Newsletter RSS

Mealey's California Insurance

  • April 22, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Construction Company’s Action Against Insurer After Settlement

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — After receiving a notice of settlement, a federal judge in California on April 21 issued a docket-only order dismissing without prejudice an action brought by a construction company against its subcontractor’s insurer for damages the company alleged were caused by using the subcontractor’s drawings for the project.

  • April 22, 2026

    Judge Denies Reconsideration, Grants Final Judgment In Defects Coverage Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California denied an insurer’s motion to reconsider the judge’s grant of summary judgment to developers in the developers’ case seeking coverage for construction defects and granted the developer’s motion for entry of final judgment against the insurer, finding the motion for reconsideration to be untimely and, because that motion was denied, that the motion for entry of final judgment should be granted.

  • April 17, 2026

    Reconsideration Of Pollution Exclusion Ruling Not Warranted, Insured 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 not warranted because the insurer repeats the same arguments presented in its summary judgment briefing and already rejected by the court, the insured maintains in response to the insurer’s motion.

  • April 16, 2026

    Judge Issues Mixed Ruling In ERISA Case Involving STD Benefits

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Finding in part that the defendants “abused their discretion by ignoring all the evidence provided by Plaintiff’s treating physicians,” a California federal magistrate judge issued a mixed ruling in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit filed by a former software engineer who challenged the termination of his benefits under two short-term disability (STD) plans and argued that he was also entitled to long-term disability (LTD) benefits.

  • April 15, 2026

    Continuous Water Leakage Exclusion Bars Coverage For Insured’s Claim, Panel Says

    LOS ANGELES — No coverage is owed to an insured for a power outage stemming from water leaking into a vault where electrical equipment is stored because the all-risk policy’s exclusion for repeated or continuous water leakage applies as a bar to coverage, the Second District California Court of Appeal said in affirming a trial court’s judgment.

  • April 15, 2026

    Magistrate: Renters Insurer Has No Duty To Defend Los Angeles Cop’s Negligence Suit

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California granted a renters insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in its lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend or indemnify its insured against an underlying negligence lawsuit brought by a Los Angeles County police officer, ruling that the pleadings demonstrate that the insured’s deliberate conduct caused the police officer harm and that whether the insured intended to cause the injury is immaterial.

  • April 13, 2026

    Insured Entitled To Defense In Underlying Silica Exposure Suits, Federal Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — An insured is owed a defense for underlying bodily injury suits stemming from exposure to silica and other toxins in the insured’s stone products because the underlying suits contain allegations that fall outside of the policies’ silica exclusion, a California federal judge said in denying the insurers’ motion for judgment on the pleadings.

  • April 13, 2026

    Silica Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage For All Underlying Claims, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by insurers seeking a declaration that no coverage is owed to an insured for underlying silica exposure personal injury suits because the silica exclusion cannot apply as the underlying plaintiffs allege that substances other than silica may have caused their injuries.

  • April 10, 2026

    Judge Deems LTD Claimant Cognitively Disabled Under Any-Occupation Standard

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Following de novo review that focused on a neuropsychological evaluation and a functional capacity evaluation (FCE), a California federal judge overturned the termination of a registered nurse’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits under an any-occupation definition of disability.

  • 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 02, 2026

    Choice-Of-Law Rule Resolves Review Standard Dispute In LTD Case

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Resolving a standard of review disagreement by applying the federal choice-of-law rule, a California federal judge determined that “Massachusetts law applies and . . . California’s prohibition on discretionary clauses does not” so he will assess the denial of the plaintiff’s claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits for abuse of discretion rather than de novo.

  • 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 19, 2026

    COMMENTARY: America 250: A History Of Insurance & Insurance Coverage Law & Litigation In The United States, Part 2

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

  • 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.