Mealey's Catastrophic Loss : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

May 20, 2025
5th Circuit Refuses To Rehear Bad Faith Suit Arising From Hurricane Laura Damage

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 19 denied an insurer’s petition for panel rehearing asking the court to reconsider the part of its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of a church insured in a bad faith lawsuit arising from Hurricane Laura damage, leaving undisturbed its findings as to jurisdiction, appraisal and policy valuation and bad faith.
May 20, 2025
U.S. High Court Refuses To Review Insurers’ Petition In Tribal Jurisdiction Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on May 19 denied insurers’ petition for a writ of certiorari asking it to determine “whether a tribal court can exercise jurisdiction over nonmembers of the tribe based on off-reservation conduct,” leaving undisturbed a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ opinion that affirmed a federal court’s finding that a tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over a COVID-19 coverage suit involving tribal properties on tribal land.
May 20, 2025
Supreme Court Rejects Insurer’s Challenge To Ruling In Favor Of Tribal Court Judges

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on May 19 declined an insurer’s invitation to review a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ holding that a tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over it in a dispute over the tribe’s claims for business interruption losses at its casino caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, refusing to review the appeals court’s ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of two tribal court judges on the alternative ground that the insurance policy at issue satisfies Montana v. United States’ consensual-relationship exception.
May 19, 2025
Panel Reverses Judgment For Insurer In Hurricane Damage Dispute Over Attorney Fees

LAKELAND, Fla. — In a dispute over coverage for hurricane damage, a Florida appeals court on May 16 reversed and remanded a lower court’s ruling providing that pursuant to Florida law, the insurer was entitled to recover attorney fees and costs from the date of a settlement proposal rejected by a restoration services company, finding that the lower court erred in not applying binding Florida Supreme Court precedent.
May 16, 2025
8th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Bad Faith Suit Over Storm Damage

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in an insured’s assignee’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from storm damage, concluding that the insured sought “to advance a novel agency theory on appeal” but there is no reason for the insured’s failure to raise this argument in the lower court and “no manifest injustice in this court declining to entertain the argument for the first time on appeal.”
May 15, 2025
Florida Supreme Court Refuses To Review Ruling In Hurricane Irma Appraisal Dispute

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court on May 15 refused to review a Florida appeals court’s finding that the plain and unambiguous language of Florida Statutes Section 627.70132 does not require a condominium association insured to provide a damages estimate to comply with the statutory requirement for providing its insurer with notice of a supplemental or reopened claim, leaving undisturbed the appeals court’s reversal of the lower court’s denial of the insured’s motion to compel appraisal in a Hurricane Irma coverage dispute.
May 13, 2025
Judge Cites Estoppel, Won’t Vacate Arbitration Order In Hurricane Ida Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge on May 12 denied a motion to vacate a prior order sending a dispute over an insurance claim for damages from Hurricane Ida to arbitration despite new Louisiana Supreme Court precedent on the issue, citing federal equitable estoppel principles and the fact that the insureds allege that their domestic and foreign insurers engaged in “concerted and interdependent conduct.”
May 12, 2025
Pennsylvania Court Affirms No Coverage Ruling In Suit Arising From Coronavirus

PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of commercial property insurers in a coverage dispute arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, concluding that the insured failed to establish that it incurred “direct physical loss or damage to any of its properties” to trigger coverage.
May 12, 2025
Hotel Owner Seeks Review Of No Coverage Ruling In Dispute Over Derecho Damage

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — A hotel owner told an Illinois federal court that it is appealing the court’s April 3 judgment in favor of a businessowners insurer in its breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for damage to the hotel arising from a 2020 derecho, challenging the court’s finding that it failed to provide prompt notice of the claim.
May 09, 2025
2nd Circuit Abrogates Precedent On Reverse-Preemption In $12.5M Hurricane Ida Row

NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 8 abrogated its own precedent holding that an international convention regarding arbitration of foreign disputes is “not self-executing” and can be reverse-preempted by state law and reversed the denials of motions to compel arbitration of surplus line policy disputes for more than $12.5 million in damages caused to Louisiana properties by Hurricane Ida.
May 08, 2025
Florida Panel Reverses Judgment In Insureds’ Favor In ‘Prompt Notice’ Dispute

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals court panel held April 16 that a lower court’s partial summary judgment ruling that a homeowners insurer waived its lack of “prompt notice” defense as a matter of law “was erroneous both procedurally and on the merits,” reversing and remanding for a new trial so the insurer can present the defense in a coverage dispute with its insureds.
May 08, 2025
Federal Judge: No Coverage Owed For Insureds’ Untimely Additional Flood Damage Claim

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida held that insureds’ failure to submit a proof of loss for their additional flood damages before their Standard Flood Insurance Policy’s 60-day deadline relieves their Write-Your-Own insurer of its duty to pay the additional claim, granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in the insureds’ breach of contract lawsuit.
May 05, 2025
Coverage Suit Arising From Nashville Bombing Tossed After Parties’ Stipulation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two days after parties filed a stipulation of dismissal, a federal Tennessee court dismissed an insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that no coverage is owed in excess of the $4.3 million that it already paid to repair a condominium building that incurred significant damage in the 2020 Christmas Day bombing in Nashville.
May 05, 2025
Louisiana Panel Upholds Judgment On Jury Verdict In Hurricane Ida Coverage Row

GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana state appeals court affirmed a lower court’s rulings entering judgment on a jury verdict awarding $23,534.62 to homeowners and denying a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) in a dispute with the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) over coverage for damages caused by Hurricane Ida, finding that because the jury’s decision to not award the total amount of damages claimed by the homeowners “is supported by the evidence,” the lower court did not abuse its discretion in denying a new trial.
May 02, 2025
Judgment For Guaranty Association Affirmed In Florida Law Hurricane Coverage Row

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appellate court affirmed a lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment for the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) and dismissing a suit as time-barred in a dispute over coverage for a condominium association’s purported damage caused by Hurricane Irma, finding that the lower court correctly applied the appropriate Florida statute to determine that the suit was time-barred because it was filed after the applicable five-year statute of limitations.
May 02, 2025
5th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurer In Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 1 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a condominium association insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking additional proceeds for its flood damage caused by Hurricane Ida, finding the insured’s proof of loss failed to comply with the “sworn to” requirement of its Standard Flood Insurance Policies (SFIPs).
May 01, 2025
Federal Judge Rules For Insurer In Coverage Dispute Over Hurricane Ida Damage

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana on April 30 granted an insurer’s unopposed motion for summary judgment in an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for Hurricane Ida damage, accepting the insurer’s undisputed evidence that the insured did not have a valid insurance policy that covered the residence on the alleged date of loss.
April 30, 2025
Residents Sue State-Mandated Insurer ‘Of Last Resort’ Over Los Angeles Wildfires

LOS ANGELES — California residents sued the California Fair Plan Association (CFPA) and its largest members in a state court seeking damages for the defendants’ alleged bad faith breach of their property insurance policies following the Los Angeles wildfires in January.
April 30, 2025
Parties Seek Discovery In Australia In Reinsurance Breach Of Contract Suit

NEW YORK — The defendants in a breach of contract lawsuit ask a New York federal court to issue letters rogatory to obtain otherwise unobtainable information from an industrial machinery manufacturer and two of its employees in an Australian court as part of a gold mining equipment dispute over whether the defendants are direct insurers or reinsurers of the plaintiff.
April 29, 2025
Insurer Asks 5th Circuit To Reconsider Ruling In Bad Faith Suit Over Hurricane Laura

NEW ORLEANS — An insurer on April 28 asked the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider the part of its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of a church insured in a bad faith lawsuit arising from Hurricane Laura damage, challenging the appellate court’s findings as to jurisdiction, appraisal and policy valuation and bad faith.
April 29, 2025
Alaska Federal Judge Grants Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss COVID-19 Coverage Suit

ANCHORAGE, Ala. — Following the Alaska Supreme Court’s answers to two certified questions in a coronavirus coverage dispute, a federal judge in Alaska on April 28 entered judgment in favor of an insurer after granting its motion to dismiss an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for loss of business income under the Communicable Disease Suspension of Operations provision in the insurance policy.
April 25, 2025
Texas High Court Grants Agreed Motion To Dismiss Insurer’s Petition For Review

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on April 25 granted a commercial property insurer and its insured’s agreed motion to dismiss the insurer’s petition seeking review of a lower court’s partial summary judgment order in a coronavirus coverage dispute, according to its orders pronounced.
April 25, 2025
Judge Tosses Insured’s Untimely Coverage Suit Arising From Hurricane Idalia Damage

TAMPA, Fla.— A federal judge in Florida granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss without prejudice its insured’s breach of contract lawsuit arising from property damage caused by Hurricane Idalia, concluding that the lawsuit is time-barred.
April 25, 2025
Residents: County’s Empty Reservoirs, Energized Powerlines Caused Palisades Fire

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County residents sued Los Angeles acting through the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) for inverse condemnation, telling a California Superior Court that the Palisades Fire was caused by LADWP's empty reservoirs and energized powerlines.
April 22, 2025
Homeowners Accuse Insurers Of ‘Nefarious Conspiracy’ In Suit Arising From Wildfires

LOS ANGELES — California homeowners affected by the Los Angeles wildfires sued insurers in a California court for violations of the state’s Cartwright Act and unfair competition law (UCL), alleging that the insurers participated in a “nefarious conspiracy to eliminate competition between them, and to intentionally and systematically force Plaintiffs to obtain fire insurance from the state’s insurer of last resort.”