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Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

  • February 05, 2025

    Insurers Withdraw Motion For Judgment On Pleadings In Maui Wildfire Coverage Suit

    MAUI, Hawaii — Insurers withdrew their motion for judgment on the pleadings in a Hawaii court in their insureds’ bad faith action alleging that the insurers’ subrogation lawsuit seeking to recover compensation for the payments that they made to victims of the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires is “unfair, inequitable, and unlawful” because they “seek to take money away from their premium-paying insureds who are the real victims of the Maui Wildfires without showing that these victims have been fully compensated.”

  • February 03, 2025

    Panel Affirms Denial Of Condo Owner’s Motion To Intervene In Class Action Suit

    GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana appeals court affirmed a lower court’s denial of a condominium unit owner’s motion to intervene in a class action lawsuit arising from Hurricane Ida property damage, concluding that the movant failed to satisfy the required elements to intervene pursuant to Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1091.

  • January 31, 2025

    Majority Affirms Ruling In Insurers’ Favor In Bad Faith Suit Over Flood Deductible

    NEW ORLEANS — A majority of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a lower federal court did not err in determining that the extrinsic evidence resolved an ambiguity in favor of the insurers’ interpretation of a policy flood deductible, affirming the lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurers in a general contractor’s bad faith lawsuit arising from flood damage at a hotel renovation.

  • January 30, 2025

    Louisiana Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Hurricane Ida Coverage Dispute As Untimely

    GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana appeals panel on Jan. 29 affirmed a lower court’s judgment that sustained Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association’s peremptory exception of prescription and dismissed with prejudice an insured’s coverage dispute over Hurricane Ida damage, agreeing with the lower court that the insured failed to timely deliver the original of his petition for damages to the court and his fax-filed petition was “without any force or effect.”

  • January 29, 2025

    Panel Reverses Judgment In Baylor College Of Medicine’s Favor In COVID-19 Dispute

    HOUSTON — Noting an issue of first impression, a Texas appeals court concluded Jan. 28 that the presence of COVID-19 at the Baylor College of Medicine did not cause “direct physical loss of or damage to” to the insured’s property and reversed a lower court’s judgment following a jury verdict in favor of the insured.

  • January 29, 2025

    Panel Upholds Dismissal Of Hurricane Damage Suit Against Property Insurer

    NEW ORLEANS — An insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims stemming from a dispute over coverage for property damages sustained during a hurricane to 18 rental properties were properly dismissed because the insured failed to provide sufficient facts or details regarding the damages sustained to the properties and the property insurer’s handling of the insured’s claim, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said.

  • January 29, 2025

    Pennsylvania Court Affirms Dismissal Of All Claims In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — Reconsidering its previous ruling on remand in light of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Ungarean v. CNA & Valley Forge Ins. Co., a Pennsylvania court affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of all claims brought by an insured in a coronavirus coverage dispute.

  • January 27, 2025

    Panel Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurer, Agent In Camp Fire Coverage Dispute

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California appeals court on Jan. 24 affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer and an insurance agent in a negligence lawsuit arising from the November 2018 Camp Fire, concluding that the agent’s alleged misrepresentations pertain to the scope of coverage under an insurance policy that was no longer in effect at the time of the wildfire loss.

  • January 24, 2025

    Reality TV Stars Sue Los Angeles, Public Utility To Recover Palisades Fire Losses

    LOS ANGELES — Realty television stars Spencer and Heidi Pratt and others sued Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) for inverse condemnation in a California court, alleging that the Palisades Fire that began on Jan. 7 “was an inescapable and unavoidable consequence of the water supply system servicing areas in and around Pacific Palisades” and that the defendants’ operation of the system and related infrastructure was a substantial cause of their damages.

  • January 24, 2025

    Hawaii Court Won’t Stay Allocation Proceeding Pending Subrogation Ruling

    HHONOLULU — Without explanation, a Hawaii Supreme Court justice denied a motion to stay a lower court’s allocation proceeding pending the resolution of reserved questions on how the subrogation rights of property and casualty insurance carriers bear on a proposed global settlement of claims related to the August 2023 Maui wildfires.

  • January 24, 2025

    Panel Partly Reverses Ruling In Retirement Facilities’ Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    CHICAGO — An Illinois appellate court panel reversed a lower court’s dismissal of insureds’ claim against one insurer in their lawsuit seeking “Contaminated Food/Communicable Disease Coverage,” finding that the application of the policy’s “Pathogenic or Poisonous or Chemical Materials” exclusion “would completely eviscerate that coverage and render it illusory,” but otherwise affirmed the lower court’s ruling in the insureds’ lawsuit prompted by the losses incurred by their continuing care retirement facilities following the COVID-19 outbreak.

  • January 24, 2025

    Federal Court Dismisses Hospital’s Coronavirus Coverage Suit Following Settlement

    BOSTON — A Maryland federal court dismissed without prejudice a hospital insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic after the insured and its commercial property insurer announced that they reached a settlement.

  • January 23, 2025

    16 Suits Filed Against Southern California Edison To Recover Eaton Wildfire Damages

    LOS ANGELES — A “long time” real estate agent in Altadena, Calif., sued Southern California Edison Co. and Edison International in the Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking compensation for damages she suffered from the Eaton Wildfire and alleging that the fire began “when electrical equipment within Southern California Edison Company’s utility infrastructure contacted, or caused sparks to contact, surrounding vegetation,” making her lawsuit the 16th one filed against the defendants to date.

  • January 22, 2025

    Judge Vacates Order Compelling Arbitration Of $7M Hurricane Claim

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge, citing new Louisiana Supreme Court precedent on the arbitrability of insurance claims, granted a motion filed by two New Orleans property owners’ to vacate an order compelling arbitration of their claims for $7 million in damages caused by Hurricane Ida and for bad faith against a group of foreign and domestic insurers, a ruling that was previously upheld by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • January 21, 2025

    Federal Judge: No Coverage Owed For Fire Damage To Insured’s Cannabis Crops

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal judge in Connecticut on Jan. 21 entered judgment in favor of an insurer after granting its motion for summary judgment in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for the insured’s claim for losses arising from an exploding lamp that caused fire damage to 998 marijuana plants, concluding that there is no coverage owed because the insured’s loss did not result from a suspension of its operations.

  • January 17, 2025

    Argument Set For Hawaii Supreme Court Case On Wildfire Settlement Subrogation

    HONOLULU — An amicus curiae group called the “Consolidated Class Plaintiffs” will take part in Feb. 6 oral argument after the Hawaii Supreme Court expanded the time allotted in the case concerning reserved questions on how the subrogation rights of property and casualty insurance carriers bear on a proposed global settlement of claims related to the August 2023 Maui wildfires; additionally, a pending opposed motion seeks to stay a lower court’s allocation proceeding.

  • January 17, 2025

    Issues Of Fact Exist As To Cause Of Insureds’ Shutdown During Wildfires

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge partially denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a breach of contract and bad faith case filed by insureds seeking additional coverage for business losses incurred as a result of wildfires after determining that issues of fact exist as to whether two of the insureds’ businesses were forced to close for a period of time because of soot and ash damages from the fires.

  • January 15, 2025

    Citing Settlement, Judge Dismisses Hurricane Coverage Row With Insolvent Insurer

    LAFAYETTE, La. — After being advised that the parties have settled, a Louisiana federal judge dismissed a homeowner’s suit against his now-insolvent insurer for its purported failure to cover damages caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta.

  • January 15, 2025

    Federal Judge Returns Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit To Streamlined Settlement Program

    NEW ORLEANS — One day after an insured filed an amended breach of contract and bad faith complaint seeking coverage for its property damage caused by Hurricane Ida, a federal judge in Louisiana on Jan. 14 returned the case to the streamlined settlement program.

  • January 15, 2025

    Judge Overrules Objections To Magistrate’s Appraisal Order In Hurricane Irma Dispute

    FORT MYERS, Fla. —A federal judge in Florida overruled an insurer and its condominium association insured’s objections to a magistrate’s order as to the form of an appraisal award in a Hurricane Irma coverage dispute, finding that neither party has demonstrated that the magistrate has erred.

  • January 10, 2025

    Federal Judge Dismisses Hurricane Ian Coverage Suit After Insured Fails To Respond

    FORT MYERS, Fla. —A federal judge in Florida dismissed without prejudice an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit over Hurricane Ian property damage for the insured’s failure to comply with an order to show cause and for want of prosecution, finding that although the insured’s “lack of diligence is disturbing, on balance, this is not the type of ‘extreme situation’ warranting dismissal with prejudice.”

  • January 10, 2025

    Hospital, Insurer Announce Settlement Of Coronavirus Coverage Suit In Federal Court

    BOSTON — A hospital insured and its commercial property insurer tell a Massachusetts federal court in a Jan. 9 joint motion that they have reached a settlement in principle of the insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

  • January 09, 2025

    Judgment Issued For Oil Company In Dispute Over Hurricane-Damaged Oil Barge

    HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge on Jan. 8 granted in part summary judgment to a gas and oil exploration company in its breach of contract suit against its insurer for failure to cover costs for recovering an oil barge damaged and set adrift during Hurricane Ida, finding that because there is no dispute that removal of the barge was required under law, the protection and indemnity (P&I) policy applies.

  • January 09, 2025

    N.Y. Appeals Court Affirms Arbitration Award In Coronavirus Coverage Dispute

    NEW YORK — A New York appeals court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that denied an insurer’s request to disqualify a former New York Supreme Court justice as an umpire in an arbitration of a COVID-19 coverage dispute and concluded that the lower court properly determined the insured failed to demonstrate that the arbitration award should be vacated.

  • January 09, 2025

    N.Y. Appeals Court Reinstates Complaint Against 1 Insurer In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

    NEW YORK — A New York appeals court concluded that Bowlero Corp. has stated a cause of action against one of its insurers because its complaint sufficiently asserts that a policy’s special time element coverage extension was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the additional pathogenic materials policy exclusion does not apply, unanimously modifying the lower court’s ruling, reinstating the insured’s complaint against the one insurer and affirming the remainder of the lower court’s decision.