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Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

  • July 24, 2025

    Homeowners Sue Florida Insurance Guaranty Association Over Hurricane Ian Damage

    SARASOTA, Fla.  — Florida homeowners filed a breach of contract suit in Florida state court against the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), asserting that it has assumed the liability for the claim they made to their now-insolvent homeowners insurer, which they allege failed to compensate them for losses related to purported damage to their home by Hurricane Ian.

  • July 22, 2025

    11th Circuit Affirms $1.75M Judgment For Insured In Bad Faith Storm Damage Row

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 21 affirmed a $1.75 million judgment for an insured church in its bad faith and breach of contract dispute with its insurer over storm damage coverage, finding “no basis to revisit the evidentiary ruling” in which the lower court excluded evidence of alleged misrepresentation by the insured.

  • July 22, 2025

    Doctor Insured: Hidden Cameras Constitute Physical Alteration, Loss Of Use

    NEW YORK — A doctor argues to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a lower federal court erred in dismissing her breach of contract lawsuit seeking business interruption and umbrella coverage for her losses arising from discovery of hidden cameras at her dermatology office, asserting that the hidden cameras constituted a physical alteration and loss of use and satisfied her insurance policy’s direct physical loss or damage requirement.

  • July 16, 2025

    Portion Of Bad Faith Claim Will Proceed Against Insurer In Hurricane Damage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — A portion of an insured’s bad faith claim alleged against a homeowners insurer can proceed, a Louisiana federal judge said after determining that questions of fact exist as to what information the insurer possessed regarding damages to the insured’s home when it issued its initial payments under the homeowners policy.

  • July 15, 2025

    Insured Appeals Denial Of Motion For Relief From Judgment In Coronavirus Suit

    ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. —A hotel and restaurant owner insurer notified a North Carolina federal court that it is asking the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal to review the court’s recent denial of its motion for relief from a 2021 judgment dismissing its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

  • July 15, 2025

    Texas Panel Allows Insurer To Intervene In Suit Arising From Hailstorm Damage

    CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Texas appeals panel conditionally granted an insurer’s petition for writ of mandamus arguing that a lower court committed an abuse of discretion by striking its plea to intervene in insureds’ lawsuit arising from hailstorm damage, holding that allowing the insurer to intervene will not excessively complicate the lawsuit.

  • July 14, 2025

    Homebuyer Lacks Standing To Sue Insurer For Hurricane Coverage, 5th Circuit Affirms

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking further insurance proceeds to repair property damage caused by hurricanes Laura and Delta, rejecting the appellant’s argument that his house purchase included an assignment of post-loss rights to pursue insurance claims for hurricane damage.

  • July 14, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Driver’s Claim For Larger COVID-19 Refunds

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a driver’s class action against her insurer, GEICO, for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by providing drivers an insufficient rebate on premiums after the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the insurer was protected by the “‘safe harbor’” doctrine as the state insurance commissioner approved its rebate amounts.

  • July 10, 2025

    District Court Properly Excluded Portions Of Expert Witness Testimony, Panel Says

    ATLANTA — A district court did not err in excluding portions of an expert’s witness testimony because the expert witness’s opinions on the cause of the insured’s water and mold damages and the insurer’s alleged bad faith conduct were not disclosed before the insurer’s deposition of the expert witness as required under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B), the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said July 9 in affirming the district court’s ruling.

  • July 07, 2025

    Judge Grants Contractors’ Demurrer As To 2 Claims In Hurricane Hilary Coverage Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A California judge granted contractors’ demurrer as to insureds’ negligent and concealment claims in a coverage dispute arising from Hurricane Hilary damage, agreeing with the contractors that because the contractors were hired by the insurer to inspect the insureds’ roof, neither of them owed a duty to the insureds.

  • July 01, 2025

    Insured’s Assignment Of Benefits Not Invalid, Florida Panel Says, Reverses

    TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel determined that a lower court’s holding that an assignment agreement was invalid because it failed to comply with Florida Statutes Section 627.7152(7)(a) “frustrates” an insured’s assignee’s ability to receive fair compensation for its work under an otherwise valid assignment agreement, reversing the lower court’s dismissal of the assignee’s breach of contract lawsuit and remanding for further proceedings.

  • June 30, 2025

    California Insureds Allege Insurers Underinsured Homes Destroyed In Wildfires

    LOS ANGELES — In two separate complaints filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, insureds whose homes were destroyed in the January wildfires allege that their homeowners insurers underinsured their homes, leaving the homeowners unable to rebuild their destroyed homes.

  • June 27, 2025

    California Judge Denies Insured’s Motion For Summary Adjudication As To UCL Claim

    LOS ANGELES — A California judge granted an insured’s motion for summary adjudication as to his declaratory relief claim in a lawsuit alleging that the California Fair Plan Association (CFP) issued property insurance policies with fire coverage that is unlawfully restrictive as to smoke damage claims but denied the insured’s motion as to his unfair competition law (UCL) claim, finding that he failed to satisfy his burden to establish standing to bring the UCL claim.

  • June 26, 2025

    Insured Seeks More Than $5M From Property Insurer For Business Income Losses

    PORTLAND, Ore. — An insured hotel filed suit in Oregon federal court, seeking more than $5 million from its commercial property insurer for business income losses and extra expenses incurred as a result of water damage and the repairs necessitated by the water damage.

  • June 26, 2025

    Insured Fails To Address Diversity Jurisdiction On Appeal, 5th Circuit Rules

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 25 affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a pro se insured’s motion to reinstate her claims in a coverage dispute arising from hurricanes Laura and Delta, holding that the insured fails to address the merits of the district court's jurisdictional determination.

  • June 25, 2025

    1st Circuit Partly Reverses Ruling In Coverage Suit Over Hurricane Maria Damage

    BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower federal court’s denial of an insurer’s postverdict motion to reduce a jury’s $873,000 contractual damages award and to set aside a jury’s $250,000 consequential damages award in a Hurricane Maria coverage dispute and affirmed the lower court’s denial of the insured’s postverdict motion for attorney fees and prejudgment interest.

  • June 24, 2025

    Breach Of Contract Suit Over Storm Damage Is Untimely, Illinois Panel Affirms

    ELGIN, Ill. — An Illinois appeals court panel on June 23 affirmed a lower court’s grant of a homeowners insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for storm damage, agreeing with the lower court that the insured’s action was not timely under the agreed-upon terms of the insurance policy's one-year suit limitations provision.

  • June 23, 2025

    2nd Circuit Rejects Chocolate Company’s Appeal In Superstorm Sandy Coverage Suit

    NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 20 affirmed a lower federal court’s take-nothing judgment and denial of 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, rejecting the insured’s assertion that its decision to discontinue excess flood insurance does not bear on whether its insurance policy covered storm surge losses.

  • June 23, 2025

    Judge Denies Insured’s Motion For Relief From Judgment In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

    ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. —A federal judge in North Carolina denied a hotel and restaurant owner insured’s motion for relief from a March 4, 2021, judgment dismissing its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic, rejecting the insured’s argument that the North Carolina Supreme Court’s ruling in N. State Deli, LLC v. Cincinnati Ins. Co. constitutes extraordinary circumstances that warrant relief.

  • June 19, 2025

    Colorado Panel Partly Reverses Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

    DENVER — Noting two matters of first impression, a Colorado appellate court on June 18 reversed in part a lower court’s ruling in favor of an insurer in a retirement communities owner’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic after finding that the insured stated a viable claim to recover some of its alleged losses pursuant to the policy’s health care endorsement.

  • June 19, 2025

    Louisiana Majority Affirms Certification Of Class Action Prompted By Hurricane Ida

    GRETNA, La. — A majority of a Louisiana appeals court panel on June 18 affirmed a lower court’s judgment certifying a class action lawsuit arising from Hurricane Ida property damage and remanded for further proceedings, finding that the plaintiffs have satisfied the class certification requirements under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 591(A)(1).

  • June 18, 2025

    Judge Won’t Vacate Arbitration Of Hurricane Dispute Pending Appeals

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge on June 17 denied a motion to lift a stay on litigation brought by a city against its foreign and domestic insurers in a dispute over Hurricane Ida claims and vacate a prior order compelling arbitration despite a recent ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court that such arbitrations are barred by state law, writing that there is an intradistrict “split on this issue” and citing two pending appeals.

  • June 18, 2025

    5th Circuit Affirms Revised Damages Calculation In Hurricane Laura Coverage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS —The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s amended judgment with a revised damages calculation in a church insured’s Hurricane Laura coverage lawsuit, rejecting the commercial insurer’s challenge to the revised damages award for electrical repairs.

  • June 17, 2025

    Florida Panel Reverses Dismissal Of Breach Of Contract Suit Over Windstorm Damage

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel reversed a lower court’s grant of a homeowners insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its property damage caused by a windstorm, finding that the insured’s third amended complaint sufficiently states a claim for breach of contract.

  • June 13, 2025

    Magistrate Partly Grants Insured’s Motion To Compel In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York granted in part and denied in part a holding company for the U.S. interests in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group’s motion to compel its “all risk” insurers to produce certain documents they have withheld as privileged in a coronavirus coverage dispute, directing the insurers to produce communications with their reinsurers and produce documents containing reserve information unless there is another viable ground for withholding.