Yahoo Prevails in Duty to Defend Suit Over Spam Texts (1)

Yahoo! Inc. convinced the California Supreme Court that the internet company’s insurer must pay the cost of its legal defense of lawsuits over thousands of unsolicited spam texts.

Justices in the closely watched case Thursday rejected arguments by the National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, a unit of AIG, that no coverage was warranted because under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the right to privacy involves only the right to keep personal information confidential. The texts released no personal information, taking it outside of policy coverage terms.

The unanimous court held the insurance policy’s language provides ...