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Mealey's Insurance

  • January 15, 2026

    No Standing For Insurers To Challenge FCR In Hopeman Chapter 11 Case

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Insurers of Chapter 11 debtor Hopeman Brothers Inc. do not have bankruptcy appellate standing to challenge a Virginia federal bankruptcy court’s appointment of a legal representative for future asbestos claimants in the debtor’s case, a federal judge in the state said in granting Hopeman’s motion to dismiss the appeal.

  • 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 13, 2026

    Lead-Contaminated Water Coverage Suit Will Remain In Federal Court, Judge Says

    LANSING, Mich. — An insured city’s lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying bodily injury suits stemming from lead-contaminated water supplied by the city will remain in federal court, a Michigan federal judge said after determining that complete diversity of citizenship exists because the underlying plaintiffs, named as defendants by the insured city, must be realigned as plaintiffs based on the fact that their interests are aligned with the insured.

  • January 13, 2026

    Unfair Business Practices Counterclaim Will Not Proceed In Remediation Cost Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — An environmental remediation contractor’s unfair business practices counterclaim alleged against an insurer seeking to recover costs paid on behalf of its insured for environmental remediation work cannot proceed because the contractor failed to show that it suffered a monetary or property loss and failed to request any remedy, a California federal judge said in partially granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss the contractor’s counterclaims.

  • January 13, 2026

    Insurer Cannot Recoup More Than $721K In Attorney Fees, Costs, Judge Says

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge partially denied an insurer’s motion to recoup more than $721,000 in attorney fees, costs and interest deposited with the court in a coverage dispute over environmental contamination costs owed to an insured after determining that the insurer failed to show that the fees and costs billed by the insureds are unreasonable.

  • January 13, 2026

    Louisiana Panel Reverses Ruling In Suit Seeking Coverage For Total Loss To Condo

    GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana appeals panel reversed a lower court’s denial of an insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment in its insureds’ lawsuit seeking coverage for the total loss of their condominium unit, holding that the condominium was not rendered a total loss as a result of the direct physical damage caused by Hurricane Ida and the policy limit for a subsequent water event is $10,000 pursuant to the “Limited Water Damage Coverage” endorsement.

  • January 12, 2026

    High Court Denies Review Of Jurisdiction Ruling In PFAS Exposure Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 denied review of 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.

  • January 06, 2026

    Florida Panel Reverses For New Trial On Damages In Suit Against Insurance Broker

    DAYTON BEACH, Fla. —Noting that the case was one of first impression, the Fifth District Florida Court of Appeal concluded that a lower court erred by allowing a jury to calculate damages against an insurance broker based on an insurance policy that an earlier panel determined does not provide coverage for restaurant insureds’ damage following Hurricane Matthew, reversing in part and remanding for a retrial limited solely to damages without reliance on the insurance policy.

  • 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 06, 2026

    Fact Issues Exist In Insureds’ Water Damage Coverage Suit, Texas Federal Judge Says

    HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge partially denied a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a water damage coverage dispute after determining that questions of fact exist as to whether the insurer breached its contract in denying coverage for damage to a number of areas within the insureds’ home.

  • January 06, 2026

    Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Chemical Exposure Suits, Panel Affirms

    PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s ruling that a pollution exclusion bars coverage for underlying bodily injury suits seeking damages caused by exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO) released from an insured’s medical device manufacturing facility, agreeing with the lower court’s finding that EtO qualifies as a pollutant pursuant to the language of the policies’ pollution exclusion.

  • December 24, 2025

    Reinsurer Seeks Dismissal Of Decades-Old Asbestos Reinsurance Billings

    NEW YORK — A reinsurer moved for summary judgment in a New York federal court, seeking dismissal of all claims brought by the assignee of the liquidator of an insolvent insurer, arguing that decades-old asbestos-related reinsurance billings are barred by New York’s statute of limitations, were extinguished through a court-approved liquidation allowance and fail on the merits because the claimed losses were never proven to be covered under the applicable catastrophe excess of loss treaties.

  • December 23, 2025

    Shepard’s Analysis Of U.S. Supreme Court Bankruptcy Standing Ruling

    As of Dec. 19, 52 federal court decisions have referenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 holding in an asbestos bankruptcy case that an insurer with financial responsibility for bankruptcy claims qualifies as a party in interest with standing to comment on a debtor’s plan of reorganization, rejecting the “insurance neutrality” doctrine that had barred such participation, according to a Shepard’s analysis of the high court’s opinion.

  • December 19, 2025

    Insured’s Partial Summary Judgment Motion In AFFF Coverage Suit Denied

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge denied an insured’s motion for partial summary judgment in an ongoing dispute over coverage for underlying lawsuits filed against an insured and alleging injuries related to exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) allegedly contained in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) that were manufactured and sold by the insured after determining that issues pertaining to the payment of attorney fees are premature and that the parties’ briefing on the issue of whether an insurer has a duty to defend one of the underlying suits is not sufficient.

  • 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

    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

    Insured’s Bad Faith Claim In Contamination Coverage Suit Cannot Proceed, Judge Says

    NEWARK, N.J. — A bad faith claim alleged against a general liability insurer cannot proceed because the claim is duplicative of the breach of contract claim and the insured failed to meet its burden of showing that the insurer “lacked a fairly debatable reason” for denying the insured’s claim for environmental contamination cleanup costs, a New Jersey federal judge said Dec. 17 in granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss the bad faith claim.

  • December 18, 2025

    Water, Mold Damage In Insured Home Caused By Excluded Causes Of Loss, Panel Says

    PASADENA, Calif. — A district court did not abuse its discretion in granting a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a water and mold damage coverage dispute because the evidence shows that a water leak in the insureds’ home was caused by the continuous seepage or leakage of water and wear and tear of the water pipe, both of which are excluded causes of loss under the policy, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said.

  • December 18, 2025

    Statute Of Limitations Bars Insured’s Claims In Water, Mold Damage Suit, Judge Says

    RALEIGH, N.C. — An insured’s claims for breach of contract and bad faith in a water and mold damage coverage dispute cannot proceed because the claims are barred by the applicable three-year statute of limitations, a North Carolina federal judge said in granting a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • December 15, 2025

    Environmental Liability Insurer Breached Duty To Defend In Bad Faith, Judge Says

    TACOMA, Wash. — An environmental liability insurer breached its duty to defend its insured in bad faith because an underlying water contamination suit alleges a potential for coverage under the policy at issue and the insurer initially acknowledged that there was a potential for coverage under the policy, a Washington federal judge said in granting the insured’s motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and bad faith claims.

  • December 15, 2025

    COMMENTARY: 2025 Updated Primer On PFAS/Forever Chemical Claims Regulation, Litigation & Insurance Coverage Issues

    By Scott M. Seaman and Gar N. Lauerman

  • December 15, 2025

    Bad Faith Claim In Gas Pipeline Rupture Coverage Suit Cannot Proceed, Judge Says

    BOISE, Idaho — A bad faith claim alleged against a commercial property insurer in a dispute over coverage for the rupture of a natural gas pipeline cannot proceed because a question of fact exists over whether coverage is owed under the policy, an Idaho federal judge said in partially granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • December 11, 2025

    Hard Rock Hotel Collapse Coverage Dispute Dismissed After Settlement Reached

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana issued an order dismissing a property owner’s breach of contract lawsuit against builders risk insurers seeking additional insured coverage for its $89,877,694 in losses arising from the aftermath of the partial collapse of a Hard Rock Hotel project in New Orleans after being informed the parties reached a settlement.

  • December 10, 2025

    11th Circuit Denies Insured’s Rehearing Petition In Environmental Cleanup Suit

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 9 denied an insured’s petition for rehearing or for rehearing en banc in a contamination cleanup suit stemming from the release of petroleum and other contaminants from an underground storage tank at a gas station operated by the insured and will not reconsider its finding that the insured’s late notice was prejudicial to the insurer.