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Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

  • June 11, 2025

    Vermont High Court: Watercraft Exclusion Bars Coverage For Boating Accident Injury

    MONTPELIER, Vt. — The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer in its lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend or indemnify its insureds in an underlying injury lawsuit arising from a boating accident, finding that coverage is barred by the “plain and unambiguous” language of the policy’s watercraft exclusion.

  • June 11, 2025

    Insured Had Knowledge Of Existing Dispute; No Coverage, 6th Circuit Affirms

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 10 held that an insured had knowledge of an existing dispute when it signed its professional services liability insurance policy, affirming a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurer in a coverage dispute arising from defective design and poor performance claims against the insured.

  • June 10, 2025

    Washington Panel Reverses, Remands UW’s COVID-19 Coverage Suit For Dismissal

    SEATTLE — A Washington appeals court panel on June 9 reversed a decision and remanded for a lower court to dismiss the University of Washington’s lawsuit seeking coverage for losses incurred at its medical and athletic properties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, relying on the recent ruling in Tulalip Tribes of Washington v. Lexington Insurance Co. to reject the insured’s  argument as to its entitlement to coverage.

  • June 10, 2025

    3rd Circuit Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurer In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 9 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of an insurer in coronavirus coverage disputes that were consolidated on appeal, ruling that under New Jersey law, insurance policies that insure “physical loss or damage” do not cover financial losses that were imposed by mandates in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

  • June 09, 2025

    5th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Claims, Vacates Sanction Order In Coverage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims in a homeowners insurance coverage dispute arising from a Texas city’s demolition of a building and vacated the lower court’s denial of the insurer’s second motion for sanctions.

  • June 06, 2025

    Federal Judge: District Court Does Not Have Jurisdiction To Enforce Remand Order

    BAY CITY, Mich. — A motion to enforce a remand order filed by a group of farmers was denied in a Michigan federal court in a crop insurance dispute involving a dry-bean revenue endorsement (DBRE), after the judge ruled that the court did not retain jurisdiction when the litigation was remanded and said that the farmers must file a new case under Administrative Procedures Act (APA) to continue proceedings.

  • June 06, 2025

    Motion To Compel Partially Granted In Coverage Dispute With Debris Removal Company

    NEW YORK  — Agreeing with an insured debris removal company and its principal that an insurer’s discovery request covering a 10-year period is “overly broad,” a New York federal judge partially granted the motion to compel discovery in an insurer’s suit seeking to rescind two insurance policies for purported fraudulent misrepresentations in insurance applications, granting discovery limited to one year before the initial policy application and until the end of the last policy renewal period.

  • June 05, 2025

    Delaware Judge Rules On Reserved Issues In Product Liability Coverage Dispute

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware judge resolved issues that were reserved after determining that underlying product liability claims brought against Mattel Inc. and Fisher Price Inc. (collectively, Mattel) constituted a single “occurrence” under their tower of commercial general liability insurance policies and should be allocated by the year in which the bodily injury occurred for the policies above the primary tower level, finding that fact issues preclude summary judgment on most of the reserved issues.

  • June 04, 2025

    Insured’s Negligence Complaint Against Broker Is Untimely, Indiana Panel Affirms

    INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurance broker in an insured’s lawsuit alleging that the broker negligently failed to provide advice on how to procure event cancellation insurance after the insured discovered that its insurance policies did not cover its business losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, concluding that there are no material questions of fact regarding whether Indiana’s two-year statute of limitations period expired before the insured filed its complaint.

  • June 04, 2025

    Justice: Insurer Has Duty To Defend Additional Insured Against Personal Injury Suit

    NEW YORK — A New York justice declared that an insurer has a duty to defend a plaintiff contractor against an underlying personal injury lawsuit as an additional insured and ordered the insurer to reimburse the plaintiff all attorney fees and costs that it incurred in the underlying action.

  • June 03, 2025

    Car Wash’s Breach Of Contract Suit Against Insurer Is Untimely, 9th Circuit Affirms

    PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a businessowners insurer in a car wash operator insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for two theft claims, agreeing with the lower court that the lawsuit was untimely as a matter of law.

  • June 02, 2025

    Judge Grants Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss Retailer’s Suit Arising From Coronavirus

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A federal judge in Tennessee granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss a women’s fashion retailer’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking business interruption coverage for its losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the policy terms unambiguously state that the policy does not cover losses resulting directly or indirectly from viruses pursuant to Tennessee law.

  • May 30, 2025

    Judge Grants Dismissal Motion In Coverage Row Related To Social Media Addiction MDL

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge granted insurers’ motion to dismiss a breach of contract suit filed against them by Meta Platforms Inc. and Instagram LLC over the insurers’ purported duty to defend and indemnify the insureds in a product liability multidistrict ligation regarding the alleged addictive qualities for adolescents of several of the largest social media platforms, finding that dismissal in favor of a suit in Delaware is appropriate under the first-to-file rule.

  • May 30, 2025

    Judge Grants Excess D&O Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss 4 Claims In Law Firm’s Suit

    MIAMI — A federal chief judge in Florida granted an excess directors and officers liability insurer’s motion to dismiss four claims in a law firm’s lawsuit seeking payment for the legal representation of its insured, giving the insurer until June 9 to file an answer to the complaint’s remaining four claims.

  • May 29, 2025

    Roofing Contractor Appeals Coverage Ruling For Insurer To 7th Circuit

    CHICAGO — A roofing contractor on May 28 notified an Illinois federal court that it is appealing the court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings to its insurer in the insurer’s suit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify the contractor in an underlying lawsuit alleging that the insured’s negligent repair work contributed to the collapse of a building façade, killing two people.

  • May 29, 2025

    Bump-Up Exclusion Bars D&O Coverage For $90M Settlement Over Merger, Panel Affirms

    RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 28 affirmed a lower federal court’s holding that a “bump-up” exclusion unambiguously precludes directors and officers liability insurance coverage for the $90 million settlement of two underlying lawsuits arising from a 2015 merger including $17,626,730 of the total settlement that ultimately went toward attorney fees.

  • May 29, 2025

    Magistrate Judge Allows CGL Insurer To Intervene In Ghost Guns Coverage Dispute

    NEW YORK — A New York federal magistrate judge granted a commercial general liability insurer’s motion to intervene in another insurer’s declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for underlying claims that their mutual insured violated federal, state and local laws when it deliberately sold and shipped ghost gun parts and kits to New York, concluding that permissive intervention is warranted “to facilitate the efficient resolution of disputes involving a common question of law or fact in one proceeding.”

  • May 29, 2025

    Final OK Given To $3.25 Million Settlement Of Class Action Over USAA Data Breach

    WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — An almost 4-year-old suit over a 2021 data breach experienced by United Services Automobile Association (USAA) was resolved when a New York federal judge approved a $3.25 million settlement between the insurance company and a lone lead plaintiff, disposing of claims including negligence and violation of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA).

  • May 28, 2025

    Majority Reverses Punitive Damages Ruling In Suit Arising From Hurricane Florence

    RALEIGH, N.C. — A majority of the North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed an appeals court majority’s holding that an insured’s allegations are sufficient to state a claim for negligence against an insurance agent in a lawsuit arising from Hurricane Florence property damage but  reversed its ruling as to the punitive damages claim.

  • May 28, 2025

    10th Circuit Finds Date Of Plumbing Plan Unclear, Reverses Judgment For Engineer

    DENVER — In the wake of the Wyoming Supreme Court’s ruling that the two-year statute of limitations for professional negligence claims attaches to the design that was the legal cause of the purported injury, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 27 ruled that a trial court erred in finding a subrogated homeowners insurer’s claim against a mechanical engineering firm that designed a home’s plumbing time-barred, noting that the record does not include the date of the plans the plumber used to install the faulty plumbing.

  • May 28, 2025

    Winemaker Seeks To Exclude Insurer’s Expert Witness In Dispute Over Defective Wine

    SEATTLE — A commercial winemaker moved to exclude the rebuttal testimony and report of an excess commercial general liability insurer’s expert witness in a coverage dispute arising from an underlying faulty vinification lawsuit over allegedly defective wine, arguing in a Washington federal court that the insurer’s expert’s testimony and report are properly excluded under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(c)(1).

  • May 28, 2025

    7th Circuit Refuses To Reconsider Ruling In Coverage Dispute Over BIPA Violations

    CHICAGO —The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals declined a commercial liability insurer’s invitation to reconsider its opinion that vacated and remanded a lower court’s ruling in favor of the insurer in its lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying putative class action alleging that a food ingredient manufacturer insured violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

  • May 28, 2025

    Doctor Appeals No Coverage Ruling In Suit Arising From Alleged Hidden Cameras

    NEW YORK — A doctor insured filed a notice of appeal asking the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review a lower federal court’s dismissal of her breach of contract lawsuit seeking business interruption and umbrella coverage for her losses arising from discovery of hidden cameras at her dermatology office.

  • May 27, 2025

    U.S. High Court Refuses To Review Dismissal Of Insurer’s Claims Against Law Firm

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on May 27 denied a professional liability insurer’s petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of a Montana Supreme Court’s ruling that affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of its third-party complaint alleging legal malpractice against a now bankrupt law firm and two attorneys who represented its insured in an underlying class action, leaving undisturbed the Montana Supreme Court’s holding that the insurer failed to establish the existence of personal jurisdiction over the attorneys and firm.

  • May 23, 2025

    Insurer Disputes Coverage For Suit Arising From Super Bowl Parade Shooting

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A commercial general liability insurer filed a first amended complaint in a Missouri federal court seeking a declaration that it has no duty to provide coverage for an underlying lawsuit alleging The Greater Kansas City Sports Commission did not implement adequate security measures to protect the thousands of attendees at the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade, asserting that the policy’s assault and battery exclusion bars coverage.