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Mealey's California Insurance

  • January 16, 2026

    Insured Failed To Show Businessowners Insurer Acted Unreasonably, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — An insured’s failure to show that an insurer’s investigation of a wind damage claim was incomplete or unreasonable warrants summary judgment in favor of the property insurer on the insured’s bad faith claim, a California federal judge said in partially granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • 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

    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 14, 2026

    Judge Remands Suit Against Insurer For Data Sharing, Denies Attorney Fee Request

    SAN FRANCISCO — Writing that a dental insurer engaged in “dubious” tactics by “removing based on federal jurisdiction then turning around and challenging federal standing,” a California federal judge denied the insurer’s motion to dismiss and instead remanded a putative class action against it for allegedly sharing insureds’ online data without consent, but denied the plaintiff’s request to consider attorney fees.

  • 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 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 08, 2026

    Judge Says Jury Must Determine Whether Exclusion Applies To Bar Defect Coverage

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California granted in part and denied in part an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a case brought against it by a residential lot owner and granted an excess insurer’s motion for summary judgment; the judge found that a policy exclusion may not bar coverage for work a contractor did on the property.

  • January 08, 2026

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss Insurer’s Suit Arising From Injury At Cryotherapy Facility

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California refused to dismiss an insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that its business owners liability insurance policy’s professional services exclusion bars coverage for a patient’s underlying action alleging that she was injured at a cryotherapy facility while receiving medical treatment from the insured, also denying the insured’s motion to dismiss the insurer’s claim seeking reimbursement of the $275,000 it paid to settle the underlying action on its insured’s behalf.

  • 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 02, 2026

    Claims Over GEICO’s Post-Accident Offer Dismissed With Leave To Amend

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California on Dec. 31 dismissed, largely with leave to amend, a pro se complaint accusing GEICO General Insurance Co. and 10 unnamed Does of various breaches, bad faith and fraud for various acts following a car accident, including offering an allegedly unreasonably low offer on an underinsured claim; the judge declined GEICO’s request to find that the bad faith claims were time-barred, opining that “the allegations in the Complaint do not clearly show when Plaintiff had the requisite factual basis to bring suit.”

  • December 26, 2025

    Judge: Pro Se Complaint Over GEICO’s Post-Accident Offer Stays In Federal Court

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California ruled that a pro se complaint accusing GEICO General Insurance Co. and 10 unnamed Does of various breaches, bad faith and fraud for various acts following a car accident, including offering an allegedly unreasonably low offer on an underinsured claim, belongs in federal court due to diversity of citizenship and because the removal more than four months after the complaint was filed was timely.

  • December 23, 2025

    Final Approval Of Class Settlement, Attorney Fees Request Granted In RESPA Suit

    FRESNO, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a class action settlement and finalized certification of the settlement class in a long-running Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) case, authorizing class members to receive $875 in cash compensation per affected loan under an uncapped, claims-made agreement with an estimated maximum class payout settlement of $29.5 million, also approving $9.031 million in attorney fees, $2.07 million in litigation expenses and $5,000 service awards to the five class representatives.

  • December 23, 2025

    Disaster-Prone States Set 2026 Reinsurance Structures With Varying Models

    Florida, California and Texas — the nation’s three most-populated states — enter the new year facing high risks of exposure to hurricanes, wildfires and severe storms, which often correspond with pressures on their property insurance markets.

  • 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 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 17, 2025

    Construction Manager Appeals Finding Policy Exclusion Precludes Coverage

    LOS ANGELES — A construction manager appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a federal judge in California’s order granting an insurance company’s motion for summary judgment in a case the construction manager brought for coverage of an underlying case regarding issues with the laying of concrete flooring; the judge found that a policy exclusion precluded coverage.

  • December 11, 2025

    Judge: Insurer Has Duty To Defend Cosmetics Company Against Consumer Fraud Suits

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California held that a commercial general liability insurer has a duty to defend its cosmetic company insured against three underlying putative class action lawsuits alleging that the insured deceptively sold beauty products by failing to disclose the dangerous risks and side effects of lash enhancement serums’ “key ingredient,” further concluding that the policy’s unfair competition exclusion does not bar coverage.

  • December 10, 2025

    Half The Requested Attorney Fees Awarded In LTD Case Remanded To Administrator

    SAN FRANCISCO — Finding that “the reversal of the determination of denial and the remand for consideration with a vocational analysis constitutes a sufficient degree of success to warrant attorney’s fees” in a case challenging termination of long-term disability (LTD) benefits under an any-occupation standard, a California federal magistrate judge awarded just half of the nearly $185,000 requested for attorney fees and declined to amend the judgment to award the benefits pending the determination on remand.

  • December 09, 2025

    Liability Provisions In FAIR Plan Order Exceeded Statutory Limits, Panel Rules

    LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel ruled that the state’s insurance commissioner lacked statutory authority to require the California FAIR Plan Association to offer liability coverages, holding that state law limits the FAIR Plan to first-party property risks, and directed the lower court to vacate its prior denial of the FAIR Plan Association’s writ of mandate and enter a new order granting the petition.

  • December 09, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms That ERISA Preempts Claims Against Health Plan Administrator

    PASADENA, Calif. — Citing a May 2024 decision, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an unpublished memorandum disposition upholding dismissal of California state law claims against a health insurance administrator on the grounds that the claims were preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • December 09, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Ruling For Insurer In Bad Faith Suit Arising From Rain Damage

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in the insured’s bad faith lawsuit arising from damage caused by rain that leaked through a roof, rejecting the insured’s contention that the lower court erred by excluding its expert testimony regarding causation.

  • December 04, 2025

    California High Court Declines Review Of Ruling That Upheld Rehabilitation Plan

    SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court denied a petition for review filed by an insurer after a lower appellate court upheld a nonconsensual rehabilitation plan for a workers’ compensation insurance carrier approved as part of conservation proceedings brought by California’s insurance regulator  to resolve dozens of reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) lawsuits.

  • December 01, 2025

    Defective Construction Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage For Water, Mold Damages

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of insured homeowners on a breach of contract claim after determining that an all-risk policy provides coverage for rainwater intrusion and additional living expenses incurred as a result of mold contamination in the insureds’ home because rainwater, a covered loss, rather than defective construction, an excluded cause of loss, was the “efficient proximate cause” of the insureds’ loss.