Essex Insurance Co. v. Five Star Dye House

CERTIFIED FOR PARTIAL PUBLICATION 1 INTRODUCTION In the published portion of this opinion, we reverse the trial court's order denying attorney fees and hold that an insured may assign its right, established in Brandt v. Superior Court (1995) 37 Cal.3d 813 (Brandt), to recover as damages attorney fees incurred in obtaining the benefits of an insurance policy that were denied as a result of the insurer's bad faith (Brandt fees). In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we discuss why we affirm the trial court's determination that there was insurance coverage and a bad faith denial of coverage for a claim arising out of the operation of a commercial trucking business. Also, in the unpublished portion of the opinion, we discuss why we affirm the trial court's decisions that the damages do not have to be reduced to the amount of the policy limit or to take into account prior settlement amounts and affirm the trial court's award of costs. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND