By Robert Helfand (April 30, 2018, 12:44 PM EDT) -- The most obvious way to ascertain the "plain meaning" of the words in an insurance policy is to consult a dictionary. But dictionaries can also create interpretive problems. Sometimes, words have two meanings, and a court might be inclined to rule that one of them — even if it is a common or familiar one — takes the contract beyond what the parties intended, or otherwise produces an unfair result. For those times, there are maxims. "Noscitur a sociis" means, "it is known by its associates." This month, in Kostin v. Pacific Indemn. Co.,[1] that define-by-association approach provided the answer to an intriguing coverage question: whether the action of a bankruptcy trustee to avoid a transfer of funds can qualify as a claim for "personal injury."...