The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa.

In this insurance coverage dispute The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) sought a declaratory judgment that National Union Fire Insurance Company owed duties to defend and indemnify BNSF in a personal injury suit resulting from a collision between one of its trains and an automobile. The trial court granted National Union’s motion for summary judgment. The court of appeals affirmed. ___ S.W.3d ___. Because the court of appeals did not consider evidence extrinsic to the pleadings and insurance policy in determining whether National Union owed a duty to indemnify, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the case to that court for further proceedings.

In 1994, BNSF contracted with SSI Mobley (Mobley) to control vegetation along certain areas of BNSF’s right-of-way. The contract term was “1994 through 1996.” Pursuant to the contract, which required Mobley to purchase a comprehensive general liability (CGL) policy naming BNSF as an additional insured, Mobley purchased a CGL policy from National Union.*fn1