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Mealey's Insurance

  • August 22, 2025

    Insureds Owed $15M In Damages, $8M In Prejudgment Interest In Asbestos Dispute

    SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Following a bench trial on damages incurred by insureds in a long-running dispute over coverage for underlying asbestos bodily injury claims, a New York justice determined that the insureds met their burden of showing that they are entitled to $15 million in damages and $8 million in prejudgment interest.

  • August 20, 2025

    Judge: Insured Met Burden Of Showing Pollution Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage

    ALBANY, N.Y. — An insured municipality met its burden of showing its insurers owe a duty to defend it against an environmental contamination claim, a New York federal judge said after determining that there is a “reasonable possibility” that the contamination at issue was caused by a fire or an emergency, which are exceptions to the policies’ pollution exclusion.

  • August 19, 2025

    Judge Orders Supplemental Briefing On Joinder Issue In Contamination Coverage Suit

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge on Aug. 18 ordered two insurers embroiled in a dispute over a mutual insured’s environmental contamination liabilities to file supplemental briefing on the issue of whether the insured must be joined as a party to the suit before the court determines if a settlement agreement between the insured and one of the insurers is valid.

  • August 19, 2025

    Producer’s Reconsideration Bid On Discovery Limits Denied In Cleanup Cost Row

    PADUCAH, Ky. — A Kentucky federal judge denied a ferrosilicon producer’s motion to reconsider a prior ruling that limited the scope of the producer’s issued deposition topics, holding that the producer’s objections were largely repetitions of prior arguments already considered and addressed by the court and that claims-handling discovery is inappropriate at the current stage of litigation, which is centered on a reinsurance contract in a dispute over pollution-related cleanup costs.

  • August 19, 2025

    Insured, Excess Insurers File Notices Of Appeal In Asbestos Coverage Dispute

    FORT WORTH, Texas — An insured and two of its excess insurers filed notices of appeal to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, seeking review of a final judgment entered by a Texas federal judge in the asbestos coverage dispute in addition to review of a summary judgment ruling entered in favor of the insurers and the denial of the insured’s motion for reconsideration.

  • August 19, 2025

    Question Of Fact Exists As To Whether Ongoing Water Leakage Exclusion Applies

    BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by insureds who are seeking coverage for water damage in their home because a question of fact exists as to whether the policy’s exclusion barring coverage for ongoing water leakage applies.

  • August 19, 2025

    Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Carbon Monoxide Leak, Insurer Says

    JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An insured is not entitled to defense or indemnity for underlying lawsuits seeking damages caused by carbon monoxide exposure stemming from the faulty installation of tankless hot water heaters because the policy’s total pollution exclusion bars coverage, an insurer asserts in a complaint filed in Florida federal court.

  • August 18, 2025

    No Coverage Owed For Underlying Suit Seeking Indemnity For Asbestos Claims

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — Breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged against an insurer and its claims adjuster by an insured seeking coverage for an underlying suit seeking indemnification for asbestos bodily injury suits cannot proceed because the claims adjuster had no contract with the insured and the underlying suit does not seek damages caused by property damage or bodily injury as required by the policy at issue, a South Carolina federal judge said in granting the insurer and claims adjusters’ motion to dismiss.

  • August 11, 2025

    COMMENTARY: The Forever Chemical: Regulation, Litigation And Insurance

    By Robert D. Chesler, Arthur J. Clarke, Walker Prentke, Brian Della Torre and Matthew J. Sinkman

  • August 15, 2025

    Judge Determines Duties Among Insurers After HVAC Leak Creates Water Damage

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York determined the duties to defend among insurers after a general contractor’s insurer sued subcontractors’ insurers to defend the general contractor in an underlying state court case alleging water damage to an Old Navy store occurred after leaky brass valves were installed during work done on its HVAC system.

  • August 14, 2025

    Pa. Federal Judge Dismisses Bad Faith Claim In Dust Contamination Coverage Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge on Aug. 13 dismissed a bad faith claim alleged against a homeowners insurer after determining that the insureds, who are seeking coverage for an infiltration of dust in their home, failed to show that the insurer’s denial of coverage based on the policy’s exclusions for pollution and defective workmanship was unreasonable.

  • August 11, 2025

    Judge Won’t Certify Immediate Appeal In Asbestos Insurance Spat

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana said that while an immediate appeal might alleviate the need for trial later this year on claims between a settled asbestos defendant and its insured, the burden posed by any appeal outweighs that of the anticipated one-day trial from which an appeal could be taken.

  • August 11, 2025

    Questions Of Fact Exist On Whether Mold Exclusion Applies, Judge Says

    NEW ORLEANS — A breach of contract claim in a dispute over coverage for mold and other damage caused by a hurricane will proceed against a homeowners insurer because questions of fact exist regarding whether the insured submitted a timely proof of loss and whether the mold exclusion applies as a bar to coverage, a Louisiana federal judge said in denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • August 11, 2025

    Insured Failed To Support Breach Of Contract Claim In Black Mold Coverage Suit

    ABERDEEN, Miss. — A Mississippi federal judge granted a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment on an insured’s claims in a coverage dispute over black mold growth in the insured’s home after determining that the insured failed to show what portion of the policy the insurer allegedly breached and failed to show that the insurer did not have a reasonable basis for its coverage decision.

  • August 11, 2025

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss Chemical Company’s Coverage Suit Arising From Explosion

    BEAUMONT, Texas — A federal judge in Texas denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss a sustainable chemical company’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking to obtain coverage for the full value of its business interruption loss caused by an explosion at a Texas plant, finding that the company sufficiently pleaded a right to sue the insurer “based on an implied agreement outside the Reinsurance Agreement.”

  • August 08, 2025

    Bad Faith, Unfair Trade Practices Claims Cannot Proceed Against Homeowners Insurer

    RALEIGH, N.C. — An insured’s claims for bad faith and violations of North Carolina’s laws regulating unfair claims practices and deceptive trade practices cannot proceed against a homeowners insurer because the insured’s complaint asserts only that there was a reasonable disagreement about coverage for wet rot damage caused by a plumbing system leak in the insured’s home, a North Carolina federal magistrate judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings.

  • August 06, 2025

    Appraisal Proceeding Cannot Be Reopened To Consider Costs For Asbestos Remediation

    GREENBELT, Md.  — A homeowners insurer is not required to cover the costs for asbestos remediation in its insureds’ home because an appraisal award cannot be amended, and the appraisal proceeding cannot be reopened pursuant to the policy’s language providing that an appraisal award is final, a Maryland federal judge said in granting summary judgment in favor of the insurer.

  • August 05, 2025

    Insured’s Counterclaim In Dispute Over Defective Pool Shells Dismissed

    AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal judge adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation to dismiss an insured’s counterclaim for promissory estoppel in a dispute over coverage for defective pool shells damaged by a chemical reaction between alkalis in the cement and silica, overruling the insured’s objection that the magistrate judge misapplied the legal standard governing promissory estoppel claims.

  • August 05, 2025

    Pollution Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage For EtO Claims, Insured Says

    PHILADELPHIA — A pollution exclusion does not bar coverage for underlying claims stemming from the contamination of ice cream with ethylene oxide (EtO) because the excess insurer’s policy states that the pollution exclusion will not apply if a loss is covered by the policy underlying the excess insurer’s policy, an insured says in a complaint filed in Pennsylvania court.

  • August 04, 2025

    Professional Liability Insurer Announces Judgment Satisfied In Mold Coverage Dispute

    LAS VEGAS — A contractor’s professional and indemnity liability insurer filed a notice in a federal court in Nevada indicating that a broker’s professional liability insurer has satisfied a judgment in its favor in a coverage dispute arising from mold and moisture-related damage.

  • July 30, 2025

    Insurer Seeks Contribution For Contamination Claim From 2nd Insurer

    EUGENE, Ore. — A primary insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify an insured for an underlying environmental contamination claim and has a duty to indemnify the insured’s other primary and umbrella insurer for defense and indemnity costs incurred in defending the insured, the primary and umbrella insurer says in a complaint filed in Oregon federal court.

  • July 29, 2025

    Insureds’ Water, Mold Damage Suit Dismissed Following Parties’ Settlement

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal magistrate judge dismissed an insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit filed against a homeowners insurer seeking coverage for water and mold damage after the parties notified the court that a settlement was reached.

  • July 28, 2025

    Duty To Indemnify Owed For Settlement, Insured Says In Newly Filed Complaint

    DALLAS — An insurer owes a duty to indemnify an insured for the settlement of an underlying suit filed against the insured because there is no evidence that the damages in the underlying suit were caused by pollutants, the insured contends in a July 25 complaint filed in Texas federal court.

  • July 25, 2025

    Final Judgment Entered In Asbestos Coverage Dispute Per Parties’ Stipulation

    FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas federal judge entered final judgment in an asbestos coverage dispute after the insured and three of its excess insurers stipulated to dismiss all remaining claims that were left unresolved by the court in the parties’ motions for summary judgment.

  • July 25, 2025

    Insureds Sufficiently Support Bad Faith Claim In Water Damage Suit, Judge Says

    PHILADELPHIA — A bad faith claim alleged by insureds in a water damage coverage dispute can proceed because the insureds’ amended complaint alleges that the homeowners insurer’s denial of coverage was not reasonable based on the lack of evidence that the water damage was caused by a continuous leak, an excluded cause of loss, a Pennsylvania federal judge said July 24 in denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss the bad faith claim.