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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Insurers Don’t Have To Defend Sony PS2 Lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Two insurance companies are not required to defend Sony in a class action claiming that a defect in PlayStation 2 consoles render them unable to play DVDs and some game disks, the 9th Circuit ruled.

Sony purchased a $10 million media liability insurance policy with American International Specialty Lines Co., and a $2 million commercial liability policy with American Home Assurance Co.

A group of PlayStation 2 users sued Sony over the allegedly defective consoles in 2002.

Judge Hall upheld the district court's ruling that neither insurance company had an obligation to defend Sony from charges of "negligent publication."

"(T)he placement of 'negligent publication' within the policy suggests that the term refers to a narrow tort relating to defective advice and incitement," Hall ruled, "not a broad tort distinct from those terms."

Judge Bybee dissented in part, disagreeing with the majority's conclusion that American International had no duty to defend Sony.

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