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Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

  • December 20, 2024

    Expert Out In Hurricane Ida Damage Coverage Case; Report Found Unreliable

    JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi federal judge granted a home insurer summary judgment in a case brought by a couple who say their claim for damages stemming from a hurricane was not covered after finding that their expert’s testimony on causation is inadmissible.

  • December 16, 2024

    N.C. Supreme Court: Retailer’s COVID-19 Loss Excluded By Policy As Contamination

    RALEIGH, N.C. — Ruling that a contamination exclusion in a clothing retailer insured’s “all-risk” commercial insurance policy excluded the insured’s claimed losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Carolina Supreme Court on Dec. 13 — while disagreeing with its reasoning — affirmed the judgment of a state appellate court, which in turn affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage under the policy for its losses.

  • December 16, 2024

    N.C. High Court Rules COVID-19 Lockdowns Caused Restaurants’ Direct Physical Loss

    RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Supreme Court on Dec. 13 reversed the judgment of a state appellate court that had reversed a trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of restaurant insureds in a COVID-19 coverage dispute, concluding that the restaurants’ insurance policies did not “unambiguously bar coverage when government orders and threatened viral contamination deprived the policyholder restaurants of their ability to physically use and physically operate property at their insured business premises.”

  • December 13, 2024

    Hawaii Supreme Court Considers Subrogation Issues For Wildfire Settlement

    HONOLULU — 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 is the focus of three reserved questions the Hawaii Supreme Court is considering, with some recent filings involving how reinsurance could be affected.

  • December 11, 2024

    5th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurer In Dispute Over Hail, Wind Damage

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 10 affirmed a Texas federal court’s ruling that an insured’s extracontractual claims against a homeowners insurer cannot proceed because no coverage is owed for hail and wind damage to the insured’s roof based on the insured’s failure to satisfy the policy’s residence premises requirement.

  • December 11, 2024

    No Coverage Owed For Regal Cinemas’ Coronavirus Losses, 9th Circuit Affirms

    PASADENA, Calif.— The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of insurers in Regal Cinemas’ breach of contract lawsuit seeking recovery for its revenue losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that, pursuant to New York law, Regal Cinemas was not insured for its alleged business losses.

  • December 10, 2024

    Panel: Reservation Court Has Jurisdiction In Tribe’s Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that 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, affirming a lower federal court on the alterative ground that the insurance policy at issue satisfies Montana’s consensual-relationship exception.

  • December 10, 2024

    Retail Furniture Insured Voluntarily Dismisses Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — A retail furniture insured filed a notice in a federal court in Pennsylvania to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses stemming from the forced closure of its business in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

  • December 09, 2024

    Majority Renders $4.5M In Attorney Fees To Insureds In Hurricane Katrina Suit

    JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi Supreme Court majority affirmed a jury's $10,457,858.89 damages award against an insurer in a Hurricane Katrina coverage dispute and reversed the lower court’s denial of the insured’s estate’s posttrial motion for attorney fees and rendered $4,500,000 in attorney fees to the estate plus postjudgment interest, finding that the court’s decision to force the estate to use nearly half of its award to pay attorney fees fails to adequately compensate them for bringing this bad faith action against the insurer.

  • December 09, 2024

    Panel Affirms No Coverage Ruling In Convention Center’s Suit Arising From Pandemic

    SEATTLE — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a federal court’s ruling that granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its business interruption losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the insured fails to show that coverage exists for its losses under the policy’s Civil or Military Authority provision and further concluding that the policy's contamination exclusion precludes coverage.

  • December 03, 2024

    Restaurant, Insurer Seek Dismissal Of Suit Over Looting Damage After Hurricane Maria

    ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands — A restaurant insured and its insurer filed a stipulation in federal court in the Virgin Islands seeking dismissal with prejudice of all claims and counterclaims in their dispute over the insurer’s adjustment of the insured’s property damage claim and business interruption losses arising from looting after Hurricane Maria.

  • December 03, 2024

    No Coverage Owed For Bacteria, Mold In Insureds’ Home, Federal Judge Says

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — A homeowners insurer did not breach its contract or act in bad faith in refusing to provide coverage for bacteria, mold and contamination allegedly caused by hurricane damage because the policy clearly excludes coverage for contaminants and pollutants, a Louisiana federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • December 03, 2024

    Following John’s Grill, Panel Affirms No Coverage Ruling In COVID-19 Suit

    SAN DIEGO — Reconsidering its earlier holding in favor of a diner insured in light of John's Grill, Inc. v. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., a California appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s judgment in favor of an insurer in the diner’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its business losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • December 02, 2024

    Status Conference Scheduled In Hurricane Coverage Dispute With Insolvent Insurer

    LAFAYETTE, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge issued an order scheduling a follow-up status conference in a homeowner’s suit against his now-insolvent insurer for its purported failure to cover damages caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta.

  • November 27, 2024

    Insureds Seek Vacatur Of Order Compelling Arbitration Of $7M Hurricane Claim

    NEW ORLEANS — Citing new Louisiana Supreme Court precedent on the arbitrability of insurance claims, two New Orleans property owners filed a motion in Louisiana federal court 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, which was previously upheld by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • November 26, 2024

    Judge Grants Motion To Strike Misrepresentation Defense In Hailstorm Coverage Row

    DENVER — A Colorado federal judge on Nov. 25 granted a homeowner’s motion to strike her insurer’s affirmative defense related to voiding her policy for purported misrepresentation in the homeowner’s bad faith suit against the insurer for alleged failure to cover hail damage, finding that the defense fails to meet the pleading requirements for particularity under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

  • November 22, 2024

    COMMENTARY: 2024 Key Insurance Decisions, Trends & Developments & A Look Ahead To 2025

    By Scott M. Seaman, Pedro E. Hernandez and Lisa M. Roccanova

  • November 22, 2024

    Louisiana Panel Refuses To Review Hurricanes Laura, Delta Coverage Suit

    BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana appeals panel denied Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association’s writ seeking review of a lower court’s amended judgment in a coverage dispute arising from property damage that was caused by hurricanes Laura and Delta, finding that although it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the insurer’s appeal of the amended judgment, it has supervisory jurisdiction to deny the writ.

  • November 22, 2024

    Michigan Judge Rules For School District In High School Shooting Coverage Suit

    PONTIAC, Mich. — A Michigan judge granted a public school district insured’s motion for partial summary disposition in its lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that underlying actions arising from a high school shooting seek damages for “bodily injury” that was caused by multiple “occurrences” under the policy and, therefore, the insured is not limited to $5 million in commercial general liability and excess coverage.

  • November 20, 2024

    Panel Refuses To Rehear Coverage Suit Arising From Hurricanes Laura, Delta

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied petitions filed by a church insured and its insurer seeking rehearing of a ruling that partly reversed a lower federal court’s decision in the insured’s lawsuit alleging that the insurer underpaid its losses arising from hurricanes Laura and Delta.

  • November 18, 2024

    Philadelphia Eagles Ask Court To Reconsider Dismissal Of COVID-19 Coverage Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — The owner and operator of the Philadelphia Eagles football organization moved for a Pennsylvania federal court to reconsider the dismissal of its action seeking a declaration as to coverage for its losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, asserting that the present lawsuit “is unlike any other that already has been decided and warrants proceeding past a motion to dismiss.”

  • November 15, 2024

    Majority Affirms Ruling In Last Resort Insurer’s Favor In Hurricane Coverage Suit

    BATON ROUGE, La. — A majority of a First Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal panel held that a lower court properly interpreted the state Legislature's amendment of Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 22:1892(H) by Act 290 to be a procedural change that applied retroactively and, as a result, eliminated any class action for damages, including bad faith penalties, brought against the state’s insurer of last resort.

  • November 14, 2024

    6th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Coverage Dispute Over Hail Damage

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of an insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for commercial property damage caused by a hailstorm because the insured assigned the rights to his insurance proceeds and did not qualify as the “real party in interest” pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17.

  • November 13, 2024

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss Declaratory Relief Claim in Hurricane Ian Coverage Dispute

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s declaratory relief claim in a Hurricane Ian coverage dispute, finding that the insured has plausibly asserted a declaratory judgment claim and the issue of whether that claim is subsumed by the insured’s breach of contract claim can better be resolved at the summary judgment stage.

  • November 11, 2024

    Insurer, Insured Reach Confidential Settlement In Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge announced that a confidential settlement has been reached in a commercial property owner insured’s lawsuit against its insurer seeking coverage for its damage caused by Hurricane Ida.