Newsletter RSS

Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

  • December 09, 2025

    Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurers’ Favor In Bad Faith Suit Over Factory Work Death

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 8 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of insurers in a plastics manufacturer’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking indemnification for the settlement of an underlying lawsuit brought by the family of the insured’s factory employee who was killed on the job, holding that the policies bar coverage for the underlying claim that the insured violated Ohio’s employer intentional tort statute.

  • December 09, 2025

    Liability Provisions In FAIR Plan Order Exceeded Statutory Limits, Panel Rules

    LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel ruled that the state’s insurance commissioner lacked statutory authority to require the California FAIR Plan Association to offer liability coverages, holding that state law limits the FAIR Plan to first-party property risks, and directed the lower court to vacate its prior denial of the FAIR Plan Association’s writ of mandate and enter a new order granting the petition.

  • 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

    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

    Father Of Minor Accused Of N.C. Shooting Rampage Seeks To Dismiss Insurer’s Suit

    RALEIGH, N.C.— The father of an unemancipated minor accused of going on shooting rampage that killed several people in a Raleigh neighborhood asked a North Carolina federal court on Dec. 4 to dismiss his homeowners insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend and indemnify against the underlying action, arguing that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over him because the insurer failed to effect timely service of its complaint.

  • December 05, 2025

    1st Circuit Tosses Appeal Of Judgment For Insurer In Yacht Fire Damage Dispute

    BOSTON — After the parties filed a joint stipulation of voluntary dismissal, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal of a ruling granting in part summary judgment to a yacht insurer in a fire coverage dispute in which the insurer sought to void the policy for purported material misrepresentations in the policy application.

  • December 03, 2025

    Judge Grants Arbitration, Stays Wiretap Class Action Against Toyota, Progressive

    SHERMAN, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Dec. 2 granted Toyota Motor North America Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration and stay a class action alleging that Toyota, Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. and a provider of data analytics services in the automotive industry violated the Federal Wiretap Act and are responsible for injuries they inflicted on tens of thousands of class members because of their unauthorized collection and dissemination of private information from Toyota vehicles.

  • 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 03, 2025

    Federal Judge: Insurer Has Duty To Defend Sexual Abuse Suit Against Fencing Coach

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ruling on dueling motions for summary judgment, a federal judge in Tennessee held that a negligence claim in an underlying sexual abuse lawsuit against a fencing coach “gives rise as a matter of law” to an insurer’s duty to defend its insureds against all claims in the underlying action.

  • December 03, 2025

    Financial Interest Exclusion Bars Professional Liability Coverage For Fraud Suits

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted a professional liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend and indemnify its insured and real estate agents in underlying fraud lawsuits, holding that the financial interest exclusion bars coverage for all 13 underlying actions.

  • December 02, 2025

    Judge: No Professional Liability Coverage Owed For Untimely Claim Against Attorney

    EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois granted a lawyers professional liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying lawsuit seeking $753,611.59 against its attorney insured, ruling that the underlying claim was untimely and the policy’s Automatic Extended Reporting Period and Optional Extended Reporting Period provide no refuge.

  • December 02, 2025

    Employers Liability Exclusion Bars Coverage, 11th Circuit Rules In Reversal

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined that a general liability insurance policy’s employers liability exclusion barred coverage for injuries suffered by a convenience store employee who was shot while leaving work, reversing a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling against an insurer and remanding for further proceedings.

  • December 02, 2025

    Medical Malpractice Claimants Lack Standing To Sue Insurer, Connecticut Judge Rules

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut judge granted a professional liability insurer’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit seeking a declaration as to coverage for an underlying medical malpractice action, holding that the plaintiffs have failed to establish a justiciable right and, as a result, lack standing to sue the insurer for declaratory judgment.

  • 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 21, 2025

    COMMENTARY: Testing The Boundaries Of Product Liability For AI Products: How To Hold An Insurance Company Liable For AI Errors

    By Jamie O’Neill and Abigail Damsky

  • November 24, 2025

    Federal Judge Dismisses Cybercrime Coverage Suit After Parties Reach Settlement

    SEATTLE — Following a settlement that was announced in October, a federal judge in Washington dismissed with prejudice a law firm insured’s lawsuit seeking commercial cyber insurance coverage for a breach of the firm’s security measures.

  • November 21, 2025

    1st Circuit Rejects Insurer’s Appeal In Health Data Breach Dispute

    BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 20 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a cybersecurity company in a lawsuit arising from a 2018 health data breach, rejecting an insurer’s argument that the lower court erred in denying it equitable indemnification from the cybersecurity company.

  • November 20, 2025

    Judge Dismisses 1 Claim In Insurer’s Coverage Suit Over Consumer Fraud Action

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on Nov. 19 granted in part and denied in part an embryo storage lab’s motion to dismiss its professional liability insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend or indemnify the lab for an underlying class action alleging that the insured engaged in false and deceptive advertising and failed to fully disclose the accuracy of preimplantation genetic testing, dismissing one of the insurer’s declaratory judgment counts for failure to state a claim.

  • November 19, 2025

    Panel: No Indemnification Owed For Negligence Suit Over Sexual Abuse Of Patients

    FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Kentucky appeals court panel affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a liability insurer in its lawsuit disputing indemnity coverage for underlying negligent retention and negligent supervision claims that were brought against its insured, holding that the appellants failed to demonstrate that coverage was triggered by an “occurrence” under the policy and that the policy's “expected or intended” exclusion precluded coverage.

  • November 19, 2025

    Panel: Assault And Battery Exclusion Bars Coverage For Battery, Negligence Claims

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a bar’s insurer in a lawsuit brought by a patron who was hit in the head by a bottle that bounced off another patron at the insured’s premises, holding that the policy’s unambiguous assault and battery exclusion bars coverage for the patron’s battery and negligence claims.