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Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

  • March 23, 2026

    Judge Rules For Hotels In Coverage Dispute Arising From 11 Human Trafficking Suits

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio granted insured hotel companies’ motion for partial judgment on the pleadings and denied their general liability insurer’s cross-motion for partial judgment on the pleadings in the insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit alleging that the insurer arbitrarily and capriciously denied coverage for 11 underlying lawsuits alleging that human trafficking occurred at various Red Roof hotels, holding that the underlying lawsuits constitute an "occurrence” under the policy and that the doctrine of inferred intent and Ohio's public policy do not preclude coverage.

  • March 23, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Potbelly’s Suit Against Employment Practices Liability Insurer

    SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington granted an employment practices liability insurer’s motion to dismiss with prejudice a breach of contract lawsuit brought by the owner and operator of several Potbelly Sandwich Shops in Washington state seeking a declaratory judgment that the insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify it against an underlying putative class alleging that it violated the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act by not providing wage and salary information to job applicants in Washington, concluding that the underlying action does not assert that Potbelly engaged in discrimination to trigger coverage under the policy.

  • March 23, 2026

    Judge: ‘Unique,’ ‘Compelling Circumstances’ Warrant Action In 20-Year-Plus MDL

    NEW YORK — In a multidistrict litigation that has spanned more than 20 years, a federal judge in New York adopted a magistrate’s report recommending that the court deny without prejudice the plaintiffs’ outstanding requests for additional damages in their lawsuit alleging that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism that provided material support to Al Qaeda for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; certify all of the default judgments against Iran as final judgments nunc pro tunc to their filing date; and immediately process the requests to certify the judgments against Iran for registration in another New York district court where the U.S. government has recently seized more than $11 billion in Bitcoin and related proceeds that are allegedly assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

  • March 20, 2026

    Insured, Directors And Officers Appeal Denial Of Professional Liability Coverage

    ROME, Ga. — An insured and its directors and officers filed a notice indicating that they are asking the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review a Georgia federal court’s grant of a professional liability insurer’s motion to dismiss their breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying action alleging self-dealing and theft of confidential and proprietary software technology, challenging the lower court’s holding that their underlying business dispute with their former employer did not fall under the policy’s coverage for “professional services” that was “performed for others.”

  • March 20, 2026

    Colorado Panel Refuses To Apply Complete Defense Rule To Title Insurance Dispute

    DENVER — Noting that whether the complete defense rule applies in the context of title insurance is a matter of first impression in Colorado, a Colorado appeals panel on March 19 affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a title insurer has no duty to defend a trust under either the complete defense rule or the insurance policy against an underlying trespass and unjust enrichment lawsuit brought by a neighbor.

  • March 20, 2026

    No Homeowners Coverage Owed For Intentional Fence Suit, Wisconsin Panel Affirms

    MILWAULKEE — A Wisconsin appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s declaratory judgment that a homeowners insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify its insured against allegations that he intentionally erected a fence between his and his neighbors’ properties to harm them, holding that there is no occurrence alleged under the policy because the insured’s alleged conduct is intentional and not accidental.

  • March 18, 2026

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss Restaurants’ Amended Complaint In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    DURHAM, N.C. — Three months after granting a commercial property insurer’s motion to dismiss claims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair and deceptive trade practices brought by four Durham restaurants seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, a federal judge in North Carolina denied the insurer’s motion to dismiss the insureds’ amended complaint because it now includes facts that make the claims plausible to the extent that they are based on the insurer’s conduct since the North Carolina Supreme Court’s ruling in N. State Deli, LLC v. Cincinnati Ins. Co.

  • March 18, 2026

    No Coverage Owed For Abuse-Of-Process Claim, 8th Circuit Affirms

    ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 17 affirmed a federal district court’s grant of a commercial general liability insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in its lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify its insured for the appellant’s underlying abuse-of-process claim, holding that a reasonable person in the insured’s position would not think malicious prosecution coverage extended to abuse of process claims.

  • March 17, 2026

    Insured Seeks To Dismiss 3 More Insurers From Opioid Epidemic Coverage Suit

    SPARTANBURG, S.C. — An insured filed a stipulation in a South Carolina federal court seeking to dismiss three more insurers from a coverage dispute arising from governmental entities’ underlying lawsuits alleging that it caused or contributed to the opioid crisis by improperly marketing, distributing and selling opioid medications, leaving its excess insurers’ intervenor complaint to proceed.

  • March 16, 2026

    Delaware Judge Issues Final Decree Closing Boy Scouts Of America’s Bankruptcy Case

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware issued a final decree on March 13 closing the Boy Scouts of America’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy 3-1/2 years after confirming its third modified, fifth amended Chapter 11 reorganization plan that contemplates the creation of a settlement trust to “assume liability for all Abuse Claims” that includes $1.6 billion in insurance settlement payments and resulted in appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • March 16, 2026

    Delaware Judge Dismisses Insurer From Viacom’s D&O Coverage Dispute

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Three days after parties filed a stipulation of dismissal, a Delaware judge signed an order dismissing with prejudice one insurer in Viacom Inc.’s lawsuit seeking directors and officers liability coverage for underlying claims that its directors, officers and controlling shareholders breached their fiduciary duties in connection with a 2019 merger with CBS Corp.

  • March 16, 2026

    Aircraft Insurance Policy Is Ambiguous, 5th Circuit Rules, Reverses Summary Judgment

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a lawsuit seeking recovery of a $6.4 million underlying judgment arising from a rented plane that crashed into a communications tower and caused two fatalities, concluding that the aircraft insurance policy is ambiguous.

  • 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 13, 2026

    Magistrate Rules On Discovery Motion In Suit Alleging Insurer Illegally Employs AI

    MINNEAPOLIS — A federal magistrate judge in Minnesota granted in part and denied in part plaintiffs’ motion to compel an insurer to respond to discovery and produce certain documents in their class complaint alleging that it illegally uses artificial intelligence (AI) to deny elderly insureds medically necessary care based on a model it knows “has a 90% error rate,” ordering the insurer to produce all required documents within 21 days.

  • March 13, 2026

    Georgia Panel Affirms Ruling In Boat Manufacturer’s Favor In Bad Faith Coverage Suit

    ATLANTA — A Georgia appeals panel on March 12 affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a boat manufacturer insured in its lawsuit alleging that its insurers acted in bad faith for failing to settle an underlying action arising from a boating accident that killed a 7-year-old boy, holding that the record evidence established that the primary insurer was at all times responsible for the insured’s defense and never tendered its policy limits to the insured.

  • March 11, 2026

    Judge Rejects Parties’ Stipulation To Dismiss Coverage Suit Over Fatal Shooting

    GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Montana federal judge on March 10 denied a liquor liability insurer and a bar owner insured’s stipulation to dismiss with prejudice the insurer’s lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying negligence action arising from a fatal shooting at the insured’s bar, noting that to the extent the parties seek to dismiss the insured’s appeal of the judge’s grant of the insurer’s motion for summary judgment, they must seek relief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • March 11, 2026

    Filed-Rate Doctrine Bars Class Action Against Allstate, 5th Circuit Affirms

    NEW ORLEANS —The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 10 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer and denial of the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in their lawsuit alleging that Allstate violated the Texas Insurance Code by charging its longstanding customers higher premiums than new customers for materially identical automobile insurance coverage, agreeing with the lower court that the filed-rate doctrine bars the action because the plaintiffs inherently challenge the reasonableness of the filed insurance rates that were reviewed by the Texas Department of Insurance.

  • March 11, 2026

    Following Stipulation, Judge Dismisses D&O Insurer’s Equitable Subrogation Suit

    NEW YORK — The same day parties filed a stipulation of dismissal, a federal judge in New York signed an order dismissing with prejudice a director and officer liability insurer’s claims for declaratory judgment, unjust enrichment and equitable subrogation against one remaining insurer in a coverage dispute arising from a criminal proceeding in Morocco alleging fraud, misappropriation of funds, criminal bankruptcy and money laundering against a company that managed a hotel.

  • 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

    Liquor Liability Insurer, Insured Seek To Dismiss Coverage Suit Over Fatal Shooting

    GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The same day a liquor liability insurer told a Montana federal court that a bar owner insured fully satisfied a judgment including a $160,088 attorney fees award, the parties on March 9 filed a stipulation to dismiss with prejudice the insurer’s lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying negligence action arising from a fatal shooting at the insured’s bar.

  • March 10, 2026

    Judge Denies Insured’s Summary Judgment Motion In Medicaid Fraud Coverage Dispute

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware judge denied an insured’s motion for summary judgment as to the insurers’ affirmative defenses of reasonableness, fraud, collusion and bad faith in its lawsuit seeking professional liability coverage for an underlying Medicaid fraud investigation, holding that genuine disputes of material fact preclude summary judgment in this coverage dispute that was sparked by an investigation by the state of Texas that began almost 14 years ago.

  • March 10, 2026

    Georgia Panel Reverses $345M Judgment Against Insurers In Sexual Abuse Coverage Suit

    ATLANTA — A Georgia appeals panel reversed a lower court’s $345 million judgment against insurers in a breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for a consent judgment that was awarded against a school insured and its teacher who was accused of sexually abusing 20 students between 1974 and 1994, holding that the ongoing mental anguish that resulted from a teacher’s abusive conduct is not covered by insurance policies that were not in effect until decades later.

  • March 09, 2026

    Panel Refuses To Rehear No Coverage Ruling For $10M Invasion Of Privacy Verdict

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 6 denied a petition filed by a minor, by and through her parent, asking it to reconsider its holding that a 58-month delay in notifying an umbrella insurer of underlying conduct that could have triggered coverage was untimely as a matter of law, standing by its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurer in a direct action lawsuit seeking coverage for a $10 million judgment in the underlying invasion of privacy action.

  • March 09, 2026

    Judge Tosses Prompt Payment Counterclaims Against Professional Liability Insurer

    AUSTIN, Texas — A senior federal judge in Texas dismissed without prejudice counterclaims brought under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 542 against a professional liability insurer, holding that the defendants’ prompt payment counterclaims fail because they do not involve a “claimant” or “claim” as defined under Chapter 542.

  • March 09, 2026

    Court Lacked Admiralty Jurisdiction Over Yacht Owner’s Claims, 5th Circuit Affirms

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that granted subrogee insurers’ motion to dismiss a yacht owner’s petition seeking limitation of liability for damage caused by a fire and explosion under the Limitation of Liability Act, agreeing with insurers that the lower court lacked admiralty jurisdiction over the yacht owner’s claims.