-
June 10, 2026
BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland on June 9 granted the state’s consent motion to modify a previous settlement order that dismissed without prejudice claims between Maryland, the insurer of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) and the owner and technical manager of the ship M/V Dali, which allided with and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in 2024, extending the deadline for when the dismissal converts to a dismissal with prejudice in the exoneration lawsuit.
-
June 10, 2026
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota appeals court held that a lower court correctly determined that a homeowners insurance policy’s “resident-relative” exclusion did not bar coverage for a minor’s injuries arising from a dog bite but erred in ruling that the “history of biting” exclusion did not bar coverage, partly affirming and partly reversing the lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the injured child’s representative.
-
June 09, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a federal court’s dismissal of an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking full crime coverage for its losses arising from $1,251,068.34 it paid to a fraudulent account, agreeing with the lower court that coverage is limited to the policy’s $100,000 Deception Fraud Provision.
-
June 09, 2026
CINCINNATI — A general liability insurer argued to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a lower federal court made a fundamental error in finding that it has a duty to defend against 11 underlying lawsuits alleging that human trafficking occurred at the insureds’ Red Roof hotels, asserting that the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) “imposes liability on those who participate in a sex-trafficking venture—not on mere bystanders who knew or should have known that trafficking was occurring at their establishment.”
-
June 09, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated and remanded a district court’s denial of two motions for leave to file an amended complaint filed by the successor company of an insured in a suit seeking coverage for an underlying oil contamination lawsuit because the lower court failed to “articulate its reasoning” as to why the addition of other plaintiffs would be futile.
-
June 08, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 5 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that a commercial general liability insurance policy’s assault or battery exclusion barred coverage for an underlying negligence lawsuit arising from the sexual assault of a minor by a security guard, rejecting the appellants’ argument that the term “all locations” in the policy exclusion is ambiguous.
-
June 08, 2026
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Court of Appeals affirmed on alternative grounds a tribal court’s denial of insurers’ motion to dismiss a casino and Native American tribe’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment claims seeking coverage for losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, holding that the tribal court has personal jurisdiction over the insurers by consent under the policies’ service of suit clause and through sufficient minimum contacts that are consistent with due process.
-
June 08, 2026
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida federal judge dismissed claims against four of six insurers sued by a company operating a variety of businesses, including convenience stores, seeking coverage for more than $73 million in alleged COVID-19-related losses, finding that as to the four insurers, the company failed to plead specific facts regarding instances of COVID-19 at a covered location and instead relied on conclusory allegations.
-
June 04, 2026
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appellate court panel held June 3 that an entity that purchases accounts receivable lacks standing to sue a homeowners insurer to recover payment for services related to the insured’s property damage to his home, reversing a lower court’s denial of the insurer’s motion for summary judgment and remanding for the lower court to enter judgment in favor of the insurer.
-
June 03, 2026
DECATUR, Ga. — Emory University sued its insurer for breach of contract, bad faith and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing in a Georgia court, alleging that an underlying lawsuit seeking money back after classes and services were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic alleges “precisely the types of claims” that the policy’s Educators Legal Liability (ELL) section expressly covers.
-
June 03, 2026
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California held that an umbrella insurer has a duty to defend the Roman Catholic Bishop of Orange against more than 200 underlying sexual abuse lawsuits brought under the California Child Victims Act, rejecting the insurer’s argument that the insolvency of the insured’s primary insurer does not obligate it to drop down in place of the primary insurer.
-
June 02, 2026
LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court panel held that a lower court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of an excess insurer in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying allegations that it negligently employed and supervised a teacher who sexually abused students over many years, reversing the lower court’s judgment and remanding for further proceedings.
-
June 02, 2026
ST. LOUIS — A federal magistrate judge in Missouri on June 1 granted an insurer’s unopposed motion for judgment on the pleadings in its lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying action alleging “romance fraud,” holding that the underlying claims alleging that the insured used violence and coercion to induce the underlying plaintiff to pay for his college tuition, living expenses, utilities, taxes, legal and other expenses are not occurrences that trigger coverage under the policy.
-
June 02, 2026
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota appeals court panel held June 1 that there was a conflict of interest between a general contractor and a subcontractor’s commercial general liability insurer that transformed the insurer’s duty to defend into a duty to reimburse underlying attorney fees the contractor incurred in defending a negligence suit involving a fatal motorcycle crash, reversing the lower court’s finding that the insurer did not have to pay the fees of the general contractor’s independent counsel.
-
June 01, 2026
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 29 held that the entire charge of discrimination that was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against a construction company insured “is squarely in the heartland” of a management liability insurance policy’s sexual and physical abuse exclusion, affirming a federal court’s dismissal of the coverage dispute arising from sexual harassment claims.
-
May 29, 2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California appeals court panel affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an excess errors and omissions insurer in Zoom Video Communications Inc.’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for the more than $6.6 million it paid to resolve a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation and the $85 million that it paid to settle civil lawsuits challenging its data security practices, holding that the FTC’s civil investigative demand (CID) was not a claim to trigger coverage under the policy.
-
May 28, 2026
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted an employment practices liability insurer’s motion to dismiss a construction company insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying action seeking redress of false claims and alleging prevailing wage law violations, holding that the underlying claims are not employment claims brought by or on behalf of employees to trigger coverage under the policy.
-
May 28, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court granted a joint motion to dismiss a petition for a writ of certiorari in putative class action litigation arising from an insurer’s data breach in which hackers gained access to nearly 3 million driver’s license numbers after the parties reached a settlement resolving the underlying dispute, leaving in place a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that two named plaintiffs had Article III standing to seek damages based on the dark web posting of their driver’s license numbers.
-
May 28, 2026
DALLAS — One day after an insured and its cyber insurer filed a joint motion to dismiss, a federal judge in Texas dismissed the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its more than $1.2 million in losses arising from a malware attack.
-
May 27, 2026
BOSTON — The trustees of Boston University sued its educators legal liability insurer for breach of contract and declaratory judgment in a Massachusetts court, seeking coverage for the $1.76 million in costs that the university incurred by defending against underlying class action lawsuits alleging that it breached its promise of in-person instruction and services when it transitioned to online learning in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
-
May 27, 2026
SEATTLE — The owner and operator of several Potbelly Sandwich Shop restaurants filed a notice indicating that it is appealing a Washington federal court’s grant of an employment practices liability insurer’s motion to dismiss its breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying putative class alleging that it violated the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act.
-
May 26, 2026
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 22 dismissed a commercial general liability insurer’s appeal of a lower federal court’s declaration that it has a duty to defend a hotel operator insured against an underlying sex trafficking lawsuit, holding that the appeals court lacks jurisdiction to hear the appeal.
-
May 26, 2026
CHRISTIANSTED, Virgin Islands — A federal chief judge in the Virgin Islands denied an insurer’s motion seeking reconsideration of a ruling that granted an insured’s motion to remand its lawsuit against the insurer and insurance agents arising from its property damage caused by Hurricane Maria, standing by his finding that although the insurer established that an arbitration agreement “falls under” the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, it contractually waived its right to remove the lawsuit to the federal court under the Federal Arbitration Act.
-
May 22, 2026
PORTLAND, Maine— The Supreme Court Judicial Court of Maine affirmed a lower court’s judgment dismissing a timber trespass lawsuit in which a homeowners insurer intervened, rejecting the insureds’ argument that the lawsuit should not have been dismissed so they could establish a claim of wrongful use of civil process against the plaintiff.
-
May 21, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari challenging the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ remand of a lawsuit seeking to recover subcontractors’ financial losses after a contractor and its surety allegedly did not pay them for work related to rebuilding projects in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands following Hurricane Maria, leaving undisturbed the appeals court’s instruction for the lower court to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.