Mealey's Catastrophic Loss
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February 09, 2023
Guaranty Association Intervention Denied In Hurricane Coverage Suit
LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge denied the Louisiana Guaranty Association’s (LIGA) motion to intervene as a statutory obliger in a bad faith insurance coverage suit filed against a homeowners insurer over purported hurricane damages, finding that though LIGA claims that it is an intervenor of right because a Florida court found the defendant insurer insolvent, LIGA fails to explain its interest in the current suit.
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February 09, 2023
Judge Dismisses Hurricane Coverage Suit, Cites Notice Of Stay And Liquidation
MCALLEN, Texas — A Texas federal judge dismissed a hurricane coverage suit filed by a homeowner against a now-insolvent insurer, finding that pursuant to the consent order appointing the Florida Department of Insurance as the insurer’s receiver and accompanying notice of automatic stay, the federal court should abstain from exercising jurisdiction.
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February 08, 2023
Insurance Row Over Tribe’s COVID-19 Losses Stays In Tribal Court, Judge Rules
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over an insurance company in a dispute over the tribe’s claims for business interruption losses at its casino caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a federal judge in California held in awarding summary judgment to two tribal judges in the insurer’s federal declaratory judgment suit.
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February 08, 2023
Judge: Insurer Required To ‘Immediately’ Defend Against Bobcat Wildfire Suits
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California held that the potential for coverage for underlying lawsuits arising from the Bobcat Wildfire “is clear” and requires the insurer to defend the plaintiffs “immediately” and start reimbursing their underlying defense fees and costs, granting the plaintiffs’ motion for judgment on the pleadings in their breach of contract lawsuit against the insurer.
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February 08, 2023
Judge: Church Did Not Stop All Operations; Civil Authority Coverage Not Triggered
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California judge held that a church insured did not stop all operations and, therefore, is not owed coverage under its insurance policy’s civil authority provision for its lost donations and income arising from the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent civil authority orders, granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit.
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February 07, 2023
Federal Judge Stays All Proceedings In Eagles’ COVID-19 Suit Against Insurer
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Feb. 6 issued a one-page order staying all proceedings in a lawsuit brought by the owner and operator of the Philadelphia Eagles football organization seeking a declaration as to coverage for its alleged losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
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February 07, 2023
9th Circuit Certifies Virus Exclusion Question To California Supreme Court
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 6 certified to the California Supreme Court the question of whether an insurance policy’s virus exclusion is unenforceable in a coverage lawsuit brought by owners, operators and managers of two Napa Valley, Calif., restaurants in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
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February 06, 2023
Florida Panel Reverses Ruling Against Insurer In Hailstorm Appraisal Dispute
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel reversed a lower court’s partial final judgment against an insurer in an appraisal dispute over hailstorm damage, agreeing with the insurer that the lower court did not provide adequate due process by failing to consider or adjudicate its defenses.
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February 03, 2023
10th Circuit Refuses To Rehear Aspen Restaurant’s Coronavirus Coverage Suit
DENVER —The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 2 denied an Aspen, Colo., restaurant owner insured’s petition for rehearing en banc of its coronavirus coverage dispute, standing by its ruling that coverage was not triggered because there was never any direct physical loss or damage to the restaurant.
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February 01, 2023
No Coverage Owed For Manufacturing/Tech Company’s COVID-19 Losses, Panel Affirms
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 31 affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of a manufacturing and technology company’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, construing the pertinent policy language in accordance with recent Connecticut Supreme Court precedent.
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February 01, 2023
No Coverage Owed For Coronavirus Losses Under Pollution Liability Policy
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal on Jan. 31 affirmed a district court’s ruling that no coverage is owed to insureds for business interruption losses sustained as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, agreeing with the lower court’s determination that the virus does not qualify as a pollution condition under the premises pollution liability policy.
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February 01, 2023
5th Circuit Affirms No Coverage For Insured’s Business Interruption Losses
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of a commercial property insurer in an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that the insured failed to satisfy its burden of demonstrating that its policy covers its claims related to the pandemic.
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January 31, 2023
Texas Federal Jury Finds Insurer Acted In Good Faith, Complied With Policy
SHERMAN, Texas — A Texas federal jury returned a verdict for an insurance company, finding no evidence that the insurer failed to comply with its policy or that it engaged in unfair practices, days after the judge presiding over the trial ruled on motions to exclude the insureds’ expert witnesses.
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January 31, 2023
Connecticut High Court: No Coverage For Shoe Retailer’s Losses Arising From Pandemic
HARTFORD, Conn. — The Connecticut Supreme Court held that a shoe retailer insured’s business losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic “plainly and unambiguously are not covered by” the insured’s package or marine insurance policies, affirming a summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer.
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January 31, 2023
Property Insurers Owe No Coverage For COVID-19 Losses, Connecticut High Court Says
HARTFORD, Conn. — Affirming a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of property insurers on alternative grounds, the Connecticut Supreme Court held that the insurers have no duty to provide coverage for health care facility owner insureds’ alleged business losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic because the insureds did not incur “any direct physical loss of covered property.”
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January 30, 2023
Pollution Exclusion Does Not Apply Because There Was No Release, Insured Argues
SAN FRANCISCO — A district court erred in entering judgment for an insurer in a dispute over coverage for an underlying toxic exposure lawsuit filed against an insured arising from the cleanup of a fire that destroyed a city in California because there was no release of a pollutant, as required by the policy’s pollution exclusion, and because the policy’s pollution exclusion is ambiguous, the insured maintains in its appellant brief filed in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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January 30, 2023
N.J. High Court Grants Review Of Atlantic City Casino’s Coronavirus Coverage Suit
TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Supreme Court granted an insured’s petition for certification seeking review of an appeals panel’s finding that a lower court erred in denying insurers’ motion to dismiss the insured’s lawsuit seeking property and business interruption insurance coverage for its alleged loss of income during the closure of its Atlantic City casino in response to COVID-19 pandemic shutdown orders, agreeing to address three of four questions presented by the insured.
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January 30, 2023
No Coverage For Oil Well Blowout On Property Owned By Insured, Panel Affirms
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 27 affirmed a ruling in favor of an insurer in an oil well blowout coverage dispute, agreeing with a Texas federal magistrate judge’s finding that the policy’s oil and gas endorsement simply expands coverage for third-party liability and does not add coverage for damages incurred on property owned by the insured.
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January 27, 2023
Panel: Whether Insured Provided Timely Notice Should Have Been Left For Fact Finder
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel on Jan. 27 reversed a lower court’s ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer in a coverage dispute over sinkhole damage, finding the insurer not entitled to summary judgment on the issue of whether its insureds provided timely notice of their sinkhole damage.
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January 27, 2023
Federal Judge Refuses To Overturn Jury Verdict In Superstorm Sandy Coverage Dispute
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York denied a chocolate company insured’s renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and motion for a new trial in a Superstorm Sandy coverage dispute, finding that the evidence presented at trial could allow a reasonable jury to conclude that the insured “understood and intended that storm surge losses would not be covered under the Policy.”
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January 27, 2023
Lack Of Knowledge On Software Program Dooms Insured’s Expert’s Testimony
MIAMI — A federal magistrate recommended that an expert retained in a breach of contract suit against an insurer be excluded, citing statements from the expert’s “deposition which warrant concern.”
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January 26, 2023
Judge Allows Breach Of Contract Claim To Proceed In Thunderstorm Coverage Suit
JASPER, Ala. — A federal judge in Alabama granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment as to an insured’s bad faith claim but allowed the breach of contract claim in the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for property damage allegedly caused by a 2019 thunderstorm.
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January 24, 2023
Florida High Court Grants FIGA’s Dismissal Motion In Hurricane Irma Appraisal Row
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court issued an order granting the request of Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), as guarantor for a now-insolvent insurer, to dismiss the insurer’s appeal of a trial court order compelling appraisal in a coverage dispute regarding condominiums damaged by Hurricane Irma, finding that because there is no “wholly denied” claim, the “appropriate step is to dismiss the appeal.”
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January 24, 2023
Insureds Seek Certification Of ‘Physical Loss’ Issue To Pennsylvania High Court
PHILADELPHIA — Insureds filed a petition seeking a rehearing en banc of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ rejection of 14 consolidated appeals of lower federal courts’ dismissals of their lawsuits seeking coverage for their business interruption losses caused by the novel coronavirus and the subsequent shutdown orders, contending that the “physical loss” issue should be certified to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
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January 24, 2023
Parties Settle COVID-19, Pollution Liability Suit, Seek Dismissal Of Insured’s Suit
NEW ORLEANS — An insured seeking coverage for COVID-19 mitigation efforts under a premises pollution liability insurance policy settled its suit against its insurer and insurance agent, according to two stipulations of dismissal filed in Louisiana federal court by the parties.