Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

June 16, 2025
Auto Insurer Dismissed From Class Action Complaint Alleging Barratry, Conspiracy

HOUSTON — Two days after insureds filed a notice to voluntary dismiss an automobile insurer from their second amended class action complaint alleging claims for barratry and conspiracy by illegally sharing the personal information of car accident victims for solicitation, a federal judge in Texas dismissed the insurer with prejudice.
June 16, 2025
Supreme Court Denies Auto Insurers’ Petition To Review Class Decertification Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 16 denied automobile insurers’ petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals majority’s conclusion that a lower court abused its discretion when it decertified a negotiation class because the insureds established that “injury could be calculated on a class-wide basis.”
June 16, 2025
Mold Exclusion Bars Coverage For Underlying Wrongful Death Suit, Panel Says

TRENTON, N.J. — A trial court erred in finding that a mold exclusion is ambiguous because the exclusion clearly precludes coverage for bodily injury or property damage claims caused directly or indirectly by mold, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division said June 13 in partially reversing a trial court’s ruling.
June 16, 2025
Issue Preclusion Bars Claims Under Renters Insurance Policy, 9th Circuit Affirms

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in its insured’s lawsuit seeking renters insurance coverage for an underlying arbitration award, agreeing with the lower court that issue preclusion bars the insured’s claims for declaratory relief, breach of contract and negligence per se.
June 13, 2025
Split Louisiana Panel Reverses Judgment For Insurer In Asbestos Liability Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — A split Louisiana appellate court reversed and remanded a lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment to an insurer and to the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) but denying a motion for partial summary judgment filed by family members in a dispute over their deceased relative’s death purportedly from asbestos exposure, finding that issues of fact remain regarding the failure of the insurer and LIGA to show the applicability of a certain policy exclusion to bar coverage.
June 13, 2025
Magistrate Partly Grants Insured’s Motion To Compel In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York 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 its “all risk” insurers to produce certain documents they have withheld as privileged in a coronavirus coverage dispute, directing the insurers to produce communications with their reinsurers and produce documents containing reserve information unless there is another viable ground for withholding.
June 12, 2025
Class Action Alleges Insurer Intentionally Disclosed Driver’s License Numbers

NEW YORK — A class action complaint for violation of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) was brought against Lemonade Inc. in a New York federal court on June 9, alleging that the insurer knowingly and intentionally obtained, used and disclosed class members’ driver’s license numbers and other personal information on its online quoting platform that was ultimately accessed by cybercriminals.
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).