The judges of the District Court for the Northern District of California awarded partial summary judgment to an insurer relating to losses as a result of smoke and soot from a fire. The case is Bottega, LLC v. Nat'l Sur. Corp., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5666 (N.D. Cal. 2025).

Bottega was a restaurant in central California; a cafe and caterer called Ottimo shared the premises. Both entities were managed by Gruppo Chiarello, Inc. (Chiarello) and Solo I O, Inc. (Solo). National Surety issued a businessowners policy that listed Bottega, Ottimo, Chiarello, and Solo as named insureds.

In October 2017, wildfires ravaged central California, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency for Napa, Sonoma, and Yuba Counties, which encompassed Bottega and Ottimo’s business premises. The governor’s declaration included multiple road closures in the affected counties, hampering access to Bottega and Ottimo.