Mealey's California Insurance
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January 09, 2023
Federal Judge Dismisses Legionnaire’s Disease Coverage Suit Following Settlement
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California federal judge dismissed an insurer’s suit seeking a declaration that no coverage is owed for suits arising out of exposure to Legionnaire’s disease after the parties notified the court they had reached a settlement.
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January 05, 2023
United Policyholders Files Brief In Support Of Insured In Suit Arising From Opioid Epidemic
SAN FRANCISCO — United Policyholders filed an amicus curiae brief in support of a prescription drug distributor insured’s appeal of a lower federal court’s ruling that underlying lawsuits prompted by the opioid epidemic fail to allege an “accident” under California law, arguing to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the lower court’s “conclusion is contrary to the very purpose of insurance as it has developed over the course of many centuries.”
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January 05, 2023
9th Circuit Certifies Question To California High Court In COVID-19 Coverage Suit
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals certified to the California Supreme Court the question of whether “the actual or potential presence of the COVID-19 virus on an insured's premises” constitutes “direct physical loss or damage to property” to trigger coverage under the insured’s commercial property insurance policy.
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January 03, 2023
Panel Affirms Finding That No Coverage Owed For Judgment In Contamination Suit
SAN FRANCISCO — A district court properly found that an insurer has no duty to indemnify a city on behalf of its insured for a judgment entered against the insured in an underlying environmental contamination dispute because the releases of contaminants into the groundwater are excluded by the policies’ pollution exclusion as the releases were expected and intended by the insured, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said.
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January 03, 2023
Insurer Must Pay Insureds’ Defense Costs Incurred In Environmental Suits
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge said that an insurer must pay defense costs incurred by its insureds in underlying environmental contamination lawsuits because the insurer has a duty to defend the insureds and the insurer’s intent to appeal the court’s ruling on the duty-to-defend issue does not provide a basis for the insurer’s refusal to pay the defense costs.
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December 29, 2022
Dismissal Stipulation Ends Force-Placed Insurance, Mortgage Loan Dispute
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Less than a month after reporting reaching an unspecified settlement with the remaining defendant in the putative class suit over home mortgage loan servicing and a reinsurance program, the plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice in a California federal court.
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December 20, 2022
California Federal Judge Enters Judgment For Insured In Water Damage Suit
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge entered judgment in favor of an insured in a water damage dispute after a jury awarded the insured $125,000 for water damage sustained in the insured’s home as a result of a water leak in the insured’s home.
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December 20, 2022
Lack Of Reinsurance Claim Cited In Breach Of Contract Suit Against Medical Group
LOS ANGELES — Asserting that it expects to prove damages of more than $1 million, the operator of an independent physician’s association (IPA) sued a medical group in California state court over a deal including reinsurance of a shared risk incentive pool, alleging claims including breach of written contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
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December 16, 2022
Panel Reverses Dismissal Of Restaurant’s UCL Claim For Denial Of COVID-19 Coverage
LOS ANGELES — A California appellate court panel reversed a trial court’s grant of an insurer’s demurrer to claims that it violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and breached an Italian restaurant’s business interruption insurance policy by denying a claim for physical damage from the COVID-19 virus based on the restaurant’s forced closure, writing that the claims were “sufficient to withstand demurrer.”
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December 15, 2022
Certiorari Sought Over Prior Exclusive Jurisdiction Ruling In Conservatorship Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Seeking U.S. Supreme Court review in an insurance conservatorship dispute, petitioners argue that the challenged affirmation of dismissal “conflicts with longstanding precedent of this Court and various circuit courts as to the scope of two judge-made rules governing when federal courts must abstain from adjudicating constitutional claims against state officials under” 42 U.S. Code Section 1983.
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December 12, 2022
Arbitrator Disclosures Are Among Disputed Issues In Fight Over Award
SANTA ANA, Calif. — Parties in a California appellate case challenging confirmation of an arbitration panel’s ruling against a university are disputing issues including deadlines and disclosures by an arbitrator whose firm had worked for reinsurers of the appellant.
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December 08, 2022
Motion To Remand Disability Suit Denied; Diversity Of Citizenship Exists, Judge Says
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a disability claimant’s motion to remand a breach of contract and bad faith suit after determining that complete diversity of citizenship exists between the parties because the claimant fraudulently joined an individual who conducted surveillance video on behalf of the disability insurer in an attempt to avoid federal jurisdiction.
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December 07, 2022
Judge: Insured’s Material Misrepresentation On Auto Policy Bars Accident Coverage
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — A California judge granted an automobile liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for an accident, concluding that the insured made a material misrepresentation as to the use of his vehicles on the insurance application.
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December 07, 2022
9th Circuit: Forklift Parade Did Not Trigger Policy’s Mobile Equipment Exclusion
PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in a coverage dispute over a personal injury lawsuit arising from an injury that happened during a “forklift parade,” finding that the policy’s mobile equipment exclusion does not apply to the insureds’ conduct.
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December 07, 2022
Panel Remands TCPA Coverage Suit To Determine Yahoo’s Reasonable Expectations
SAN FRANCISCO — Following the California Supreme Court’s answer to a certified question, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 6 reversed and remanded a coverage dispute between Yahoo! Inc. and its commercial general liability insurer over claims brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to determine Yahoo’s reasonable expectations as to coverage.
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December 07, 2022
Claimant Met Burden Of Showing She Is Disabled From Sedentary Occupation
LOS ANGELES — A disability claimant is entitled to long-term disability (LTD) benefits, a California federal judge said after determining that the claimant showed by a preponderance of the evidence that she is more than likely disabled from performing the duties of a sedentary occupation.
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December 06, 2022
9th Circuit Sets Oral Argument In Mortgagors’ Appeal Of Class RESPA Suit Ruling
SAN FRANCISCO — Oral argument in an appeal of a ruling in a long-running Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) class action involving captive reinsurance agreements has been scheduled for Feb. 17 before a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel.
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December 05, 2022
Judge Denies Insurer’s Motion For New Trial In Equipment Loss Coverage Suit
LOS ANGELES — A California federal denied a commercial property insurer’s renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and/or motion for a new trial in an equipment breakdown coverage dispute after determining that expert testimony submitted by the insured was admissible and that the time limits imposed by the court during trial were proper.
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December 05, 2022
Illinois Law Applies To Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims In Disability Suit
LOS ANGELES — A California judge determined that Illinois law must be applied to breach of contract and bad faith claims in a suit filed against a disability income insurer because the policy was issued in Illinois, includes a choice-of-law provision designating Illinois law as the applicable law and does not contravene any fundamental policy of California.
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December 02, 2022
Federal Judge Refuses To Dismiss Napa Wineries’ Wildfire Coverage Dispute
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for property damage to its Napa County wineries caused by two wildfires, rejecting the insurer’s contention that the complaint is neither ripe nor sufficient.
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December 02, 2022
Insureds’ Bad Faith Claim Stemming From Wildfire Damage Cannot Proceed
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge granted a commercial property insurer’s motion to dismiss a bad faith claim alleged by insureds in a dispute over coverage for property damages incurred by a 2018 wildfire because the insureds failed to allege sufficient facts in support of their argument that the insurer unreasonably withheld benefits owed under the policy.
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December 01, 2022
Contractor Appeals Dismissal Of Faulty Workmanship Coverage Suit To 9th Circuit
LOS ANGELES — A subcontractor will appeal to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals the dismissal of its coverage dispute with its commercial general liability insurer stemming from the faulty installation of a foundation system for a new airport concourse and related improvements at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), according to a notice of appeal filed in California federal court.
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December 01, 2022
California Judge Cites FAA In Declining To Compel Consolidated Arbitration
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Noting that the arbitration provision in one agreement specifies that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) applies, a California judge denied a joint powers authority’s request to compel consolidated arbitration proceedings in a coverage dispute involving two reinsurers.
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November 29, 2022
9th Circuit Dismisses Disability Insurer’s Appeal Pursuant To Stipulation
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed a disability insurer’s appeal of a district court’s judgment entered in favor of a disability claimant following the disability insurer’s filing of a stipulation to dismiss the appeal with prejudice.
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November 23, 2022
District Court Improperly Engaged In New Determination Of Claimant’s Disability
PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined that a district court’s finding that a disability insurer correctly denied a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits must be reversed because the court improperly engaged in a new determination regarding the claimant’s disability rather than simply examining the insurer’s rationale for denying the benefits claim.