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Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

  • April 14, 2026

    Risk Pool Operator Voluntarily Dismisses Coverage Suit Tied To Abuse Case

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Three weeks after a reinsurer moved for dismissal on subject matter jurisdiction grounds, a municipal risk pool operator voluntarily dismissed with prejudice its declaratory judgment actionin which it sought reinsurance coverage for claims arising from an underlying lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a school employee and negligent supervision by a board of education.

  • April 14, 2026

    Insurer Seeks Review Of Delaware Court’s Ruling As To ‘Public Offering’ Exclusion

    WILMINGTON, Del.— An insurer filed an application for certification of interlocutory appeal of a Delaware court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of a technology company insured in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying securities class action and a Securities Exchange Commission lawsuit arising from a merger between a privately held company and a special purpose acquisition company, challenging the lower court’s holding that its interpretation of the policy’s “public offering” exclusion blurs the line between parent and subsidiary and “would undermine the narrow function of insurance exclusions.”

  • April 13, 2026

    Federal Judge: Coverage For Fatal Dog Bites Is Limited To $25,000 Under Endorsement

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A federal judge in New Mexico granted a commercial general liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying negligence lawsuit arising from fatal dog bite injuries, agreeing with the insurer that the policy’s animal bite endorsement limits coverage to $25,000.

  • April 10, 2026

    Maryland Announces Settlement Of Some Claims In Baltimore Bridge Collapse Dispute

    BALTIMORE — Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said on April 9 that the state has reached a settlement in principle with the owner and technical manager of the ship M/V Dali, which allided with and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, 2024, noting that the settlement resolves a potion of the state’s claims in an exoneration lawsuit.

  • April 10, 2026

    Judge: No Coverage Exists For Fraud Suit Arising From Purchase Of COVID-19 Test Kits

    PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania granted a professional liability insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying action alleging that its insured fraudulently induced a company to pay $1,965,000 for 151,200 COVID-19 test kits that were never delivered or refunded, holding that no coverage was triggered because the underlying action alleged intentional and fraudulent conduct by the insured.

  • April 08, 2026

    Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Carbon Monoxide Claim, 8th Circuit Says

    ST. PAUL, Minn. — A district court did not err in finding that a pollution exclusion bars coverage for an underlying bodily injury claim stemming from carbon monoxide exposure because carbon monoxide qualifies as a pollutant and the carbon monoxide was dispersed, as required by the pollution exclusion, from a portable heater, the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said April 7 in affirming the lower court’s ruling in favor of an insurer.

  • April 08, 2026

    9th Circuit Reverses Ruling In Patients’ Suit Seeking To Enforce $2.4M Judgment

    SPOKANE, Wash. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals partly reversed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a health care organizations management liability insurer in a lawsuit seeking to enforce an underlying $2.4 million consent judgment against its inpatient substance abuse treatment facility insured, holding that the policy may provide partial coverage for a complaint even if the complaint contains some excluded sexual abuse claims.

  • April 07, 2026

    Washington Law Does Not Allow Insured To Assign Malpractice Claims To Insurer

    SEATTLE — A manufacturer that, along with its insurance company, settled a personal injury lawsuit cannot assign its rights to an alleged legal malpractice claim to its insurer, a Washington appeals panel held April 6 in answering a certified question, finding that there is a potential conflict between the insured and the insurer after the insurer defended the insured pursuant to a reservation of rights to deny coverage.

  • April 06, 2026

    Federal Judge: Insurer Contractually Waived Right To Remove Hurricane Maria Suit

    CHRISTIANSTED, Virgin Islands — A federal judge in the Virgin Islands granted an insured’s motion to remand its lawsuit against an insurer and insurance agents arising from its property damage caused by Hurricane Maria, holding that although the insurer established that an arbitration agreement “falls under” the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, it contractually waived its right to remove the lawsuit to the federal court under the Federal Arbitration Act.

  • April 06, 2026

    Federal Judge Refuses To Reconsider No Coverage Ruling In Suit Brought By Potbelly

    SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington on April 3 refused to reconsider his ruling last month that granted an employment practices liability insurer’s motion to dismiss a breach of contract lawsuit brought by the owner and operator of several Potbelly Sandwich Shop restaurants, holding that the Washington Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Branson v. Washington Fine Wine & Spirits, LLC “does not materially affect” his finding that there is no coverage owed for an underlying putative class alleging the insured violated the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act.

  • April 06, 2026

    Insurer Appeals Ruling In Coverage Dispute Arising From 11 Human Trafficking Suits

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — A general liability insurer told an Ohio federal court on April 3 that it is appealing the court’s grant of insured hotel companies’ motion for partial judgment on the pleadings and denial of its cross-motion for partial judgment on the pleadings in the insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit alleging that it arbitrarily and capriciously denied coverage for 11 underlying lawsuits alleging that human trafficking occurred at various Red Roof hotels, challenging the court’s 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.

  • April 03, 2026

    Panel Reverses Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Coverage Dispute With Fertility Doctor

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut appeals panel on April 2 held that a lower court erred in ruling that a professional liability insurance policy’s intentional conduct and sexual misconduct exclusions applied to every allegation in an underlying civil negligence lawsuit brought against a reproductive endocrinologist insured, reversing a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer in a coverage dispute arising from underlying allegations that the insured used his own sperm to impregnate two of his patients without their knowledge or consent.

  • April 03, 2026

    Allstate Dismisses DoorDash From Coverage Suit Arising From Wrongful Death Claims

    SEATTLE — A commercial automobile insurer on April 2 voluntarily dismissed DoorDash Inc. from the insurer’s lawsuit asking a Washington federal court to declare that it has no duty to defend or indemnify for an underlying wrongful death action alleging that its insured fatally shot a man while he was driving his vehicle as a paid delivery driver, noting that DoorDash has stipulated that it is not a covered entity under the Allstate policy.

  • April 03, 2026

    Federal Judge Adopts Magistrate’s Report As To Express Contract Exclusion

    SHERMAN, Texas — Adopting a magistrate’s report that an insurance policy’s express contract exclusion unambiguously bars coverage for an underlying breach of contract claim that a homeowners association made against its management company, a federal judge in Texas granted the insurer’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the lawsuit.

  • April 01, 2026

    Claim Preclusion Inapplicable In Indemnification Suit Over $20M BIPA Settlement

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois held that claim preclusion does not apply to a lawsuit seeking indemnification from an insurer for an underlying $20 million settlement arising from a class action lawsuit alleging the insured violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), further finding that although the policy’s access or disclosure exclusion applies to the underlying class action, there are genuine disputes of material facts as to the plaintiffs’ mend-the-hold and waiver arguments that may prevent the insurer from raising the exclusion.

  • April 01, 2026

    Insurer Seeks Default Judgment Against Boat Crew Member In Policy Rescission Suit

    KEY WEST, Fla. — One day after a Florida federal judge issued an order regarding the procedure to file for default final judgment, a general liability insurer on March 31 filed a motion for default final judgment against a boat crew member in the insurer’s suit seeking a policy rescission for alleged material misrepresentations in a policy renewal application and a declaration that it does not have a duty to defend or indemnify in an underlying negligence action related to a parasailing accident.

  • April 01, 2026

    Judge: No Personal & Advertising Injury Coverage Owed For Trademark Infringement Suit

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted a commercial general liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in an insured’s lawsuit seeking personal and advertising injury coverage for an underlying action alleging the insured unlawfully used another company’s trademark in its online advertising, holding that the underlying claims fail to establish an offense that falls under policy coverage and that an intellectual property exclusion further bars coverage.

  • April 01, 2026

    No Indemnification Owed For $2M Settlement Of Labor Lawsuit Arising From Injury

    NEW YORK — A New York justice denied a subcontractor and its insurer’s motion for a declaration that a debris removal company’s insurer has a duty to indemnify and reimburse them for a $2 million settlement of an underlying labor law action arising from a worker injury, holding that the subcontractor’s own negligence is a condition that is expressly excluded from additional insured coverage.

  • 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 31, 2026

    Federal Judge Refuses To Toss Insurer’s Lawsuit Arising From Minor’s Drowning Death

    ELKINS, W. Va. — A federal judge in West Virginia on March 30 refused to dismiss an insurer’s declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying lawsuit arising from a 2-year-old’s drowning death that occurred during a day care’s field trip, holding that there is sufficient evidence in the record to support the court’s subject matter jurisdiction and declining to exercise its discretion to abstain from hearing the lawsuit.

  • March 31, 2026

    Judge Tosses Negligence Claims Against Adjuster Over ‘Inflated’ Hurricane Damage

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A Puerto Rico federal judge dismissed with prejudice a suit filed by an insurer against an insurance adjuster and his firm, which the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority hired to adjust claims related to damage from Hurricane Maria, alleging that the defendants negligently misrepresented property damages.  The judge said the case is time-barred by a one-year statute of limitations.

  • March 30, 2026

    Microcaptive Structure Declared Noneconomic; Underpayment Penalties Upheld

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Applying a recently established framework governing the economic substance doctrine and disclosure requirements in microcaptive insurance cases, a U.S. Tax Court judge held that a purported captive arrangement failed both prongs of the economic substance test and sustained a 40% accuracy-related penalty for a nondisclosed noneconomic substance transaction.

  • March 30, 2026

    Molestation, Discrimination, Pollution Exclusions Bar Coverage For Assault Suit

    MIAMI — A Florida federal judge granted a commercial general liability insurer’s motion for final default judgment against an insured based on the insured’s failure to respond to the insurer’s complaint and on the finding that the policy’s abuse or molestation exclusion, discrimination exclusion and pollution exclusion apply as bars to coverage for an underlying suit stemming from a verbal and physical altercation involving the insured’s employee.

  • March 27, 2026

    Texas Panel Says Trial Court Properly Found Insurer Did Not Act In Bad Faith

    AUSTIN, Texas — A trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of an insurer on claims alleging that the insurer violated the Texas Insurance Code by denying the insured’s theft claim in bad faith because the insurer met its burden of showing that a reasonable coverage dispute existed; however, the trial court improperly granted the insurer’s motion on the insured’s breach of contract claim because the value of the insured’s stolen items was not an essential element of the breach of contract claim, the Third District Texas Court of Appeals said March 26.

  • March 27, 2026

    No Professional Liability Coverage Owed For Trade Secrets Suit Against Attorney

    AUGUSTA, Ga. — A federal judge in Georgia held that a lawyers’ professional liability insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify its attorney insured in an underlying trade secrets lawsuit, saying the underlying action contains claims that are, at most, incidental to the insured’s performance of legal services and do not arise from any acts the insured took in rendering professional services.