The Cannonball Run - Litigation

Litigation

In June 1980, 24-year-old stuntwoman Heidi Von Beltz was critically injured in a car crash during production of the film. Her car was struck by a van that made the wrong move, and she was not wearing restraints because seat belts had been removed from her vehicle prior to the accident. She survived, but was left a quadriplegic. When it became clear that Von Beltz's personal injury lawsuit would exceed all available primary insurance coverage, the production's excess insurer, Interstate Fire (a subsidiary of Hollywood's favorite insurer, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company) sued Von Beltz and her employer, Stuntman Inc., for a declaratory judgment that Von Beltz's lawsuit was not covered under its policy. In 1988, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that there was a duty to defend, and that there was also a duty to indemnify to the extent that Von Beltz was seeking recovery for mental injuries (the exclusion for bodily injuries was ruled to be enforceable).