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Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

  • March 12, 2026

    Federal Magistrate Judge Says Insured Failed To Show Entitlement To UIM Benefits

    HOUSTON — A Texas federal magistrate judge dismissed an insured’s breach of contract claim without prejudice and abated the insured’s extracontractual claims after determining that the insured has not established that the tortfeasor was at fault for an accident or that he is entitled to underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits under his employer’s auto policy.

  • March 12, 2026

    Homeowners Insurer’s Transfer Of Venue Not Warranted, Magistrate Judge Says

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri federal magistrate judge denied a homeowners insurer’s motion to transfer venue from the Western District of Missouri to the Eastern District of Missouri because the insurer failed to show that the Eastern District is a more convenient forum for the parties or the witnesses.

  • March 12, 2026

    Suit Involving Cousin’s Purported Disability Fraud Is Dismissed As Untimely

    DALLAS — Without substantive explanation, a Texas federal judge overruled objections and accepted a report and recommendation to dismiss as untimely a lawsuit involving fraud and bad faith claims in which the pro se plaintiff challenged a roughly two-decade-old termination of long-term disability (LTD) benefits and alleged that a cousin fraudulently used her identity to file a successful disability claim.

  • March 12, 2026

    5th Circuit Finds No Error In Lower Court’s Refusal To Consider Expert Affidavit

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Texas federal judge’s ruling that breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged against a homeowners insurer in a dispute over coverage for water damage must be dismissed because the lower court did not err in failing to consider a late-filed affidavit by the insureds’ public adjuster.

  • March 11, 2026

    Judgment Granted For Travelers On Bad Faith Claim In Home Fire Coverage Dispute

    MACON, Ga. — A Georgia federal judge granted partial summary judgment to Travelers Personal Insurance Co. in a homeowner’s breach of contract and bad faith suit against the insurer for its purported failure to compensate the homeowner for a fire-related loss, finding that the insurer had reasonable grounds to deny the claim and, therefore, the bad faith claim fails.

  • March 10, 2026

    No Coverage Owed For Oil Spill Remediation Costs, Federal Judge Determines

    NEW BERN, N.C. — An insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged against its insurer cannot proceed because the insured failed to provide notice of an oil spill within seven days as required by the policy, a North Carolina federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment and denying the insured’s motion for summary judgment.

  • March 06, 2026

    Federal Judge Remands Hail, Windstorm Coverage Dispute To Oklahoma State Court

    OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge in Oklahoma granted insureds’ motion to remand their coverage lawsuit against their insurer and agent arising from hail and windstorm damage to their home, holding that the insurer has failed to satisfy the high burden required to establish that the agent was fraudulently joined and noting that the court has already found remand appropriate in cases that are “remarkably similar.”

  • March 04, 2026

    Settlement Conference Set After Judgment Granted In Insurance Application Dispute

    LAS VEGAS —  A Nevada federal magistrate judge ordered the parties to appear for a settlement conference after a federal judge granted in part and denied in part cross-motions for summary judgment in insureds’ suit seeking coverage for expenses in defending another suit regarding fraud-based claims.

  • March 03, 2026

    Disability Insurer’s Interpretation Of Plan Terms Wins In COLA Benefits Dispute

    SALT LAKE CITY — Distinguishing Colt v. Mass. Mut. Life Ins. Co. because of the concessions the insurer in that case made, a Utah federal judge ruled against a former anesthesiologist who argued that he was entitled to lifetime benefits under cost of living adjustment (COLA) riders per the terms of his disability income coverage.

  • March 02, 2026

    Complaint Seeking Confirmation Of Crop Insurance Arbitration Award Dismissed

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas federal judge dismissed with prejudice a crop insurance lawsuit in which a pair of farmers sought confirmation of an arbitration award against an insurer; a day prior, the parties filed a joint stipulation in dismiss the request for confirmation, as well as the farmers’ claims for breach of contract and insurance bad faith.

  • February 25, 2026

    5th Circuit Refuses To Reconsider Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Coverage Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 24 denied an insured’s petition to reconsider its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit, standing by its ruling that the insured failed to provide evidence suggesting that hail occurred within the relevant policy period and, as a result, did not establish a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether covered damage occurred.

  • February 25, 2026

    Judge: No Reasonably Clear Evidence Of Bad Faith In Hurricane Beryl Coverage Suit

    HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas granted an insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment as to the insured’s claim that it violated Texas Insurance Code Chapter 541 when it underpaid a claim for property damage that was caused by Hurricane Beryl, concluding that there is no “reasonably clear” evidence that the insurer acted in bad faith.

  • February 25, 2026

    Texas Federal Judge Finds Most Of Insured’s Claims Stand In Payment Dispute

    DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas, in partially denying an insurance carrier’s motion for summary judgment, ruled that breach of contract and Texas insurance law claims that a homeowner brought against his insurer regarding coverage of damages after a pipe burst will survive but that a common-law bad faith claim will be dismissed.

  • February 24, 2026

    Preliminary Injunction Bid Denied In Captive Insurance Trade Secrets Case

    PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge denied a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by an insurance brokerage firm in a trade secrets dispute, ruling that although the firm showed a likelihood of success on its breach of contract claim, it failed to establish the existence of a legally protectable trade secret or imminent irreparable harm.

  • February 23, 2026

    Insureds’ Claims Foreclosed By Homeowners Insurer’s Payment, Magistrate Judge Says

    SHERMAN, Texas — A federal magistrate judge recommended granting a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and extracontractual claims and denying the insureds’ motion to vacate an appraisal award after determining that the insureds failed to meet their burden of proving that the appraisal award was premised on a mistake of fact and that the insureds’ claims are foreclosed by the insurer’s timely payment of the appraisal award.

  • February 20, 2026

    Oklahoma Law Bars Arbitration Of Storm Damage Insurance Dispute, Judge Says

    OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma federal judge denied a group of insurers’ motion to compel arbitration of a dispute over an insured’s claim for storm damage to a commercial property under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention), opining that Oklahoma state law reverse-preempts the convention and bars arbitration of this type of insurance dispute.

  • February 20, 2026

    Settlement Reached After Counterclaims Dismissed In Coverage Dispute Over Fire

    BOISE, Idaho — The parties to a coverage dispute over fire damage after a construction worker discarded oil-soaked rags reached a settlement after a federal judge in Idaho granted the insurer’s motions to dismiss bad faith counterclaims filed by the construction company and seller of the property because they did not allege sufficient facts to support the counterclaims.

  • February 20, 2026

    Insurer Reasonably Relied On Engineer’s Report; Bad Faith Claim Fails, Judge Says

    TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A farm owner’s bad faith claim against an insurer cannot proceed because the insurer reasonably relied on an engineer’s report when it partially denied coverage for damage to two poultry houses based on the policy’s wear and tear exclusion, weight of snow and ice exclusion and improper workmanship exclusion, an Alabama federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • February 20, 2026

    Insurer’s Partial Payment For Storm Damage Was Arbitrary, Capricious, Insureds Say

    AUSTIN, Texas — A homeowners insurer’s failure to promptly and adequately pay its insureds for the full value of their claim for damages to their home caused by a hail and windstorm was arbitrary and capricious, the insureds maintain in a complaint filed in Texas federal court.

  • February 19, 2026

    Breach Of Contract Claim Is Only Claim To Proceed Against Homeowners Insurer

    SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An insured’s claim for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing must be dismissed as it is duplicative of the insured’s breach of contract claim, a New York federal judge said after also determining that the insured’s request for extracontractual damages cannot proceed.

  • February 19, 2026

    Judge Allows Experts, Certifies Class On Whether UM/UIM Coverage Properly Applied

    PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge agreed to certify a class action alleging that an insurer underpaid insureds by failing to stack uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage for policyholders who had multivehicle policies and rejected efforts by the insurer to exclude expert testimony on class certification.

  • February 18, 2026

    Stay Granted In Auto Accident Coverage Dispute Involving Insolvent Insurer

    LAS VEGAS — After being advised that plaintiffs are seeking administrative remedies in a bad faith breach of contract dispute involving an insolvent insurer regarding coverage for an auto accident that resulted in deaths and injuries, a Nevada federal judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a stay.

  • February 18, 2026

    Bifurcation In UIM Benefits Suit Not Warranted, Federal Magistrate Judge Says

    LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A New Mexico federal magistrate judge denied an auto insurer’s motion to bifurcate an insured’s claim seeking underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits from the insured’s extracontractual claims after determining that the extracontractual claims are not contingent on the success of the UIM benefits claim.

  • February 17, 2026

    Calif. Federal Judge Rules On 20 Motions In Limine In Aircraft Insurance Dispute

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge granted in part, denied in part and reserved ruling in part on a series of cross-motions in limine in a private jet insurance coverage dispute, excluding evidence of reinsurance and loss reserves, bifurcating punitive damages, limiting expert and regulatory evidence and reserving authentication and hearsay objections to competing insurance proposals for determination at trial.

  • February 13, 2026

    Pa. Federal Judge Partly Grants Motion To Compel In LTD Benefits Case

    WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge on Feb. 12 declined to compel production of “batting average” information and communications concerning state or federal investigations but ordered the administrator of a group long-term disability (LTD) policy to provide some of the information a claimant seeks regarding incentives for insurance adjusters and reviewing physicians, the administrator’s review policies and procedures and its use of a third-party medical review company.