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Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

  • November 17, 2025

    Calif. Federal Case Closed After CGL Insurer, Construction Company Seek Dismissal

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The same day a commercial general liability insurer and a construction company insured filed a stipulation to dismiss all claims, counterclaims and a cross-claim in a coverage dispute arising from alleged construction defects in a concrete slab the insured poured for a new building, a federal court in California terminated the entire action.

  • November 17, 2025

    Fact Issues Exist As To Whether Delay Of UIM Payment Was Reasonable

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge denied an insured’s motion for summary judgment on a bad faith claim alleged against her auto insurer because questions of fact exist as to whether the insurer’s delay in paying the insured’s underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits claim was reasonable.

  • November 17, 2025

    Bad Faith Claim Against Property Insurer Can Proceed, Federal Magistrate Judge Says

    TULSA, Okla. — A bad faith claim alleged against a property insurer can proceed because the bad faith claim is subject to Oklahoma’s two-year statute of limitations rather than the insurance policy’s one-year suit limitation provision, an Oklahoma federal magistrate judge said in partially denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss.

  • November 17, 2025

    Ohio Panel Says Trial Court Properly Found Appraisal Not Warranted Under Policy

    MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — A trial court did not err in denying an insured’s motion to compel appraisal and granting a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and bad faith claims because matters of law and coverage cannot be determined through appraisal, the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals said in affirming the lower court’s rulings.

  • November 14, 2025

    Trial Court Properly Found Auto Insurer Did Not Act In Bad Faith, Panel Says

    FRANKFORT, Ky. — An auto insurer did not act in bad faith in handling a claim on behalf of its insured because the insurer promptly made offers to settle claims against its insured and clarified the scope of a release when questioned by the claimants, a Kentucky Court of Appeals panel said in affirming a trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer.

  • 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.

  • November 12, 2025

    Insured’s Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims Properly Dismissed, Panel Says

    PHILADELPHIA — A trial court did not err in dismissing an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims against a homeowners insurer and its agent because the insured cannot establish justifiable reliance on an oral contract that the insured claims existed between the parties, a panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court said in affirming.

  • November 10, 2025

    COMMENTARY: Uh-EUO: How Examinations Under Oath Impact Claims

    By Rachel E. Hudgins, Kevin V. Small and Charlotte E. Leszinske

  • November 12, 2025

    Subcontractor, Insurer Settle Dispute Over Defense Of Action Over Microtunneling

    SEATTLE — A subcontractor and its insurer filed a notice of settlement in a case brought by the subcontractor alleging that the insurer failed to defend it against a counterclaim in an underlying suit arising out of the subcontractor’s microtunneling work for a water project in Seattle.

  • November 10, 2025

    Broker Claims Ex-Employee Disclosed Captive Insurance Trade Secrets To New Firm

    PHOENIX — An insurance brokerage firm filed a verified amended complaint in an Arizona federal court alleging that a former employee misappropriated trade secrets and breached a contract by transferring captive insurance client information to his new employer in violation of an agreement barring disclosure of confidential data and solicitation of former clients.

  • November 10, 2025

    S.D. High Court Affirms Auto Coverage Dispute Ruling Involving Social Media Search

    PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling denying judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) to an auto insurer and granting an insured’s request for attorney fees in a dispute over underinsured motorist benefits (UIM) after a jury returned a verdict in favor of the insured, finding that the lower court did not err in denying JMOL because a jury could have found that the insurer did not act reasonably in denying the UIM claim in part because the claim review did not go beyond examining documents supplied by the insured and a review of his social media accounts.

  • November 10, 2025

    Putative Damages Dismissed Against Subcontractor’s Insurer; Other Claims Proceed

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California found a construction company did not sufficiently plead punitive damages in its third amended complaint (TAC) against its subcontractor’s insurer for damages the company alleges were caused by using the subcontractor’s drawings for the project, but allowed the construction company’s other claims against the insurer to proceed.

  • November 07, 2025

    Bad Faith Verdict Against Auto Insurer Was Supported By Evidence, Panel Says

    ATLANTA — A district court did not err in denying an auto insurer’s posttrial motion on a bad faith verdict entered against the auto insurer because the evidence at trial was sufficient to support the jury’s finding that the insurer acted in bad faith in handling a claim asserted against the insureds, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said.

  • November 07, 2025

    Insured Appeals $348,000 Award In Asbestos Indemnity Coverage Case

    NEW ORLEANS — An insurance company filed a notice indicating that it would appeal a decision finding it liable for the defense of an asbestos suit in a case in which a federal judge in Louisiana awarded $348,000 for breach of contract but finding that its arguments were not frivolous.

  • November 06, 2025

    Judge: Insured’s Failure To Toll Statute Of Limitations Is Fatal To Claims

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from hail and wind damage to the roofs of its 27-building condominium complex, holding that the insured’s failure to toll the statute of limitations is fatal to its claims.

  • November 05, 2025

    Insured’s Appeal In Flood Damage Dispute Dismissed For Want Of Prosecution

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed an insured’s appeal of a Louisiana federal court’s ruling that her claims for flood damage caused by Hurricane Delta and a separate flood event are time-barred under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) and must be dismissed with prejudice, noting that the insured failed to timely pay the fee on appeal.

  • November 04, 2025

    N.J. Panel Affirms Judgment For Insurer In Fire Coverage Dispute With Homeowners

    TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appellate court affirmed a lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment to an insurer in homeowners’ breach of contract and bad faith suit over the insurer’s purported failure to cover fire damage, ruling that the lower court did not err in finding that policy rescission was appropriate because the homeowners did not comply with the policy provision requiring that they “customarily occupy” the insured premises.

  • November 04, 2025

    Judge Awards Insured $348,000 In Asbestos Indemnity Coverage Case

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana, declining to reconsider his decision holding an insurer liable for defense costs in an asbestos case, said he would award $348,000 for breach of contract but rejected arguments that the insurer’s conduct constituted bad faith or misrepresentations about the policy.

  • November 03, 2025

    Bifurcation, Discovery Stay Affirmed In Bad Faith Insurance Coverage Dispute

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut appeals court affirmed a trial court’s judgment in an insurance coverage dispute arising from an automobile collision, holding that the lower court properly exercised its discretion in bifurcating the proceedings and staying discovery and correctly entered judgment against the policyholder after finding no evidence of unfair settlement practices or bad faith on the insurer’s part and determining that the claimant failed to provide an adequate record for appellate review.

  • November 03, 2025

    Pa. Superior Court Vacates $1.7M Award, Upholds Bad Faith Finding Against Insurer

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a trial court’s ruling that an auto insurer acted in bad faith in withholding a portion of an arbitration award but vacated the trial court’s $1.7 million award entered in favor of the insureds because the trial court improperly calculated the awards of attorney fees and interest.

  • October 31, 2025

    Some Claims Survive Dismissal In Suit Over Disability Policy ‘Age 65’ Language

    PHOENIX — Bad faith, breach of contract and reformation claims survived a dismissal bid in a putative class case over whether certain individual long-term disability (LTD) benefits must be paid through eligible insureds’ 65th birthdays, and an Arizona federal judge allowed limited leave to amend as to claims he dismissed in the Oct. 30 order.

  • October 31, 2025

    Bad Faith Claims In Storm Damage Suit Cannot Proceed Against Insurer, Judge Says

    SAN ANTONIO — An insured’s bad faith claims, alleged under the Texas Insurance Code and Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), cannot proceed because the insured failed to show that the homeowners insurer’s coverage decision or conduct in handling the insured’s storm damage claim were unreasonable, a Texas federal judge said.

  • October 31, 2025

    Third-Party Bad Faith Claim Fails, West Virginia Federal Judge Says

    BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — A third-party claimant cannot allege a claim for bad faith against the insurer of a West Virginia police department because third-party bad faith claims are not recognized under West Virginia law, a West Virginia federal judge said in adopting a magistrate judge’s recommendation to grant the insurer’s motion to dismiss.

  • October 30, 2025

    Bad Faith Claim Against Church Insurer Cannot Proceed, Judge Says

    SAN ANTONIO — An insured church’s bad faith claim alleged against its insurer cannot proceed because the insurer’s conduct in handling the insured’s storm damage claim does not rise to the level of bad faith, a Texas federal judge said in partially granting and partially denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • October 29, 2025

    Insurer Says Bad Faith Complaint Is Mooted By Arbitration Award Payout

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An insurer claims in an Arkansas federal court that a crop insurance lawsuit filed by two farmers should be dismissed as moot, asserting it already paid the arbitration award the farmers seek to confirm and that any additional claims are barred by the arbitration proceeding; in their complaint, the farmers accuse the insurer of bad faith and breach of contract in connection with the denial of coverage for their weather-related crop losses.