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October 07, 2026
LAKELAND, Fla. — A Florida appeals court panel ruled that an insurer’s payment of its policy limits following an appraisal process that complied with the policy terms did not constitute a “confession of judgment” that entitled the insured to recover his attorney fees under Florida Statutes Section 627.428(1), affirming a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer in a breach of contract lawsuit arising from Hurricane Ian property damage.
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October 07, 2026
LOS ANGELES — A California appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer on claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) and fraud in a lawsuit seeking coverage for property damage following a 2019 rainstorm, holding that the insurer has satisfied its burden of establishing noncoverage warranting summary judgment even if there is a triable question as to the efficient proximate cause of the insureds’ loss.
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October 07, 2026
TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida granted the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s motion to dismiss insureds’ breach of contract lawsuit seeking additional coverage under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) for flood damage that was caused by Hurricane Helene, finding that the lawsuit is time-barred under the one-year statute of limitations in the SFIP and the National Flood Insurance Act (NFIA).
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October 07, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Supreme Court denied an application for a writ of certiorari by Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) seeking review of a ruling affirming a trial court’s judgment awarding $1,009,561.93 to insureds and against their homeowners insurer in a coverage dispute over damage allegedly caused by Hurricane Ida.
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October 07, 2026
GREENSBORO, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed with prejudice an automotive parts manufacturer insured’s breach of contract, bad faith and unfair and deceptive trade practices lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses caused by the “presence of COVID-19” at its facilities, holding that no coverage exists under the policy’s Communicable Disease Coverage Endorsement and that, alternatively, any potential coverage would be voided under the policy’s concealment and fraud provision.
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October 07, 2026
ATLANTA —The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an insured’s appeal of a Florida federal judge’s sua sponte ruling that dismissed without prejudice her breach of contract lawsuit alleging that her insurer failed to indemnify her for the full value of her losses stemming from a Sept. 28, 2022, flood, concluding that the insured’s failure to timely file her appellant brief warrants dismissal of the appeal for want of prosecution.
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October 06, 2026
FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida on Oct. 5 granted a write-your-own insurer’s motion to dismiss with prejudice its insureds’ breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for Hurricane Ian flood damage to their tile flooring, holding that the lawsuit was untimely under the one-year statute of limitations under the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP).
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October 06, 2026
WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware judge granted excess insurers’ application for certification for interlocutory appeal of an order that granted an insured’s motion for partial summary judgment and denied their cross-motion for summary judgment on the issue of recoupment in a coverage dispute arising from Superstorm Sandy damage to one of New York University’s campuses, finding that certification under Delaware Supreme Court Rule 42 is appropriate because the court decided “a central, merits-based issue at an early stage of the proceedings largely at the” insured’s behest.
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October 05, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 5 denied a doctor’s petition seeking review of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that affirmed as modified a lower court’s dismissal of her breach of contract lawsuit seeking business interruption and umbrella coverage for her losses arising from the discovery of hidden cameras at her dermatology office.
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October 05, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge granted a property insurer’s motion for summary judgment on a bad faith claim in a coverage dispute over Hurricane Ida damages after determining that the insurer’s handling of the insured’s claim was not “vexatious” as required under Louisiana law.
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September 30, 2026
GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana appellate court affirmed a lower court ruling awarding homeowners $10,592.22 in judicial interest in their hurricane coverage dispute with the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA), finding that LIGA failed to timely appeal the final judgment awarding judicial interest and that eliminating interest later would constitute an impermissible substantive amendment.
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September 28, 2026
DALLAS — A commercial building owner’s remaining breach of contract claims against three insurers and state insurance law claims against one of them over alleged nonpayment for wind and hail damage were dismissed with prejudice by a Texas federal judge after the parties filed a joint motion stating that the owner no longer wished to pursue the case.
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September 23, 2026
DURHAM, N.C. — Less than three weeks after a North Carolina federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of four Durham businesses on their claims for declaratory judgment, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair and deceptive trade practices in their lawsuit seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the insureds and their mutual commercial property insurer filed a joint notice stating that they have reached a settlement in principle and seeking a stay of all case deadlines and adjournment of the Sept. 24 pretrial conference.
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September 23, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Insurers waived their right to respond to a doctor’s petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling affirming as modified a lower court’s dismissal of the doctor’s breach of contract seeking business interruption and umbrella coverage for her losses arising from discovery of hidden cameras at her dermatology office; the doctor is asking to court to address what defines “direct physical loss” in electronic security context.
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September 22, 2026
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge determined that breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged against the parent company of an insurer can proceed in a wildfire coverage damage suit because the insureds alleged sufficient facts to show that the insurer and its parent company share a unity of interest and ownership.
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September 21, 2026
AMARILLO, Texas — A Texas federal judge dismissed common-law and statutory bad faith, Texas Insurance Code and Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) claims brought by a church against its insurer in a dispute over coverage for hailstorm damage, leaving only breach of contract and prompt payment claims pending against the insurer, while also excluding two of the church’s experts in an opinion and order addressing several motions filed by both parties.
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September 17, 2026
MIAMI — The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) on Sept. 16 filed a motion for a stay of discovery in Florida state court in a breach of contract suit filed against it by an insured whose now-insolvent insurer purportedly failed to cover a claim for wind damage, asserting that discovery should be stayed until the court rules on FIGA’s prior dismissal motion.
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September 16, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s order denying domestic and international insurers’ motion to compel arbitration of Hurricane Ida claims against the domestic insurers, vacated the lower court’s order lifting a stay of litigation as to the domestic insurers and remanded for the lower court to reconsider whether a stay of litigation against the domestic insurers is appropriate, holding that its recent unpublished opinion in Crescent City Surgical Operating Co. v. Interstate Fire & Casualty Co. controls.
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September 15, 2026
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana appeals panel partly affirmed and partly reversed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer in a coverage dispute arising from tornado damage, holding that the insurer failed to satisfy its burden of establishing that its reading of the Dwelling Replacement Cost (DRC) Endorsement is correct as a matter of law or that no question remains as to whether the $16,777.40 actual cash value payment was due and payable under the DRC Endorsement independent of the insureds’ completion of repair or replacement.
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September 14, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — Parties involved in a Hurricane Ida coverage dispute on Sept. 11 filed a joint motion to dismiss in a Louisiana federal court, advising the court that they have resolved the dispute among the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA), a flood insurer and its insured over the insured’s purported losses from the hurricane.
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September 14, 2026
AUGUSTA, Ga. — An insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims against a property insurer must be dismissed because the insured failed to cite any policy provisions allegedly breached by the insurer, a Georgia federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss.
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September 11, 2026
BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge granted summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer and dismissed the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims because the insured failed to offer any evidence that she sustained damages as a result of the insurer’s handling of her claim.
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September 11, 2026
MIAMI — A Florida appellate court reversed a lower court’s order enforcing the full settlement amount against the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) for a hurricane damage claim settlement agreed upon between a now-insolvent insurer and an insured, finding that the homeowner failed to meet her burden to show that the settlement did not include attorney fees; the court remanded for a hearing to determine whether a portion of payments to counsel were for attorney fees.
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September 10, 2026
SAN JOSE, Calif.— A federal judge in California granted a write-your-own (WYO) insurer’s motion to dismiss insureds’ second amended complaint seeking $12,500 in additional coverage for their alleged “structural damage” arising from a 2023 flood, holding that dismissal was proper under the insureds’ Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) because the lawsuit was filed more than a year after the claim was denied.
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September 10, 2026
NEW ORLEANS— On appeal for a second time, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals again vacated and remanded a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in a coverage lawsuit arising from Hurricane Laura damage to a church, holding that the lower court’s failure to analyze the appellant’s affidavit and testimony under summary judgment standards is still reversible error.