Supreme Court will answer Ninth Circuit’s insurance law question

The Supreme Court today agreed to answer this question for the Ninth Circuit in Allied Premier Insurance v. United Financial Casualty Company:

Under California’s Motor Carriers of Property Permit Act, Cal. Veh. Code §§ 34600 et seq., does a commercial automobile insurance policy continue in full force and effect until the insurer cancels the corresponding Certificate of Insurance on file with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, regardless of the insurance policy’s stated expiration date? [Link added.]

When it asked the question, the federal appeals court said it was unclear whether a Supreme Court interpretation of since-superseded statutes “survives” statutory changes.  According to the Ninth Circuit, the possibly obsolete interpretation is that “a commercial driver’s insurance policy remains in effect until the insurer provides notice to the relevant agency that the policy will be canceled.”

The Supreme Court has now granted 11 of the last 12 Ninth Circuit requests for help in resolving questions of California law, dating back to July 2018.  The lone denial during that time was in October 2019.