Abe F. v. Mutual of Enumclaw

The issue in this declaratory judgment action is whether defendant insurer is estopped to deny liability coverage to plaintiffs based on a policy exclusion. Plaintiffs sought a declaration that their liability insurance policy with defendant covered a wrongful death action, in which it was alleged that plaintiffs had negligently sold alcoholic beverages to a minor who later, and as a result of ingesting the alcoholic beverage, caused the death that was the subject of the wrongful death action. The jury in the present case returned a verdict for plaintiffs. The trial court granted defendants motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and entered judgment for defendant, ruling that plaintiffs had failed to prove all the elements of an equitable estoppel. The Court of Appeals affirmed on the ground that there was no evidence of a false representation. DeJonge v. Mutual of Enumclaw, 104 Or App 296, 800 P2d 313 (1990). We affirm, but on different grounds. We hold that the insurance policy excluded coverage for liability related to the sale of liquor to a minor and that defendant was not estopped to deny such coverage.