By Gretchen Hoff Varner and Broer Oatis (February 27, 2018, 2:00 PM EST) -- On March 6, in Liberty Surplus Insurance Co. v. Ledesma and Meyer Construction Co. Inc., S236735, the California Supreme Court has the opportunity to answer, once and for all, the following question: When insurance policies refer to an "accident," what does that mean? For most occurrence-liability insurance based policies, whether the underlying harm is caused by an accident is the key to coverage — if no accident took place, there is no coverage. Over the past decade, California Courts of Appeal have modified and revised the traditional "accident" test, applying new requirements and interpretations in a way that often results in a loss of coverage for policyholders. The Ledesma case should resolve this issue once and for all, and in doing so, is likely to clarify significant issues of both insurance law and tort law generally. This article provides a preview of the Ledesma issues....