The Ninth Circuit agreed the insurer suffered prejudice by the late notice from the insured and affirmed the denial of the claim. Stockton Mariposa, LLC v. West Am. Ins. Co., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 14787 (9th Cir. June 14, 2023).

Stockton submitted a claim for theft and vandalism of covered property. West American denied the claim. Stockton sued and the district court granted summary judgment to West American.

The Ninth Circuit found that the policy's vacancy provision unambiguously stated that a consecutive vacancy for the prior 60 days prevented coverage for certain losses. When a triggering event occurred = a vacancy counting backwards more than 60 days before the loss - the exclusion applied without regard to who owned the property or who acted to cause the vacancy.