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Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

  • August 15, 2025

    Magistrate Tells Insurer, Insured To Show Cause Why They Should Not Be Sanctioned

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge on Aug. 14 issued an order for a Write-Your-Own insurer and its insured to show cause why they should not be sanctioned for failing to file their notice of mediation in a breach of contract lawsuit arising from property damage caused by Hurricane Ian.

  • August 15, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Condominium Coverage Dispute With Insurers, Notes Settlement

    NEW YORK —  After being advised “that the parties have reached a settlement,” a New York federal judge dismissed without prejudice a breach of contract suit filed against insurers over their alleged failure to cover a condominium’s purported hurricane-related losses.

  • August 13, 2025

    Texas Panel: Insurer Has Justiciable Interest In Homeowner’s Storm Damage Suit

    CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —A Texas appeals panel conditionally granted in part an insurer and an adjuster’s petition for mandamus relief in a lawsuit arising from storm damage, directing a lower court to vacate its orders granting a homeowner’s amended motion to strike an insurer’s plea in intervention, denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss, denying the adjuster’s motion for reconsideration of its motion to dismiss and denying the insurer’s motion to compel appraisal.

  • August 12, 2025

    Shutdown Orders Caused Insured’s Losses, Not Pandemic, Minnesota Panel Says, Reverses

    ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota appeals panel on Aug. 11 reversed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a commercial property insurer in an insured’s coverage dispute arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling that the governmental orders that shut down 150 of the insured’s health and fitness clubs in response to the pandemic are the causes of the insured’s losses for purposes of determining the number of occurrences subject to the policy’s “Interruption By Communicable Disease” coverage limit.

  • August 11, 2025

    Questions Of Fact Exist On Whether Mold Exclusion Applies, Judge Says

    NEW ORLEANS — A breach of contract claim in a dispute over coverage for mold and other damage caused by a hurricane will proceed against a homeowners insurer because questions of fact exist regarding whether the insured submitted a timely proof of loss and whether the mold exclusion applies as a bar to coverage, a Louisiana federal judge said in denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • August 11, 2025

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss Chemical Company’s Coverage Suit Arising From Explosion

    BEAUMONT, Texas — A federal judge in Texas denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss a sustainable chemical company’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking to obtain coverage for the full value of its business interruption loss caused by an explosion at a Texas plant, finding that the company sufficiently pleaded a right to sue the insurer “based on an implied agreement outside the Reinsurance Agreement.”

  • August 08, 2025

    Carrier Seeks Dismissal Of Hurricane Coverage Row Involving Guaranty Association

    BATON ROUGE, La. — An insurance carrier participating in the U.S. government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) moved to dismiss a suit filed against it and the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) by homeowners seeking coverage for purported damage to their property caused by Hurricane Ida.

  • August 06, 2025

    Texas Panel: Court Erred In Setting Aside Appraisal Award In Storm Damage Suit

    EDINBURG, Texas — A Texas appeals panel determined that an insured failed to meet his burden to set aside an appraisal award in a coverage dispute over storm damage and, therefore, that the lower court abused its discretion in granting the insured’s motion to set the award aside, vacating the lower court’s order.

  • August 05, 2025

    Kentucky Panel Affirms Ruling In Coverage Dispute Arising From ‘Whiskey Row’ Fire

    FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Kentucky appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s various rulings in a coverage dispute arising from property damage caused by the “Whiskey Row” fire in Louisville, Ky., finding no basis to disturb the lower court’s determination that a builders risk insurance policy’s subrogation waiver is valid as to the breach of contract and attorney fees clams but not valid as it relates to claims for negligence, wanton or willful conduct.

  • August 01, 2025

    Florida Panel Reverses Ruling In Broker’s Favor In Hurricane Michael Coverage Suit

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel reversed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurance broker in a lawsuit arising from damage to a recreational vehicle (RV) park caused by Hurricane Michael, remanding for further proceedings and declining to address the lower court’s order denying the broker’s motion for attorney fees.

  • July 31, 2025

    Texas Panel Renders Take Nothing Judgment In Hurricane Harvey Coverage Suit

    HOUSTON —A Texas appeals panel on July 31 reversed a lower court’s $643,000 final judgment against an insurer following a jury verdict in a coverage dispute over Hurricane Harvey damage and rendered judgment that the insured take nothing on his breach of contract and bad faith counterclaims against the insurer, holding that Ortiz v. State Farm Lloyds forecloses the insured’s counterclaims.

  • July 31, 2025

    Panel Directs Court To Vacate Order Denying Insurer’s Motion To Compel Appraisal

    EDINBURG, Texas — A Texas appeals panel held that a lower court abused its discretion in denying an insurer’s motion to compel appraisal of its insured’s storm damage, conditionally granting the insurer’s petition for writ of mandamus and directing the lower court vacate its order denying the insurer’s motion to compel appraisal and grant the motion.

  • July 30, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Master Complaint Against Insurer In Coronavirus Coverage MDL

    CHICAGO — The federal judge in Illinois who is overseeing a multidistrict litigation by hospitality industry insureds who sought business interruption protection coverage for their losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic on July 30 granted an insurer’s renewed motion to dismiss a master complaint, finding that decisions in other cases interpreting similar and mostly identical coverage provisions “almost uniformly held that there must be some physical effect or alteration to the insured property, not just a loss of its use.”

  • July 30, 2025

    11th Circuit Reverses In Suit Seeking Policy Rescission Over Misrepresentations

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 29 reversed and remanded a district court order dismissing a general liability insurer’s suit seeking a policy rescission for purported material misrepresentations in a policy renewal application and a declaration that it does not have a duty to defend or indemnify an underlying negligence action related to a parasailing accident, finding that the lower court’s dismissal of the duty to defend claim was an abuse of discretion and that the district court should exercise jurisdiction regarding the rescission claim.

  • July 30, 2025

    Court Erred In Discounting Deposition Testimony In Hurricane Laura Coverage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held July 29 that a lower federal court erroneously discounted an appellant’s deposition testimony that concerned a disputed material fact related to her alleged interest in a church property that was damaged by Hurricane Laura, remanding for the lower court to reassess whether the appellant holds an insurable interest in the property.

  • July 29, 2025

    Insureds’ Water, Mold Damage Suit Dismissed Following Parties’ Settlement

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal magistrate judge dismissed an insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit filed against a homeowners insurer seeking coverage for water and mold damage after the parties notified the court that a settlement was reached.

  • July 29, 2025

    7th Circuit: Insurer Breached Policy By Failing To Pay Full Appraisal Award

    CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded that a business insurer breached an insurance policy when it declined to pay the full appraisal award for the insured’s roof damage caused by a hailstorm, affirming a federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insured on its breach of contract claim.

  • July 24, 2025

    8th Circuit Refuses To Reconsider Ruling In Storm Damage Dispute

    ST. LOUIS —The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied an insured’s assignee motion to rehear an earlier ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from storm damage.

  • July 24, 2025

    Bad Faith Claim Against Property Insurer In Hurricane Damage Suit Will Not Proceed

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge on July 23 granted a property insurer’s motion for summary judgment on an insured’s bad faith claim in a dispute over coverage for hurricane damages after determining that the insurer reasonably questioned the scope and cause of the insured’s damages.

  • 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.