Harbor’s product; and Target had settled the lawsuit Brown in reasonable anticipation of liability. View "Selective Insurance Co. of South Carolina v. Target Corp." on Justia Law