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Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

  • July 24, 2025

    Bad Faith Claim Cannot Proceed In Collapse Coverage Suit, Federal Judge Says

    PHILADELPHIA — An insured’s bad faith claim against a homeowners insurer in a dispute over coverage for the collapse of a floor within the insured’s home cannot proceed because the insurer’s reliance on its engineering reports in denying the insured’s claim was reasonable, a Pennsylvania federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • July 24, 2025

    Insured Not Permitted To Add Bad Faith Claim Against Auto Insurer

    DENVER — A Colorado federal magistrate judge denied an insured’s motion to file an amended complaint to allege a bad faith claim against an auto insurer after determining that the insured failed to show good cause for the late request, filed less than two months before trial is scheduled to begin on the insured’s breach of contract claim.

  • July 24, 2025

    8th Circuit Refuses To Reconsider Ruling In Storm Damage Dispute

    ST. LOUIS —The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied an insured’s assignee motion to rehear an earlier ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from storm damage.

  • July 24, 2025

    Bad Faith Claim Against Property Insurer In Hurricane Damage Suit Will Not Proceed

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge on July 23 granted a property insurer’s motion for summary judgment on an insured’s bad faith claim in a dispute over coverage for hurricane damages after determining that the insurer reasonably questioned the scope and cause of the insured’s damages.

  • July 23, 2025

    Insurer Seeks Rehearing After 4th Circuit Finds Some Coverage Of Stucco Claims

    RICHMOND, Va. — A commercial general liability insurer sought rehearing in the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after a panel of the Fourth Circuit found the insurer owed no coverage to a general contractor for costs incurred repairing faulty stucco, but found the trial court erred in dismissing as moot the contractor’s breach of contract and bad faith claims, arguing the evidence does not support vacating the lower court’s denial of the contractor’s motion for partial summary judgment.

  • July 22, 2025

    11th Circuit Affirms $1.75M Judgment For Insured In Bad Faith Storm Damage Row

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 21 affirmed a $1.75 million judgment for an insured church in its bad faith and breach of contract dispute with its insurer over storm damage coverage, finding “no basis to revisit the evidentiary ruling” in which the lower court excluded evidence of alleged misrepresentation by the insured.

  • July 22, 2025

    No Coverage Owed To Insured, Judgment Properly Entered For Insurer, Panel Says

    SEATTLE — A district court properly entered summary judgment in favor of an insurer on breach of contract and extracontractual claims because no coverage is owed to the insured for an underlying property damage and environmental cleanup suit as the underlying suit did not arise out of an occurrence as required by the policies at issue, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said July 21.

  • July 22, 2025

    No Coverage Owed For Damaged AC Units Because Hotel Was Vacant, Panel Affirms

    CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined that a lower federal court’s discovery sanctions against a hotel owner insured were “an appropriate, proportionate response” to the insured’s failure to produce requested documents as to the hotel’s occupancy and not an abuse of discretion, affirming a lower court’s ruling that there was no coverage owed for the hotel’s damaged air conditioner units because the hotel was vacant at the time of the vandalism and the insurer did not act in bad faith.

  • July 22, 2025

    Federal Judge Transfers Bad Faith Suit Against Insolvent Insurer To State Court

    LAS VEGAS — A Nevada federal judge granted an insolvent insurer’s motion to transfer a bad faith insurance suit against it by a person claiming that she was injured in an auto accident with the driver of a vehicle insured by the insolvent insurer, finding good cause to grant the transfer to a Kansas state court upon the state court entering a judgment of liquidation and finding of insolvency as to the insurer.

  • July 22, 2025

    Issues Of Fact Preclude Judgment In Water, Mold Damage Suit, Magistrate Judge Says

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal magistrate judge partially denied a motion for summary judgment filed by insureds in a water and mold damage coverage dispute after determining that “too many issues of material fact” exist regarding whether the homeowners insurer breached its contract or acted unreasonably in handling the insureds’ claim.

  • July 18, 2025

    Panel: Insurer Has No Duty To Indemnify $58.5M Judgment Over Mishandled Bodies

    PASEDENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that a commercial insurer has no duty to indemnify a convicted felon for a $58.5 million underlying state court judgment for his mishandling of donated bodies, finding that the appellants are collaterally estopped from relitigating the issue of the felon’s relationship with the insured company.

  • July 16, 2025

    Portion Of Bad Faith Claim Will Proceed Against Insurer In Hurricane Damage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — A portion of an insured’s bad faith claim alleged against a homeowners insurer can proceed, a Louisiana federal judge said after determining that questions of fact exist as to what information the insurer possessed regarding damages to the insured’s home when it issued its initial payments under the homeowners policy.

  • July 15, 2025

    Insured Appeals Denial Of Motion For Relief From Judgment In Coronavirus Suit

    ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. —A hotel and restaurant owner insurer notified a North Carolina federal court that it is asking the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal to review the court’s recent denial of its motion for relief from a 2021 judgment dismissing its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

  • July 15, 2025

    2nd Amended Complaint Sufficiently Supports Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims

    LAS VEGAS — A Nevada federal judge on July 14 denied an auto insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged in a second amended complaint (SAC) because the insured added additional factual details that support the insured’s claims for breach of contract, bad faith and breach of statutory duties.

  • July 15, 2025

    9th Circuit Revives Breach Claim In Disability Row Involving COVID Risk

    SAN FRANCISCO — In an unpublished July 14 memorandum disposition, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals revived a breach of contract claim, but not a bad faith claim, in a suit an oral surgeon filed after unsuccessfully seeking disability benefits on the grounds that his comorbid conditions and inability to access recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) made it necessary to close his practice early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • July 14, 2025

    Mine Workers’ Claims Against Insurer Cannot Proceed, Federal Magistrate Judge Says

    GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Claims alleged against an insurer of the state of Montana by mine workers who were exposed to asbestos cannot proceed because the mine workers are judicially estopped from bringing the claims against the insurer because they admitted in the underlying suit against the state that the insurer had a reasonable basis to deny coverage, a Montana federal magistrate judge said in granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss.

  • July 14, 2025

    Homebuyer Lacks Standing To Sue Insurer For Hurricane Coverage, 5th Circuit Affirms

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking further insurance proceeds to repair property damage caused by hurricanes Laura and Delta, rejecting the appellant’s argument that his house purchase included an assignment of post-loss rights to pursue insurance claims for hurricane damage.

  • July 14, 2025

    Insureds’ Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Suit Must Be Remanded, Judge Says

    OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma federal judge granted a motion to remand a breach of contract and bad faith suit filed by insureds after determining that complete diversity of citizenship does not exist because the homeowners insurer failed to meet its burden of showing that the insureds’ claims against a nondiverse insurance agent could not proceed.

  • July 14, 2025

    As Recommended, Disability Claimant Wins Summary Judgment On Contract Breach Claim

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — A claimant who sought summary judgment on three of five counts in his suit over termination of disability benefits was granted it on a single breach of contract claim, with a New York federal judge briefly overruling the defendants’ objections to a report and recommendation he adopted; the ruling leaves claims including breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing pending.

  • July 14, 2025

    Insureds Permitted To Amend Complaint To Add Request For Punitive Damages

    PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon federal magistrate judge granted insureds leave to file an amended complaint against their homeowners insurer to add a request for punitive damages because the insurer failed to show that amendment would be futile or that it would be prejudiced if an amended complaint is filed.

  • July 11, 2025

    Extracontractual Claims Against Homeowners Insurer Can Proceed, Federal Judge Says

    AUSTIN, Texas — An insured’s extracontractual claims alleged against a homeowners insurer in a dispute over the insured’s claim for hailstorm damages can proceed because the insured states specific facts to support his contention that the insurer acted in bad faith and made misrepresentations regarding the coverage available under the policy, a Texas federal judge said in denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss.

  • July 11, 2025

    Panel: Radioactive Matter Exclusion Bars Coverage For Radiation Exposure Claims

    CHICAGO — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a district court’s ruling that no coverage is owed by insurers pursuant to policies’ radioactive materialsexclusion for an underlying suit seeking damages for bodily injuries caused by exposure to electromagnetic (EMF) radiation from the insured’s electric transformers because the exclusion bars all claims related to any form of radiation.

  • July 10, 2025

    District Court Properly Excluded Portions Of Expert Witness Testimony, Panel Says

    ATLANTA — A district court did not err in excluding portions of an expert’s witness testimony because the expert witness’s opinions on the cause of the insured’s water and mold damages and the insurer’s alleged bad faith conduct were not disclosed before the insurer’s deposition of the expert witness as required under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B), the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said July 9 in affirming the district court’s ruling.

  • July 09, 2025

    Bad Faith, Unfair Insurance Practices Claims Dismissed In Remediation Coverage Suit

    LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A New Mexico federal judge granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss claims alleging bad faith and violations of New Mexico Unfair Insurance Practices Act (NMUIPA) after determining that the insureds, which are seeking coverage for environmental contamination remediation costs related to the release of a waste byproduct from a gas pipeline, failed to show that the insurer’s reservation of its right to deny coverage was arbitrary or unreasonable.

  • July 09, 2025

    4th Circuit Finds Some Coverage Possible in Suit Over Faulty Stucco Claims

    RICHMOND, Va. — A panel of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that a commercial general liability insurer owned no coverage to a general contractor for the costs incurred in repairing faulty stucco, but said the trial court erred in dismissing as moot the contractor’s breach of contract and bad faith claims because the court didn’t assess whether the costs associated with the property damage were covered under the policy.