Mealey's Catastrophic Loss : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

June 02, 2025
Panel: Insured Fails To Show Insurer Lacked Reasonable Basis To Deny Coverage

ATLANTA — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 30 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a coverage dispute arising from hailstorm damage to a commercial building, concluding that the insured did not demonstrate that the insurer lacked a reasonable basis to deny coverage pursuant to Colorado’s statutory remedy.
June 02, 2025
Insured’s Assignee Asks 8th Circuit To Reconsider Ruling In Storm Damage Dispute

ST. LOUIS — An insured’s assignee asked the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from storm damage, asserting that the court did not “substantively address” its contention that the insurer bore liability for the adjustment of the claim.
June 02, 2025
Judge Grants Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss Retailer’s Suit Arising From Coronavirus

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A federal judge in Tennessee granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss a women’s fashion retailer’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking business interruption coverage for its losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the policy terms unambiguously state that the policy does not cover losses resulting directly or indirectly from viruses pursuant to Tennessee law.
June 02, 2025
Homeowners Insurer Did Not Breach Contract, Act In Bad Faith In Roof Damage Dispute

CAMDEN, N.J. — Breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged against a homeowners insurer cannot proceed because the insureds are not entitled to recover the actual cash value of the damages to their roof until after the repairs are complete and because no reasonable jury could find that the insurer acted in bad faith in handling the insureds’ claim, a New Jersey federal judge said.
May 28, 2025
Majority Reverses Punitive Damages Ruling In Suit Arising From Hurricane Florence

RALEIGH, N.C. — A majority of the North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed an appeals court majority’s holding that an insured’s allegations are sufficient to state a claim for negligence against an insurance agent in a lawsuit arising from Hurricane Florence property damage but reversed its ruling as to the punitive damages claim.
May 28, 2025
Doctor Appeals No Coverage Ruling In Suit Arising From Alleged Hidden Cameras

NEW YORK — A doctor insured filed a notice of appeal asking the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review a lower federal court’s dismissal of her breach of contract lawsuit seeking business interruption and umbrella coverage for her losses arising from discovery of hidden cameras at her dermatology office.
May 27, 2025
Louisiana Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Suit Against Allstate For Lack Of Jurisdiction

LAKE CHARLES, La.— A Louisiana appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against Allstate Insurance Co. seeking coverage for an unpaid invoice for removing trees that fell because of Hurricane Laura, finding no error in the lower court’s determination that it lacked territorial jurisdiction.
May 23, 2025
Insureds Say Carrier Acted In Bad Faith By Denying $19M Beryllium Release Claim

BOSTON — An insurer’s denial of an insured’s claim for more than $19 million in business interruption losses sustained as the result of a release of beryllium in the wake of three named storms constitutes a breach of contract and bad faith, the insureds say in a complaint filed in Massachusetts federal court.
May 23, 2025
Panel Rules On Writ Application, Appeal In Hurricanes Laura, Delta Coverage Suit

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana appeals panel denied insureds’ application for supervisory review of a lower court’s interlocutory judgment that denied their motion for summary judgment to enforce appraisal amounts in a coverage dispute over hurricanes Laura and Delta damage and vacated the lower court’s grant of Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association’s motion for partial summary judgment.
May 22, 2025
Contamination Exclusion Bars Coverage For COVID-19 Losses, Texas Panel Says

AUSTIN, Texas — A contamination exclusion bars coverage for an insured’s claim seeking coverage for damages and losses incurred as a result of the coronavirus because the exclusion is not ambiguous and clearly includes viruses in its definition of contamination, the Third District Texas Court of Appeals said May 22 in affirming a trial court’s judgment in favor of the insurers.
May 20, 2025
5th Circuit Refuses To Rehear Bad Faith Suit Arising From Hurricane Laura Damage

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 19 denied an insurer’s petition for panel rehearing asking the court to reconsider the part of its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of a church insured in a bad faith lawsuit arising from Hurricane Laura damage, leaving undisturbed its findings as to jurisdiction, appraisal and policy valuation and bad faith.
May 20, 2025
U.S. High Court Refuses To Review Insurers’ Petition In Tribal Jurisdiction Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on May 19 denied insurers’ petition for a writ of certiorari asking it to determine “whether a tribal court can exercise jurisdiction over nonmembers of the tribe based on off-reservation conduct,” leaving undisturbed a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ opinion that affirmed a federal court’s finding that a tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over a COVID-19 coverage suit involving tribal properties on tribal land.
May 20, 2025
Supreme Court Rejects Insurer’s Challenge To Ruling In Favor Of Tribal Court Judges

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on May 19 declined an insurer’s invitation to review a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ holding that a tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over it in a dispute over the tribe’s claims for business interruption losses at its casino caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, refusing to review the appeals court’s ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of two tribal court judges on the alternative ground that the insurance policy at issue satisfies Montana v. United States’ consensual-relationship exception.
May 19, 2025
Panel Reverses Judgment For Insurer In Hurricane Damage Dispute Over Attorney Fees

LAKELAND, Fla. — In a dispute over coverage for hurricane damage, a Florida appeals court on May 16 reversed and remanded a lower court’s ruling providing that pursuant to Florida law, the insurer was entitled to recover attorney fees and costs from the date of a settlement proposal rejected by a restoration services company, finding that the lower court erred in not applying binding Florida Supreme Court precedent.
May 16, 2025
8th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Bad Faith Suit Over Storm Damage

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in an insured’s assignee’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from storm damage, concluding that the insured sought “to advance a novel agency theory on appeal” but there is no reason for the insured’s failure to raise this argument in the lower court and “no manifest injustice in this court declining to entertain the argument for the first time on appeal.”
May 15, 2025
Florida Supreme Court Refuses To Review Ruling In Hurricane Irma Appraisal Dispute

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court on May 15 refused to review a Florida appeals court’s finding that the plain and unambiguous language of Florida Statutes Section 627.70132 does not require a condominium association insured to provide a damages estimate to comply with the statutory requirement for providing its insurer with notice of a supplemental or reopened claim, leaving undisturbed the appeals court’s reversal of the lower court’s denial of the insured’s motion to compel appraisal in a Hurricane Irma coverage dispute.
May 13, 2025
Judge Cites Estoppel, Won’t Vacate Arbitration Order In Hurricane Ida Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge on May 12 denied a motion to vacate a prior order sending a dispute over an insurance claim for damages from Hurricane Ida to arbitration despite new Louisiana Supreme Court precedent on the issue, citing federal equitable estoppel principles and the fact that the insureds allege that their domestic and foreign insurers engaged in “concerted and interdependent conduct.”
May 12, 2025
Pennsylvania Court Affirms No Coverage Ruling In Suit Arising From Coronavirus

PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of commercial property insurers in a coverage dispute arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, concluding that the insured failed to establish that it incurred “direct physical loss or damage to any of its properties” to trigger coverage.
May 12, 2025
Hotel Owner Seeks Review Of No Coverage Ruling In Dispute Over Derecho Damage

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — A hotel owner told an Illinois federal court that it is appealing the court’s April 3 judgment in favor of a businessowners insurer in its breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for damage to the hotel arising from a 2020 derecho, challenging the court’s finding that it failed to provide prompt notice of the claim.
May 09, 2025
2nd Circuit Abrogates Precedent On Reverse-Preemption In $12.5M Hurricane Ida Row

NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 8 abrogated its own precedent holding that an international convention regarding arbitration of foreign disputes is “not self-executing” and can be reverse-preempted by state law and reversed the denials of motions to compel arbitration of surplus line policy disputes for more than $12.5 million in damages caused to Louisiana properties by Hurricane Ida.
May 08, 2025
Florida Panel Reverses Judgment In Insureds’ Favor In ‘Prompt Notice’ Dispute

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals court panel held April 16 that a lower court’s partial summary judgment ruling that a homeowners insurer waived its lack of “prompt notice” defense as a matter of law “was erroneous both procedurally and on the merits,” reversing and remanding for a new trial so the insurer can present the defense in a coverage dispute with its insureds.
May 08, 2025
Federal Judge: No Coverage Owed For Insureds’ Untimely Additional Flood Damage Claim

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida held that insureds’ failure to submit a proof of loss for their additional flood damages before their Standard Flood Insurance Policy’s 60-day deadline relieves their Write-Your-Own insurer of its duty to pay the additional claim, granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in the insureds’ breach of contract lawsuit.
May 05, 2025
Coverage Suit Arising From Nashville Bombing Tossed After Parties’ Stipulation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two days after parties filed a stipulation of dismissal, a federal Tennessee court dismissed an insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that no coverage is owed in excess of the $4.3 million that it already paid to repair a condominium building that incurred significant damage in the 2020 Christmas Day bombing in Nashville.
May 05, 2025
Louisiana Panel Upholds Judgment On Jury Verdict In Hurricane Ida Coverage Row

GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana state appeals court affirmed a lower court’s rulings entering judgment on a jury verdict awarding $23,534.62 to homeowners and denying a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) in a dispute with the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) over coverage for damages caused by Hurricane Ida, finding that because the jury’s decision to not award the total amount of damages claimed by the homeowners “is supported by the evidence,” the lower court did not abuse its discretion in denying a new trial.
May 02, 2025
Judgment For Guaranty Association Affirmed In Florida Law Hurricane Coverage Row

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appellate court affirmed a lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment for the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) and dismissing a suit as time-barred in a dispute over coverage for a condominium association’s purported damage caused by Hurricane Irma, finding that the lower court correctly applied the appropriate Florida statute to determine that the suit was time-barred because it was filed after the applicable five-year statute of limitations.