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Mealey's Insurance Pleadings

  • January 16, 2026

    Homeowners: 9th Circuit Broke Precedent Finding No Coverage For Faulty Work

    SEATTLE — A group of homeowners filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc on Jan. 15 in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing that a Ninth Circuit panel broke with precedent in finding that coverage for a development company from claims of faulty work brought by the homeowners is barred by a policy exclusion related to the construction of tract housing.

  • January 15, 2026

    LTD Claimant Takes Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion Fight To 9th Circuit

    SAN FRANCISCO — Arguing that the trial court made errors on de novo review including “expansively applying a pre-existing condition exclusion to bar coverage for a disability caused by post-coverage traumatic injuries” and “disregarding uncontroverted medical evidence,” an appellant claimant filed a Jan. 14 brief urging the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse an order that upheld denial of her claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits.

  • January 15, 2026

    Subcontractor: Court Wrong To Prevent Recovery From Sub-subcontractor, Insurer

    OKLAHOMA CITY — In a reply brief filed Jan. 14, a subcontractor argued that a federal judge in Oklahoma should reconsider granting a motion to limit asserted damages filed by a sub-subcontractor and its insurer in a third-party complaint brought by the subcontractor in a construction defects case; the subcontractor argued that it should not be judicially estopped from seeking recovery from the sub-subcontractor or its insurer.

  • January 15, 2026

    Insureds Allege FAIR Plan Mishandled, Underpaid Wildfire Smoke Claims

    LOS ANGELES — A pair of property insurance policyholders sued the California FAIR Plan Association in state court, alleging that the association breached statutory coverage requirements and engaged in bad faith claims handling by relying on policy provisions that impermissibly restricted coverage for wildfire smoke contamination and loss-of-use claims stemming from the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

  • January 15, 2026

    RICO Defendants Say MGA, Reinsurer, Sought Leave To Amend Complaint In Bad Faith

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The defendants in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit filed a letter in a New York federal court urging denial of a reinsurer and a management general agency’s oral request to amend their first amended complaint (FAC) and dismissal of the case with prejudice, arguing that incurable RICO standing defects would remain and that the proposed amendment was sought in bad faith after plaintiffs advanced contradictory arguments.

  • January 14, 2026

    Reinsurers, Insurers Ask To Seal Summary Judgment Briefs In Indemnification Case

    TRENTON, N.J. —  The parties in a dispute between insurers and reinsurers over indemnification for asbestos bodily injury claims moved to seal confidential information as part of their cross-motions for summary judgment in a New Jersey federal court, stating that the filings contain nonpublic, competitively sensitive business information and that disclosure would cause competitive harm.

  • January 14, 2026

    Insureds: Insurer’s ‘Improper,’ ‘Baseless’ Sur-reply Should Be Disregarded By Court

    NEW YORK — Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios LLC, It Ends With Us Movie LLC and its movie studio officers asked a New York federal court to disregard their management liability insurer’s letter motion to file a sur-reply to their reply in support of their motion to dismiss the insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to provide coverage for Blake Lively’s sexual harassment, hostile work environment and retaliation action.

  • January 13, 2026

    Insureds Appeal Finding That No Defense Owed For Faulty Power Pole Installation

    LOS ANGELES — A contractor and a subcontractor separately appealed judgment against them to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after a federal judge in California found that an insurer did not owe a duty to defend or indemnify the subcontractor in an underlying suit brought by the contractor to recover costs and expenses incurred in the inspection and remediation of nonconforming installations of power pole anchors and guy wires by the subcontractor.

  • January 12, 2026

    Condominium Association Dismisses Appeal of Ruling Over Coblentz Agreement

    ATLANTA — A condominium association on Jan. 11 voluntarily dismissed its appeal to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals of a Florida judge’s order granting summary judgment to an insurer sued by a condominium association, an assignee for an insured general contractor, to collect funds agreed to under a Coblentz settlement in an underlying suit stemming from defects in the construction of a condominium building, as well as the judge’s order denying the condominium association’s motion for reconsideration.

  • January 08, 2026

    Stipulation Of Dismissal Filed In Bad Faith Suit Over $70K Life Policy

    ALBANY, Ga. — Stating “that all claims are resolved,” a life insurer filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice in a Georgia federal court in a breach of contract and bad faith suit against it by the beneficiary of a $70,000 life insurance policy.

  • January 08, 2026

    California FAIR Plan Sued Over Alleged Unlawful Wildfire Smoke Claim Denials

    LOS ANGELES — A pair of property insurance policyholders sued the California FAIR Plan Association in state court alleging that the state’s “insurer of last resort”engaged in bad faith insurance practices and breach of contract by relying on unlawful policy provisions to deny or underpay wildfire smoke contamination and loss-of-use claims arising from the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, in violation of California insurance law.

  • January 06, 2026

    Homeowner Brings Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims In Underpayment Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — A homeowner alleges in a California state court that a property insurer breached its insurance contract and acted in bad faith by refusing to fully pay for covered wind, rain and water damage to his residence, instead issuing only partial payments totaling about $3,250 on a claim seeking nearly $97,000 in repair and mitigation costs.

  • January 06, 2026

    Insured Urges High Court To Review Jurisdiction Ruling In PFAS Exposure Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — An insured urges the U.S. Supreme Court to grant its petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that a district court erred in remanding a declaratory judgment claim and retaining jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits, noting in its reply brief that the case presents an “ideal opportunity” to resolve a split among the circuits regarding when a district court is required to exercise discretion over mixed claims.

  • January 05, 2026

    Defendants Argue Regulatory Unwinding Moots Derivative Captive Pool Claims

    WILMINGTON, Del. — The defendants in three related cases concerning a disputed captive reinsurance pool seek dismissal of a verified amended and supplemental derivative complaint, arguing that the challenged captive pool restructuring was fully unwound under regulatory supervision, rendering the claims moot, and that the post-unwinding corporate structure did not alter policyholder rights.

  • December 19, 2025

    Insured Railroad Company Says Carriers Owe Coverage For Settlement Of Asbestos Suit

    BOSTON — A number of insurers of a railroad company breached their contracts of insurance and acted in bad faith by refusing to reimburse an insured for a settlement of an underlying asbestos personal injury suit, the insured says in a complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.

  • December 18, 2025

    Class Counsel Seeks 5% Attorney Fee Award In ACA Class Action

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Class counsel filed a reply brief in further support of their request for an attorney fee award of 5% of settlement classes’ net in a risk-corridor payment class action under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), arguing that the fee would not result in an “unjustified windfall.”

  • December 18, 2025

    Chemical Facility Owner Says Coverage Owed For Mercury Exposure Suits

    BATON ROUGE, La. — An insurer has a duty to defend the owner of a chemical facility named in almost 200 underlying suits alleging bodily injury claims as a result of exposure to mercury at the chemical facility because the facility owner is named as an additional insured under the policies, the owner says in a Dec. 17 complaint filed in Louisiana federal court.

  • December 18, 2025

    Judge Won’t Amend Judgment As To Defective Bin Coverage

    INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge in Indiana denied a grain production firm’s motion to alter or amend a partial summary judgment order in favor of a grain equipment company’s insurer, again holding that some of the claimed losses for the repair and replacement of leaky grain storage bins related to a contractual dispute rather than to coverage liability.

  • December 16, 2025

    Discovery Is Among Issues In 6th Circuit Appeal Of Non-ERISA Disability Case

    CINCINNATI — Seeking reversal or at least remand of a decision upholding denial of her claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits, a project director who stopped working because of symptoms she attributed to long COVID tells the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in her Dec. 15 opening brief that the trial court used the wrong standard of review and improperly denied her request for discovery and the appellees “acted arbitrarily by failing to consider critical treating-source medical opinions, relying on a materially inaccurate medical reviewer report, and dismissing [her] well-documented subjective symptoms.”

  • December 15, 2025

    2nd Circuit Sets Argument In LTD Benefits Case Centered On Review Standard

    NEW YORK — Standard of review is the sole issue in an appeal where the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral argument on Jan. 12 regarding a denial of long-term disability (LTD) benefits appeal that was upheld under the arbitrary and capricious review standard in the trial court; the parties dispute whether the insurer had discretionary authority and whether it complied with claim regulations.

  • December 11, 2025

    Insurers Say No Coverage Owed For Suit Arising From Hyperbaric Chamber Death

    FLINT, Mich. — Insurers ask a federal court in Michigan to declare that they have no duty to defend or indemnify their insured and its employees against an underlying negligence lawsuit arising from the death of a minor who was receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment at the insured’s facility.

  • December 09, 2025

    Dismissal Of 10 Captive Insurance Mismanagement Claims Sought By Managers

    NEW YORK — An insurance services firm, its captive affiliate and its general counsel say in a partial motion to dismiss filed in a New York federal court that all claims asserted by four insurers alleging mismanagement of a captive program, except for breach of a reinsurance agreement, should be dismissed as legally insufficient, duplicative of contract remedies or barred by lack of standing.

  • December 08, 2025

    Review Of Jurisdiction Issue In PFAS Exposure Suit Not Warranted, Insurer Says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should deny an insured’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that a district court erred in remanding a declaratory judgment claim and retaining jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits because every other federal appellate court agrees with the Sixth Circuit’s disposition, an insurer says in its Dec. 5 response brief.

  • December 05, 2025

    Father Of Minor Accused Of N.C. Shooting Rampage Seeks To Dismiss Insurer’s Suit

    RALEIGH, N.C.— The father of an unemancipated minor accused of going on shooting rampage that killed several people in a Raleigh neighborhood asked a North Carolina federal court on Dec. 4 to dismiss his homeowners insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend and indemnify against the underlying action, arguing that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over him because the insurer failed to effect timely service of its complaint.

  • December 05, 2025

    11th Circuit Cites Social Media As Factor In Affirming Ruling For LTD Insurer

    ATLANTA — Saying in an unpublished per curiam opinion that the multiple physician reviews that a long-term disability (LTD) insurer obtained and the claimant’s “social media activity” and medical records constituted substantial evidence for terminating benefits under a group insurance policy’s any-occupation definition of disability, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the insurer.