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Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

  • October 15, 2025

    Texas Insurance Code Violation Claims Against Homeowners Insurer Fail, Judge Says

    PECOS, Texas — An insured homeowner failed to present evidence showing that her insurer acted unreasonably in handling a claim for storm damage to her home, a Texas federal judge said in granting the homeowners insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment on claims alleging violations of the Texas Insurance Code.

  • October 15, 2025

    Wisconsin Federal Judge Says Bifurcation Will Not Prejudice Insureds

    MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin federal judge granted a homeowners insurer’s motion to bifurcate a breach of contract claim from bad faith and statutory interest claims in a fire damage coverage dispute after determining that the insureds will not be prejudiced if the claims are bifurcated.

  • October 15, 2025

    California ‘Insurer Of Last Resort’ Sued For Alleged Wrongful Denial Of Claim

    LOS ANGELES — A homeowner whose property is covered by the California FAIR Plan sued the insurance pool in state court, alleging that the state’s “insurer of last resort” unlawfully denied coverage for fire, smoke and contamination damage in violation of California insurance law after his home was damaged in the Eaton Fire.

  • October 14, 2025

    6th Circuit Majority Affirms Class Certification Order In Suit Against Auto Insurer

    CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals majority affirmed a district court’s class certification order in a suit alleging that an auto insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith in determining a vehicle’s total loss value after determining that the insured had standing to bring the suit and met the necessary requirements to certify a class.

  • October 13, 2025

    Judgment Granted For Insurer In Dispute Over $500K Life Policy For Homicide Victim

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal judge on Oct. 10 granted summary judgment for an insurer in a life insurance policy beneficiary’s breach of contract suit against the insurer for failure to pay out the proceeds of a $500,000 life insurance policy after the insured’s murder, finding that the insurer “successfully” rescinded the policy.

  • October 08, 2025

    High Court Asks Insurer To Respond To Insured’s Petition In PFAS Exposure Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court requested that an insurer file a response brief to an insured’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that a district court erred in remanding a declaratory judgment claim and retaining jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits.

  • October 08, 2025

    Federal Judge Says Law Firm, Insurer Have Settled Cyber Crime Coverage Dispute

    SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington reported that a settlement has been reached in a law firm insured’s lawsuit seeking commercial cyber insurance coverage for a breach of the firm’s security measures, striking the June 1, 2026, trial date and ordering that dismissal and settlement papers be submitted by Dec. 5.

  • October 07, 2025

    Judge Enters Dismissal After Parties Settle Hurricanes Laura, Delta Coverage Suit

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — Seven days after a federal judge in Louisiana granted an insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment, the judge entered a 60-day judgment of dismissal after the parties filed a joint notice of settlement of the insureds’ breach of contract, bad faith and negligence lawsuit seeking coverage for property damage that was caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta.

  • October 07, 2025

    No Coverage For Drain Line Piping That Could Fail In Future, Judge Says

    SAN ANTONIO — A Texas federal judge granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment on a portion of an insured’s breach of contract claim related to coverage for repair costs incurred following a water leak at an insured restaurant because the policy at issue does not require the insurer to pay for drain line piping that may fail in the future.

  • October 07, 2025

    Insureds Appeal Take-Nothing Judgment In Coverage Dispute Arising From Storm Damage

    TYLER, Texas — Insureds filed a notice indicating that they are appealing a Texas federal court’s take-nothing judgment in favor of a commercial property insurer in a coverage dispute arising from property damage that was caused by a wind and hailstorm.

  • October 06, 2025

    Common-Law Bad Faith Claim In Storm Damage Suit Will Proceed, Judge Says

    SAN ANTONIO — An insured’s common-law bad faith claim alleged against a homeowners insurer can proceed because a question of fact exists regarding the reasonableness of the insurer’s investigation of the storm damage incurred at the insured’s home; however, a portion of the insured’s claim alleging violation of the Texas Insurance Code cannot proceed because the insured failed to show that the insurer made a misrepresentation on which the insured relied, a Texas federal judge said in partially granting and partially denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • October 03, 2025

    Federal Judge: Insurer Entitled To Rescission, Would Have Breached Duties Otherwise

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois determined that an insurer was entitled to rescind a directors, officers and corporate liability insurance policy in a telecommunications business insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from underlying allegations under the Illinois False Claims Act (IFCA), concluding that the insurer would have breached its duties to defend and indemnify the insured had it not been entitled to rescission.

  • October 03, 2025

    Bad Faith Coverage Case Dismissed After Insurer Granted Summary Judgment

    ABILENE, Texas — A Texas federal judge adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation to grant summary judgment to an insurer and dismiss with prejudice a policyholder’s breach of contract, bad faith and statutory claims arising from a hail damage coverage dispute, finding that the policyholder failed to distinguish covered hail damage from noncovered causes under Texas’ concurrent causation doctrine.

  • October 03, 2025

    Insured Fails To Show How Auto Insurer’s Conduct Constitutes Bad Faith, Judge Says

    SCRANTON, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge dismissed without prejudice a bad faith claim alleged against an auto insurer after determining that the insured’s complaint fails to provide sufficient facts detailing how the insurer’s refusal to tender the policy limit constitutes bad faith.

  • October 02, 2025

    11th Circuit Says Auto Insurer Did Not Act In Bad Faith In Handling Insured’s Claim

    ATLANTA — A district court properly entered summary judgment in favor of an auto insurer because the insured’s assignee failed to show that the insurer acted in bad faith in investigating an auto accident in which its insured was involved or in handling settlement negotiations on behalf of its insured, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said.

  • October 01, 2025

    Judge: Insurer Properly Asserted Collusion In Case Brought After Defective Work

    DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment of a townhome management company, as subrogee for a contractor’s complaint against it for insurance bad faith regarding the coverage of an underlying action the company brought against a contractor for alleged defective construction work in repairing the townhome community’s buildings’ roofs, gutters and siding; the judge found that the facts establish that a Nunn agreement between the company and the contractor was the result of collusion.

  • October 01, 2025

    Judge: Misappropriation Of Funds Exclusion Bars Professional Liability Coverage

    FRESNO, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted a professional liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying claims alleging that the insured conducted a negligent background check on a client’s potential employee, ruling that the policy exclusion for “misappropriation of funds” unambiguously bars coverage.

  • September 30, 2025

    Insured Appeals Federal Court’s Ruling That Flood Damage Claims Are Time-Barred

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — An insured filed a notice appealing 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, challenging the court’s grant of the insurer’s motion for summary judgment on her claims for breach of contract and bad faith.

  • September 29, 2025

    Judge Rules For Final Insurer In Bad Faith Suit Arising From Construction Defects

    DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado granted the last remaining defendant insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a  plaintiff insurer’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking recovery of the defense and settlement costs that it paid on behalf of its general contractor insured in an underlying construction defects lawsuit but denied the defendant insurer’s request for attorney fees because the lawsuit was not frivolous.

  • September 29, 2025

    Unit Owner Has No Right Of Action Against Insurer, Louisiana Panel Affirms

    GRETNA, La. — The Louisiana appeals panel concluded that a condominium unit owner does not enjoy a third-party beneficiary status and has no right of action against a commercial line insurer, affirming a lower court’s judgment sustaining the insurer’s peremptory exceptions and dismissing the unit owner’s breach of contract and bad faith claims in a Hurricane Ida coverage dispute.

  • September 29, 2025

    N.Y. Federal Judge Tosses Cafe Owner's Bad Faith Claim On Duplicity Grounds

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted an insurer’s partial motion to dismiss a cafe owner’s breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing claim against it, finding that it is duplicative of the cafe owner’s breach of contract claim because both are based on the same alleged refusal by the insurer to pay business interruption losses following a gas services shutdown.

  • September 24, 2025

    Tractor Damage Not Covered; Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims Fail, Panel Says

    BOISE, Idaho — A trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to a homeowners insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith suit stemming from a dispute over coverage for a damaged tractor because the tractor was not damaged as a result of an impact with a vehicle as required under the policy, the Idaho Court of Appeals said.

  • September 24, 2025

    Insureds Fail To Support Bad Faith Claims Alleged Against Insurer, Judge Says

    DENVER — A Colorado federal judge determined that common-law and statutory bad faith claims alleged against a property insurer in a hail damage coverage dispute must be dismissed without prejudice because the insureds failed to include sufficient factual material in support of the claims.

  • September 23, 2025

    Insurer Answers Bad Faith Complaint In California Storm Damage Coverage Suit

    LOS ANGELES — Following a California court’s ruling that overruled its demurrer to an insured’s claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and denied its motion to strike all references to punitive damages, an insurer filed its answer to the insured’s first amended complaint in a coverage dispute over storm damage.

  • September 23, 2025

    Jury Properly Instructed On Causation In Bad Faith Suit Against Insurer, Panel Says

    TAMPA, Fla. — A trial court did not err in instructing a jury that to find that an auto insurer acted in bad faith, the jury must find that the insurer’s bad faith conduct was the cause of a $13.5 million excess verdict entered against an insured, the Second District Florida Court of Appeals said.