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Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

  • November 14, 2025

    4th Circuit Stands By Reversal Of Class Certification In Suit Against Auto Insurer

    RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied an insured’s petition for rehearing en banc of a split panel’s ruling that a lower federal court abused its discretion in certifying a class in a lawsuit alleging that an insurer improperly decreased the compensation for totaled vehicles, standing by the panel’s holding that common questions do not predominate because the claims are “essentially individualized claims requiring mini trials as to each.”

  • November 14, 2025

    Judge Confirms $10.9M Award Against German Insurer In Favor Of Singaporean Company

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on Nov. 13 confirmed an arbitral award that, with interest, is worth more than $11 million in favor of a Singaporean company for a dispute over directors and officers (D&O) coverage allegedly owed by its German excess insurer, which had unsuccessfully moved to vacate the award.

  • November 13, 2025

    Insurers’ Objections To Discovery Orders Substantially Overruled In COVID-19 Suit

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York substantially overruled insurers’ objections to discovery orders that granted in part and denied in part a holding company for the U.S. interests in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group’s motion to compel the insurers to produce certain documents they have withheld as privileged in a coronavirus coverage dispute.

  • November 12, 2025

    Stay Denied In Class Suit Over Insurer’s ‘Discriminatory Advertising’ On Facebook

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge denied an insurer’s motion for a stay in a putative class action accusing the insurer of “discriminatory advertising” on Facebook, finding that the insurer failed to show how a ruling in a parallel state court case would have a “preclusive effect” on the instant case.

  • November 12, 2025

    Insured Dismisses Suit Seeking Defense Costs Arising From Securities Fraud Action

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A corporation insured asked a Delaware federal court to dismiss without prejudice its lawsuit alleging breach of contract and seeking a declaration that a directors and officers liability insurer must promptly reimburse it for the costs it has incurred in defending an underlying securities fraud lawsuit brought by shareholders.

  • November 11, 2025

    Parkland Shooting 1 Occurrence Under Excess Policy, 11th Circuit Affirms

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 10 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insured in its lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying negligence suits arising from a 2018 shooting spree at a Parkland, Fla., high school, finding that the term “occurrence” is ambiguous and must be construed in favor of the insured and the lower court correctly determined that shooting was one occurrence under the policy.

  • November 11, 2025

    Nebraska High Court Reverses No Coverage Ruling In Suit Over Loss Of Aircraft

    LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in its lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to cover its insured’s alleged loss after an airport owner seized the insured’s aircraft, saying that it sees no reason why the airport owner’s act of blocking the aircraft with a truck was not an “accident” under the policy and rejecting the insurer’s argument that the insured did not incur “direct physical loss” because it eventually recovered the aircraft (U.S. Specialty Insurance Company v. D S Avionics Unlimited LLC, Nos. S-24-628 and S-24-630, Neb. Sup., 2025 Neb. LEXIS 105).

  • November 10, 2025

    Delaware Judge Signs Order Dismissing Excess Insurers’ Opioid Coverage Suit

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware judge signed an order granting a management consulting firm insured’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by its excess commercial general liability insurers seeking a declaration that they have no duty to defend and indemnify against more than 260 underlying lawsuits seeking to hold the insured accountable for contributing to and profiting from the opioid epidemic.

  • November 07, 2025

    8th Circuit Tosses Appeal In Dog Bite Coverage Suit For Lack Of Jurisdiction

    ST. LOUIS, Mo.— The Eighth U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 6 dismissed an insurer’s appeal of a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insured in a coverage dispute arising from a dog bite, finding that the lower court’s order is not final and the appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

  • November 06, 2025

    La. Panel Reverses Judgment, Grants Peremptory Exception In Boat Coverage Dispute

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana appellate court on Nov. 5 reversed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling dismissing a bank’s claims against GEICO and granted GEICO’s peremptory exception of no right of action, dismissing the bank’s claims against GEICO with prejudice in the bank’s suit against GEICO seeking to recover damages related to property being stolen from an insured boat, finding that the bank as loss payee lacks a right of action against GEICO.

  • November 05, 2025

    Judge Deems Policy Void For Misrepresentations About Business Operating As A Bar

    SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A South Carolina federal judge on Nov. 4 granted an insurer’s motion for default judgment in its suit seeking rescission of a commercial liability policy for purported misrepresentations about operating the business as a bar, finding that because the misrepresentations “were material to the risk” and the insurer relied on the misrepresentations when issuing the policy, the insurer was entitled to rescind the policy.

  • November 05, 2025

    N.C. Judge: Property Insurers Must Cover Loss After Incident At Iron Ore Facility

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ruling on summary judgment motions, a North Carolina judge held that property insurers must provide coverage for their insureds’ losses following an incident at an iron ore processing facility, determining that unlike the insured in North State Deli, LLC v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., the insureds present evidence of tangible harm to trigger coverage and the faulty design and inherent defect policy exclusions do not apply.

  • November 04, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Coverage Suit Over Claims Dental Office Violated Privacy Rights

    CHICAGO — Four days after a commercial general liability insurer filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, a federal judge in Illinois on Nov. 3 dismissed without prejudice the insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify for an underlying putative class action alleging that its dental office insured violated privacy rights through its use of internet tracking that collected private information without notice and without consent.

  • November 04, 2025

    Majority Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Travel Insurers In Unjust Enrichment, UCL Suit

    PASADENA, Calif. — A majority of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of travel insurers in a plaintiff’s unjust enrichment and unfair competition lawsuit, holding that the insured is not entitled to recover any portion of the premium for a travel insurance policy he purchased for a cruise that was later canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic because there was no unearned premium.

  • November 03, 2025

    Hawaii Appeals Court Vacates Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

    HONOLULU — The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals determined that a restaurant and bar owner insured established that there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether its business interruption was “caused by direct physical loss of or damage to property” at its insured premises and that its commercial insurer did not establish that any policy exclusion barred coverage, vacating a lower court’s judgment in favor of the insurer and remanding for further proceedings.

  • October 30, 2025

    2nd Circuit Affirms That Insurrection Triggered CITGO Marine Reinsurance Coverage

    NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a lower court ruling that granted a $54.2 million judgment to CITGO Petroleum Corp., holding that the 2020 seizure of crude oil at a Venezuelan port arose from an “insurrection” as defined in its marine cargo reinsurance contract and that losses from the seizure were accordingly covered under the contract’s war risk provisions.

  • October 30, 2025

    Delaware Court Tosses Excess Insurers’ Suit Disputing Coverage For Opioid Suits

    WILIMNGTON, Del. — A Delaware court granted a management consulting firm insured’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by its excess commercial general liability insurers seeking a declaration that they have no duty to defend and indemnify against more than 260 underlying lawsuits seeking to hold the insured accountable for contributing to and profiting from the opioid epidemic.

  • October 29, 2025

    N.C. Judge Refuses To Dismiss $50M Coverage Suit Arising From Coronavirus

    GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina judge denied primary and excess insurers’ motion to dismiss a limited partnership that owns and operates shopping centers containing outlet stores’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for its alleged “tens of millions of dollars in losses” caused by the coronavirus pandemic, holding that North Carolina law applies to the interpretation of the insurance policies at issue and discovery is necessary to determine the insured’s applicable date of loss.

  • October 28, 2025

    Justin Baldoni, Movie Studios Move To Toss Insurer’s Suit In Favor Of Other Forum

    NEW YORK — Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios LLC, It Ends With Us Movie LLC and its movie studio officers have asked a New York federal court to dismiss or stay their management liability insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to provide coverage for Blake Lively’s sexual harassment, hostile work environment and retaliation action, arguing that it is “sufficiently more efficient” for the insurer to join a related lawsuit that they filed in a California state court against three of their other insurers.

  • October 28, 2025

    Insurer, City Seek Dismissal Of Coverage Suit Arising From Wrongful Conviction

    DURHAM, N.C. — Following a settlement of all claims, a commercial general liability insurer and the city of Concord, N.C., filed a joint stipulation on Oct. 27 asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina to dismiss with prejudice the city’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit alleging that the insurer has a duty to defend, indemnify and contribute to a $9.3 million settlement of an underlying wrongful conviction lawsuit.

  • October 28, 2025

    Insurer Is Equitably Estopped From Denying Coverage, 2nd Circuit Affirms

    NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded that a supermarket owner’s insurer is equitably estopped from disclaiming coverage for an underlying personal injury lawsuit that was brought against the owner of the property where the supermarket’s employee was injured when he fell down an elevator shaft, affirming the lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the property owner’s insurer on its equitable estoppel claim.

  • October 28, 2025

    Majority: Misappropriation Exclusion Does Not Relieve Insurer Of Its Duty To Defend

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals majority vacated a lower federal court’s dismissal of a law firm insured’s defense and indemnification claims against its professional liability insurer, reversed its denial of the insured’s motion for partial summary judgment as to the insurer’s duty to defend and remanded for the lower court to enter partial summary judgment in favor of the insured, finding that the insurer cannot defeat its duty to defend based on the policy’s misappropriation exclusion.

  • October 24, 2025

    NRA Seeks High Court Review Of Reversal In Free Speech Suit Over Insurance Program

    NEW YORK — The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals holding that a former superintendent of the New York department that regulates insurance is entitled to qualified immunity on the NRA’s First Amendment coercion and retaliation claims against New York state officials and the department, challenging the panel’s reversal of a lower federal court’s order denying the former superintendent and the department’s motion to dismiss the NRA’s suit alleging that she unconstitutionally threatened or coerced an insurer or other entities to stifle its speech.

  • October 23, 2025

    Court ‘Diligently Handled’ Jurisdictional Remand In Suit Against Contractor, Surety

    BOSTON— The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals remanded a lawsuit seeking to recover subcontractors’ financial losses after a contractor and its surety allegedly did not pay them for work related to rebuilding projects in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands following Hurricane Maria, instructing the lower federal court to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

  • October 21, 2025

    5th Circuit Partly Reverses Ruling In CGL Insurer’s Favor In Well Operator’s Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 20 reversed a lower federal court’s dismissal of a well operator’s claims that a commercial general liability insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify its oilfield services company insured against an underlying dispute arising from well damage, finding that the insurer waived the policy’s consent-to-suit requirement and that the fact that the assignee could not recover from the insured or its bankruptcy assets does not preclude its duty to indemnify claim against the insurer.