Newsletter RSS

Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

  • December 10, 2025

    Federal Judge Dismisses Hurricane Ian Flood Coverage Suit As Untimely

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida on Dec. 9 granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss insureds’ lawsuit seeking full coverage for their flood damage caused by Hurricane Ian, concluding that the lawsuit is time-barred.

  • December 10, 2025

    La. Panel Affirms Judgment For Guaranty Association In Hurricane Damage Dispute

    GRETNA, La.  — A Louisiana appellate court affirmed a lower court judgment for the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) and entities and individuals sued over the alleged improper construction of a building that collapsed into another building and destroyed it during Hurricane Ida, finding that there is no evidence that the owners of the collapsed building knew of any defect in it prior to the hurricane.

  • December 09, 2025

    5th Circuit Says State Law Bars Arbitration Of Hurricane Policy Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 8, applying a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling on certified questions of law regarding the arbitrability of insurance disputes, affirmed a lower court’s denial of domestic insurers’ motion to compel arbitration of a Louisiana town’s claims for damages, breach of contract and bad faith after finding that the participation of foreign insurers in the policy does not require the court to apply the New York Convention.

  • December 09, 2025

    Judge Dismisses 2 Claims In Coronavirus Coverage Suit, Allows Insureds To Amend

    DURHAM, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina granted a commercial property insurer’s motion to dismiss claims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair and deceptive trade practices brought by four Durham, N.C., restaurants seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic but allowed the insureds to file an amended complaint to include additional factual allegations related to the insurer’s renewed denial of claims following the North State Deli, LLC v. Cincinnati Insurance Co. decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court.

  • 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 09, 2025

    It All Started With Cajun Conti: A Look Back At Key COVID-19 Coverage Rulings

    Coronavirus coverage lawsuits were “wrongly decided by the courts” for “many reasons” said attorney John W. Houghtaling II of Gauthier Murphy & Houghtaling LLC, who filed the very first coronavirus coverage complaint in the Louisiana Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans and other lawsuits for hospitality companies across the country that lost more than $3 billion in what he believed were covered losses.

  • December 08, 2025

    Federal Judge Refuses To Dismiss Breach Of Contract Suit Against Cyber Risk Insurer

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida on Dec. 5 denied a cyber and data risk insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit arising from a 2024 data breach that caused interruption to its financial technology business, holding that the insured’s allegations are sufficient to survive the insurer’s motion to dismiss.

  • December 08, 2025

    Suit Seeking Coverage For Stolen Machine Components Will Stay In Federal Court

    DALLAS — A lawsuit filed by insureds seeking coverage for losses incurred as a result of a burglary will remain in Texas federal court because complete diversity of citizenship exists as the insurer’s claims adjuster, a nondiverse defendant, must be dismissed, a Texas federal judge said after finding that the insureds failed to state a plausible claim against the adjuster.

  • December 08, 2025

    Federal Judge Refuses To Remand Insured’s Suit Over Earthquake Damage

    OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge in Oklahoma denied an insured’s motion to remand her lawsuit against her homeowners insurer and agent over property damage that was caused by a series of earthquakes, ruling that the insurer conclusively demonstrated that the insured is unable to allege a negligent procurement claim against the agent and that the insurer timely removed the lawsuit to federal court.

  • December 05, 2025

    Judge Denies Insurer’s Supplemental Summary Judgment Motion In Roof Damage Dispute

    FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Dec. 4 held that fact issues preclude granting a commercial property insurer’s motion for supplemental summary judgment on a church insured’s claims for breach of contract and violations of the Texas Prompt Payment Claims Act, further denying the insured’s motion to reconsider an earlier ruling that dismissed its bad faith claims in a coverage dispute over hailstorm damage.

  • December 04, 2025

    New York Panel Reverses Ruling Against Insured In Hurricane Maria Coverage Suit

    ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York appeals panel reversed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of insurers as to their reformation counterclaim in a coverage dispute arising from Hurricane Maria damage to the insured’s Puerto Rico facility, holding that the insurers failed to demonstrate “by clear and convincing evidence” that the parties intended for the “all-risk” insurance policy to exclude named windstorm damage to the facility at the time the policy was executed.

  • December 04, 2025

    Jury Verdict In Tornado Damage Suit Amply Supported By Trial Record, Panel Says

    NEW ORLEANS — A jury verdict entered in favor of a homeowners insurer in a dispute over coverage for tornado damage to an insured home is “amply supported” by the trial record and the district court acted within its discretion by limiting the testimony of the insurer’s engineer, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said.

  • December 03, 2025

    Insurance Department’s Confirmation Of Excess Loss Payments Assessment Affirmed

    AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas appeals panel affirmed the state insurance department’s order confirming the assessment of excess loss payments that a member insurer must pay the state’s insurer of last resort for Hurricane Harvey damage, rejecting the member insurer’s argument that the members’ percentage of participation should be the catastrophe year and not the year of assessment.

  • December 03, 2025

    School Board: Each Shot Fired Constitutes Separate Occurrence Under Policy

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A school board insured sued its general liability insurer for breach of contract in a Florida court seeking $17,411,192 in coverage for its defense and settlement of multiple underlying actions arising from the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 people, alleging that each shot fired constituted a separate occurrence under the policy.

  • December 02, 2025

    Insured Appeals Court’s Ruling That It Failed To Toll Statute Of Limitations

    CHICAGO — A condominium association insured filed a notice on Dec. 1 appealing an Illinois federal court’s grant of an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from hail and wind damage to the roofs of its 27-building condominium complex.

  • December 01, 2025

    Illinois Panel: No Extra Expense Coverage Owed For Loss Arising From Cyberattack

    CHICAGO — An Illinois appeals court panel held that a management company for multiple nursing care facilities is not entitled to recover the expenses it incurred following a cyberattack on one of its payroll vendors, affirming a lower court’s ruling in favor of an insurer in the management company’s declaratory judgment lawsuit.

  • November 18, 2025

    Contamination Exclusion Bars Coverage For COVID-19 Losses, 9th Circuit Affirms

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 17 affirmed a district court’s ruling that an all-risk policy’s contamination exclusion bars coverage for losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic, rejecting the insureds’ argument that the district court erred in finding that a California appellate panel’s ruling in a similar case is applicable to the instant dispute.

  • November 18, 2025

    Guaranty Association, Homeowner Seek Dismissal Of Hurricane Coverage Suit

    LAFAYETTE, La. — Advising a federal court in Louisiana that their dispute has been resolved, a homeowner and the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) filed a joint motion to dismiss a breach of contract suit related to coverage for damage purportedly caused by Hurricane Laura.

  • November 18, 2025

    Stipulation Filed To Dismiss 1 Insurer From Coronavirus Coverage Suit In Nevada

    LAS VEGAS — A stipulation was filed asking a Nevada court to dismiss with prejudice all claims against one insurer in an insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage under its all-risk insurance policies for its loss caused by COVID-19 and its causative virus at its insured properties.

  • November 17, 2025

    COMMENTARY: The Notice-Prejudice Rule In Hybrid Occurrence - Claims-Made Policies

    By Robert M. Hall

  • November 17, 2025

    Insured Seeks Rehearing In Unjust Enrichment, UCL Suit Against Travel Insurers

    PASEDENA, Calif. — An insured on Nov. 14 filed a petition for rehearing en banc asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider a panel majority ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of travel insurers in his unjust enrichment and unfair competition lawsuit, challenging the majority’s finding that he is not entitled to recover any portion of the premium for a travel insurance policy he purchased for a cruise that was later canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic because there was no unearned premium.

  • November 14, 2025

    8th Circuit: Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion By Excluding Insured’s Expert

    ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined that a lower federal court did not abuse its discretion when it excluded the opinion of an insured’s expert in the insured’s breach of contract lawsuit alleging that its commercial building was damaged by water intrusion during a storm, affirming the lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurer.

  • November 13, 2025

    Insurers’ Objections To Discovery Orders Substantially Overruled In COVID-19 Suit

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York substantially overruled insurers’ objections to discovery orders that 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 the insurers to produce certain documents they have withheld as privileged in a coronavirus coverage dispute.

  • November 13, 2025

    Majority Refuses To Consider Insureds’ Plea To Review Hurricane Coverage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — A majority of the Louisiana Supreme Court on Nov. 12 refused to consider insureds’ application for a supervisory writ seeking review of a lower court’s interlocutory judgment that denied their motion for summary judgment to enforce appraisal amounts in a coverage dispute over hurricanes Laura and Delta damage and vacated the lower court’s grant of Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association’s motion for partial summary judgment, ruling that the application was untimely.

  • November 13, 2025

    Federal Judge Refuses To Remand Bad Faith Suit Over Hurricane Ida Coverage Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana denied an insured’s motion to remand its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit against its insurer, holding that the court has diversity jurisdiction over the lawsuit arising from Hurricane Ida damage.