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Mealey's California Insurance

  • April 08, 2026

    Magistrate Allows 2 Claims To Proceed In Rainstorm Coverage Suit

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California denied an insurer and claims administrator’s motion to dismiss an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims in her lawsuit seeking flood coverage for damage to her San Anselmo, Calif., home caused by a rainstorm, but granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the insured’s claims for unfair competition, intentional misrepresentation, punitive damages, restitution, disgorgement and injunctive relief.

  • April 07, 2026

    No Coverage Owed For 1 Underlying PFAS Exposure Suit, Magistrate Judge Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge found that no coverage is owed to an insured for one of many underlying lawsuits filed against it alleging injuries related to exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) allegedly contained in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) that were manufactured and sold by the insured after determining that the underlying suit at issue involves exposure that occurred decades before the insured’s existence.

  • April 07, 2026

    Insured’s Suit Against Environmental Liability Insurer Is Time-Barred, Judge Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — An insured’s breach of contract and bad faith suit filed against its environmental liability insurer after the insurer denied coverage for lost rental income incurred as a result of lead and asbestos abatement work cannot proceed because the insured failed to file suit within the applicable four-year statute of limitations, a California federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings.

  • April 06, 2026

    Judge Failed To Address California Case Law On Pollution Exclusion, Insurer Says

    LOS ANGELES — Reconsideration of a California federal judge’s finding that an insurer has a duty to defend its insured for underlying silica bodily injury suits is warranted because the judge failed to address controlling California authority that is relevant to the application of a total pollution exclusion in the insurer’s policies as opposed to an absolute pollution exclusion, the insurer contends in a motion to reconsider.

  • April 01, 2026

    LTD Benefits Termination After 11 Years Is Ruled Error In Case Involving MS

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Ruling in favor of a plaintiff with multiple sclerosis (MS) who received long-term disability (LTD) benefits for more than 11 years before they were terminated, a California federal judge concluded on de novo review that “the preponderance of the evidence shows that” the former national account sales manager “could not perform any gainful occupation that requires sedentary occupational demands because of physical symptoms of MS in his legs” at the time of the termination.

  • April 01, 2026

    Judgment Granted For Insurer In Suit Over Underlying Wrongful Death Litigation

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge granted an insurer’s motion for default judgment in its declaratory judgment suit against its insured related to underlying wrongful death litigation, finding that under the policy’s business description endorsement, the insurer has no duty to defend and indemnify in the underlying suit and that rescission is appropriate because of “the material misrepresentations” in the insured’s application for insurance.

  • April 01, 2026

    California Jury Finds ‘House Of Cards’ Producers Failed To Show Loss Under Policy

    SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A California jury reached a special verdict on a breach of contract claim brought against an insurer by the producers of the Netflix show “House of Cards,” finding that the producers failed to prove that they incurred a loss by spending more than they originally budgeted for the show because actor Kevin Spacey was rendered unable to complete his performance on the show due to “sickness.”

  • March 30, 2026

    Insurer Says No Coverage Owed For Underlying Silica Exposure Lawsuits

    LOS ANGELES — No coverage is owed to an insured for underlying bodily injury lawsuits stemming from exposure to silica dust created by the cutting of stone countertops because the claims alleged in the underlying suits are barred by the policies’ employer’s liability exclusion and pollution exclusion, the insurer says in a complaint filed in California federal court.

  • March 27, 2026

    Homeowners Sue California FAIR Plan Association Over Wildfire Claim Handling

    LOS ANGELES — Joining a wave of lawsuits alleging that the California FAIR Plan Association (CFPA) improperly processes wildfire-related property insurance claims related to the 2025 Eaton and Palisades wildfires, two individuals who own a residential property filed a complaint in a California state court alleging that CFPA underpaid and mishandled their claim through unlawful claims practices.

  • March 24, 2026

    Coverage Suit Arising From Tubbs Fire Was Not Timely Filed, 9th Circuit Affirms

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 23 held that an insured failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether she timely filed her lawsuit seeking coverage for her alleged loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal belongings that were destroyed by the Tubbs Fire in October 2017, affirming a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurers in her five-year-old pro se lawsuit alleging claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, misrepresentation, emotional distress and violations of the Unruh Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and California Business and Professions Code Section 17200.

  • March 24, 2026

    Insureds Failed To Show Pollution Suit Is Potentially Covered, Judge Says

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on March 23 denied a motion to dismiss or stay a declaratory judgment suit filed by insurers after determining that the insureds failed to show how an underlying suit alleging that the insureds unlawfully discharged pollutants into area waterways states, or could state, a covered claim that would require the insurers to defend the insureds.

  • March 24, 2026

    Insurer Owes Duty To Defend Insured In Underlying Silica Suits, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — An insurer has a duty to defend its insured for underlying bodily injury suits filed against the insured stemming from silica dust exposure from the insured’s products because the insurer failed to meet its burden of showing that the underlying suits are barred by the pollution exclusion included in primary and excess policies, a California federal judge said in denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment and granting the insured’s motion for summary judgment.

  • March 20, 2026

    Punitive Damages Claim Cannot Survive Dismissal As Pleaded, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s negligent misrepresentation claim because the insured plausibly alleged that the insurer negligently misrepresented its need for additional information about the vandalism of the insured’s property; however, the judge granted the insurer’s motion as it applied to the insured’s claim for punitive damages because such a claim is not an independent cause of action.

  • March 20, 2026

    Insurer: Judge Should Reject Developer’s Fee Calculations In Coverage Dispute

    LOS ANGELES —A general liability insurer filed a reply in support of its motion for reconsideration asking a federal judge in California to reconsider his grant of summary judgment to developers in the developers’ case seeking coverage for construction defects, arguing that the judge should reject the developer’s faulty fee calculations.

  • March 20, 2026

    Insurer Asks 9th Circuit To Find Claim For Rescission Not Time-Barred

    SAN FRANCISCO — In its opening brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, an insurance company argues the appellate court should enter summary judgment on its behalf in its case against a general contractor and find that its claim for rescission of the general contractor’s policies was not time-barred.

  • March 19, 2026

    Federal Judge Stays Defect Coverage Case While State Action Continues

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California granted a motion to stay filed by a condominium developer and general contractor in a declaratory judgment case the general contractor’s insurer filed against them over coverage for an arbitration award regarding construction defects, finding that continuing the case would be largely duplicative of a case involving nearly identical insurance policies between the parties.

  • March 19, 2026

    Magistrate Judge Finds Course Of Construction Exclusion Bars Coverage

    LOS ANGELES — A federal magistrate judge in California granted insurers’ motion for summary judgment on claims brought against them by an insured subcontractor for not defending or indemnifying it in an underlying construction-defect arbitration because coverage was barred under the policy as the construction project at issue was not completed.

  • March 18, 2026

    LTD Insurer To 9th Circuit: Affirm Preexisting Condition Exclusion Ruling

    SAN FRANCISCO — Describing the ruling at issue as “plausible, logical and supported by the record,” an insurer urged the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm an order that upheld its denial of long-term disability (LTD) benefits under a preexisting condition exclusion.

  • March 17, 2026

    Insureds’ Water, Mold Damage Coverage Suit Must Be Remanded, Federal Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — An insureds’ suit seeking coverage for water and mold damage in their home must be remanded to state court because complete diversity of citizenship does not exist as the insureds have stated a valid claim for misrepresentation against the claims adjuster, a nondiverse defendant, a California federal judge said in granting the insureds’ motion to remand.

  • March 16, 2026

    Insured’s Bad Faith Suit Barred By Policy’s Suit Limitation Provision, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a breach of contract and bad faith suit stemming from a coverage dispute over the insured’s water damage claim because the insured failed to file suit within one year of the inception of the loss as required by the policy’s suit limitation provision.

  • March 16, 2026

    9th Circuit Affirms Insurer’s Win In Widow’s Suit Over Life Insurance Payment

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the grant of summary judgment against a widow bringing a putative class action lawsuit against an insurer for alleged underpayment of a life insurance policy, allegedly in breach of contract and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), writing that the insurer paid the policy in full and was entitled to deduct unpaid premiums.

  • March 13, 2026

    COMMENTARY: America 250: A History Of Insurance And Insurance Coverage Law And Litigation In The United States, Part 1

    By Scott M. Seaman, Pedro E. Hernandez and Peter J. Lewis

  • March 10, 2026

    California DOI, Insurer Reach Agreement In Rate Increase Hearing Proceeding

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Insurance, Consumer Watchdog and State Farm General Insurance Co. reached a three-party settlement agreement in a full-rate hearing proceeding to review the insurer’s emergency interim rate increase following the Palisades and Eaton wildfires.  In a news release, the department says the deal “will provide financial relief to many policyholders while ensuring continued coverage for State Farm policyholders while California’s insurance market stabilizes.”

  • March 10, 2026

    Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Contaminated Sugar, Insurer Maintains

    STOCKTON, Calif. — A commercial general liability insurer filed suit in California state court against its insured, maintaining that no coverage is owed to the insured for an underlying lawsuit stemming from refined sugar that was destroyed or contaminated following the death of an employee in a silo where the sugar was stored because the policy’s pollution exclusion bars coverage based on the underlying allegation that the insured allowed the decedent’s bodily fluids and disinfectants to come into contact with the sugar left in the silo.

  • March 10, 2026

    Judge Denies Cross-Motions For Summary Judgment In Defect Coverage Dispute

    FRESNO, Calif. — A federal judge in California denied cross-motions for summary judgment in an excess insurer’s action against its insured general contractor for reimbursement of funds it paid to settle an underlying construction defect action, finding that the court must first determine whether the insurer adequately reserved its right to seek reimbursement.