In a recent ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit took a firm stand on the Eight Corners Rule, a principle in insurance law. The court unequivocally determined that an insurance provider did not owe defense and indemnity to three strip clubs that had previously been sued for unapproved use of images. The models, whose likenesses were used for promotional purposes, had never consented to their images being used.
Advanced jurisprudence often involves scrutinizing familiar principles under unique contexts. In this case, the court applied the Eight Corners Rule, a fixture of insurance law named for the four corners of the insurance policy and the four corners of the complaint. Typically, the rule prohibits the use of extrinsic evidence – evidence outside of those aforementioned eight corners – to determine the provider’s duty to defend or indemnify.
Although the given circumstances presented an intriguing challenge, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held true to the Eight Corners Rule. In doing so, it reinforced the boundaries set by the insurance document and the complaint, effectively stripping away the ambiguity that can creep in from extrinsic sources.
In this particularly intriguing case, the court’s decision reaffirms the power of established legal principles even as they navigate new waters. To delve into the case further, you can visit the full ruling on