Mealey's Catastrophic Loss : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

September 29, 2025
Texas High Court Won’t Review Baylor College Of Medicine’s COVID-19 Coverage Suit

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Sept. 26 denied Baylor College of Medicine’s petition seeking review of an appeals court’s conclusion that the presence of the COVID-19 virus at its premises did not cause “direct physical loss of or damage to” its property, challenging the appeals court’s reversal of a lower court’s judgment following a jury verdict in the school’s favor.
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 25, 2025
Louisiana Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Hurricane Delta Coverage Suit

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer in insureds’ breach of contract lawsuit arising from their property damage caused by Hurricane Delta, determining that the lower court’s ruling “was amply supported by the record” and it did not abuse its discretion when it denied the insureds’ third motion to continue the summary judgment hearing.
September 24, 2025
Texas Panel Partly Rules In Favor Of Insurers In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

DALLAS — A Texas appellate panel held that a lower court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of certain commercial property insurers in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that one of the “follow-form” insurance policies included a coverage-extension endorsement that was not present in the lead policy and the insurer that issued that policy failed to demonstrate that the contamination exclusion superseded the endorsement.
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 19, 2025
Florida Panel Affirms Order Enforcing Settlement In Hurricane Coverage Dispute

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Without explanation, a Florida appellate court on Sept. 18 affirmed a lower court order requiring the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), as the purported statutory obligor for a homeowner’s now-insolvent insurer, to pay a $16,500 settlement agreed upon between the homeowner and his insurer related to hurricane damage.
September 15, 2025
Summary Judgment Denied For Insurer In Fabric Water Damage Coverage Dispute

BALTIMORE — A Maryland federal judge denied summary judgment to an insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith suit filed against it by its insured, a “high-end” fabric retailer seeking coverage for water damage, finding that “summary judgment is not appropriate” in part because of remaining questions as to whether the insured voided the policy pursuant to a fraud provision regarding alleged “bogus” estimates of damage.
September 12, 2025
Parties Advise Court Of Settlement In Hurricane Ida Coverage Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — Parties involved in a Hurricane Ida coverage dispute filed a joint notice of settlement in a Louisiana federal court, advising the court that they resolved the dispute between the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA), a flood insurer and its insured related to the insured’s purported losses from the hurricane.
September 11, 2025
Judge Finds Breach Of Contract Claim Is Time-Barred In Hurricane Ian Coverage Suit

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s breach of contract claim in a coverage dispute arising from Hurricane Ian flood damage, finding that the claim is time-barred under the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) and 42 U.S. Code Section 4072.
September 10, 2025
California ‘Insurer Of Last Resort’ Sued For Allegedly Mishandling Fire Claim

LOS ANGELES — A homeowner whose property is covered by the California Fair Plan Association (CFPA) sued the insurance pool in state court, alleging that the state’s “insurer of last resort” failed to adequately investigate and assess damage and issue payment after her home was damaged in the Palisades Fire.
September 10, 2025
Breach Of Contract Suit Over Hailstorm Damage Is Untimely, Federal Judge Rules

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on Sept. 9 granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from hailstorm damage, finding that the lawsuit is untimely.
September 09, 2025
Motions To Compel Discovery Granted In Part In Hurricane Coverage Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge on Sept. 8 granted in part and denied in part a homeowners insurer’s motions to compel production of documents by an appraiser and his firm in a Hurricane Ida coverage dispute, finding that the appraiser’s contracts for the past 10 years are “relevant.”
September 09, 2025
Judge Stands By Take-Nothing Judgment In Insurer’s Favor In Hailstorm Coverage Suit

TYLER, Texas — A federal judge in Texas denied an insured’s motion to alter or amend the 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, finding that the insured failed to provide evidence of $4,838,747 in breach of contract damages and $35 million in exemplary damages that was previously awarded by a jury.
September 08, 2025
Texas High Court Declines Insurer’s Request To Review Storm Damage Coverage Suit

AUSTIN, Texas — In its Sept. 5 orders pronounced, the Texas Supreme Court denied an insurer’s petition asking it to review an appeals court’s ruling that affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a hotel owner insured in a coverage dispute over roof damage caused by a storm.
September 05, 2025
Judge Dismisses Breach Of Contact, Bad Faith Claims In Flood Damage Coverage Suit

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana determined that an insured’s 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, granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment on the insured’s claims for breach of contract and bad faith.
September 05, 2025
Judge: Insureds Failed To Comply With Proof Of Loss Requirement In Ida Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana granted the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s motion for summary judgment in a Hurricane Ida coverage dispute, finding that the insureds failed to comply with the proof of loss requirement pursuant to their Standard Flood Insurance Policy.
September 02, 2025
Insured’s Breach Of Contract Claim Fails, Amended Complaint Allowed, Judge Says

TYLER, Texas — A Texas federal judge overruled an insured’s objections to a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and granted a property insurer’s motion to dismiss, agreeing with the magistrate judge that the insured’s complaint, which seeks coverage for property damage caused by a storm, fails to state sufficient facts to support a breach of contract claim.
August 29, 2025
Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Suit Barred By 2-Year Prescription Period, Judge Says

LAKE CHARLES, La. — An insured’s breach of contract and bad faith suit is barred by a policy’s two-year prescription period because the insured failed to file suit within two years after the insurer made its final payment for hurricane damages incurred to the insured’s home, a Louisiana federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss.
August 27, 2025
11th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Food Supplier’s Bad Faith Suit

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 26 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in a food supplier insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for its equipment damage and business income losses arising from three separate events, finding that the insured failed to give prompt notice of its loss.
August 27, 2025
Homeowners Bid To Respond To Dismissal Motion Extended In Hurricane Coverage Row

BATON ROUGE, La. — In a docket-only order without explanation, a Louisiana federal judge granted homeowners’ motion to extend the time to file a response to a motion filed by an insurance carrier participating in the U.S. government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) seeking to dismiss the homeowners’ Hurricane Ida coverage suit against the carrier and the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA).
August 15, 2025
Magistrate Tells Insurer, Insured To Show Cause Why They Should Not Be Sanctioned

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge on Aug. 14 issued an order for a Write-Your-Own insurer and its insured to show cause why they should not be sanctioned for failing to file their notice of mediation in a breach of contract lawsuit arising from property damage caused by Hurricane Ian.
August 15, 2025
Judge Dismisses Condominium Coverage Dispute With Insurers, Notes Settlement

NEW YORK — After being advised “that the parties have reached a settlement,” a New York federal judge dismissed without prejudice a breach of contract suit filed against insurers over their alleged failure to cover a condominium’s purported hurricane-related losses.
August 13, 2025
Texas Panel: Insurer Has Justiciable Interest In Homeowner’s Storm Damage Suit

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —A Texas appeals panel conditionally granted in part an insurer and an adjuster’s petition for mandamus relief in a lawsuit arising from storm damage, directing a lower court to vacate its orders granting a homeowner’s amended motion to strike an insurer’s plea in intervention, denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss, denying the adjuster’s motion for reconsideration of its motion to dismiss and denying the insurer’s motion to compel appraisal.
August 12, 2025
Shutdown Orders Caused Insured’s Losses, Not Pandemic, Minnesota Panel Says, Reverses

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota appeals panel on Aug. 11 reversed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a commercial property insurer in an insured’s coverage dispute arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling that the governmental orders that shut down 150 of the insured’s health and fitness clubs in response to the pandemic are the causes of the insured’s losses for purposes of determining the number of occurrences subject to the policy’s “Interruption By Communicable Disease” coverage limit.