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February 06, 2026
DALLAS — The owner of Texas commercial buildings that were damaged during a 2024 winter storm sued its commercial property insurer in a state court alleging breach of contract and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) for “significantly” underpaying its damages claim “based on the insufficient inspection with the intention of minimizing its liability.”
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February 05, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — In the latest of multiple rulings in which the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has reversed course from its prior precedent and proceeded to bar arbitration of Louisiana hurricane insurance disputes following new Louisiana Supreme Court precedent, a panel on Feb. 4 issued a per curiam unpublished opinion affirming the vacatur of a previous order compelling arbitration of insurance and bad faith claims arising out of hurricane damage to a hotel.
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February 05, 2026
DALLAS — On remand from the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a Texas federal judge partially granted a motion for summary judgment filed by Southwest Airlines Co. in a dispute over excess coverage for income losses sustained by the airline as a result of a computer system failure in 2016, agreeing with a magistrate judge’s conclusion that the term “but for” as used in the excess policy’s definition of loss must be interpreted as meaning “except for.”
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February 04, 2026
DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas denied insurers’ motion to dismiss the trustee of the Boy Scouts of America Settlement Trust’s bad faith lawsuit seeking a declaration that the insurers have breached or will breach their insurance policies by refusing to provide coverage for sexual abuse claims, rejecting the insurers’ argument that the lawsuit should be dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds or stayed under the Colorado River abstention doctrine.
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February 04, 2026
FRANKFORT, Ky. — In an unpublished opinion, a split Kentucky appeals panel reversed and remanded a ruling against the third-party administrator of a short-term disability (STD) plan in a long-running case where a jury awarded the claimant $7,125,000 in emotional distress and punitive damages
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January 30, 2026
CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 29 granted a petition for rehearing en banc and vacated a panel majority’s opinion that found that an insured met the necessary requirements to certify a class and had standing to bring a class action suit that alleges that an auto insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith in determining a vehicle’s total loss value.
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January 30, 2026
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — An insured’s bad faith claim against a commercial property insurer cannot proceed because the insurer’s denial of coverage for roof damage was not unreasonable, a federal circuit judge, sitting by designation in Pennsylvania federal court, said after determining that a question of fact exists over the cause of the roof damage.
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January 29, 2026
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal judge denied an auto insurer’s motion for summary judgment after determining that questions of fact exist regarding whether the insurer acted in good faith throughout the entire claims process and whether the insurer caused an excess judgment to be entered against its insureds in a suit stemming from an auto accident.
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January 29, 2026
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah federal judge granted an auto insurer’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings, agreeing with the insurer that the insureds’ punitive damages claim cannot proceed because the insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith claims sound in contract and punitive damages are not recoverable for contract claims under Utah law.
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January 27, 2026
SCRANTON, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge dismissed an insured’s bad faith claim without prejudice after determining that the insured failed to allege sufficient allegations in support of a claim for bad faith under Pennsylvania law.
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January 27, 2026
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An insured’s claims for breach of contract and bad faith can proceed because the insured filed suit within the applicable 10-year statute of limitations, a West Virginia federal judge said in partially denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss.
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January 26, 2026
PHILADELPHIA — A district court properly entered summary judgment in favor of an auto insurer because the insurer met its burden of showing that the addition of a named driver exclusion was valid and enforceable under Pennsylvania law and the insured failed to show that the auto insurer’s denial of coverage based on the exclusion was unreasonable, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Jan. 23.
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January 23, 2026
CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 22 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in a dispute over coverage for an additional insured for underlying lawsuits arising out of a gas explosion, holding that the primary insured’s “acts or omissions” caused the gas explosion in whole or in part and the plaintiff is an “additional insured” for the purposes of the umbrella insurance policy.
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January 23, 2026
SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington granted a subcontractor and its insurer’s stipulation and proposed order of dismissal after the parties had notified the court that they had reached a settlement in a case brought by the subcontractor alleging that the insurer failed to defend it against a counterclaim in an underlying suit arising out of the subcontractor’s microtunneling work for a water project in Seattle.
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January 23, 2026
VALDOSTA, Ga. — An insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged against a property insurer in a dispute over coverage owed for damages from Hurricane Helene can proceed because the insured’s complaint includes sufficient details to support the claims, a Georgia federal judge said in denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss.
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January 23, 2026
PHILADELPHIA — Pollution liability and commercial general liability insurers of the owner and operator of military housing projects throughout the country acted in bad faith by denying coverage for underlying suits filed against the insureds by families who were injured by mold exposure in insured military housing units, the insureds say in a complaint filed in Pennsylvania federal court.
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January 22, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bad faith claim alleged against a homeowners insurer for refusing to replace all of the wiring in an insured home damaged by an electrical fire cannot proceed because the District of Columbia does not recognize the tort of bad faith in disputes over insurance contracts, a Washington federal judge said in partially granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss.
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January 21, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — A bad faith claim alleged against an auto insurer can proceed because the allegations in the complaint sufficiently support a claim for bad faith and show that the insurer possessed a satisfactory proof of loss, a Louisiana federal judge said in denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss.
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January 21, 2026
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York granted insurers’ motion to dismiss an insured’s counterclaims for declaratory relief, reimbursement and violations of the duty of good faith and fair dealing and New York General Business Law Section 349, holding that the majority of the counterclaims are duplicative of the breach of contract claim.
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January 20, 2026
DENVER — A Colorado federal judge dismissed without prejudice an insured’s request for exemplary damages in a water damage coverage dispute, agreeing with a magistrate judge’s finding that the insured failed to show that a triable issue of fact exists that would entitle her to exemplary damages.
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January 20, 2026
SPOKANE, Wash. — A Washington federal judge denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss a policyholder’s complaint over an underinsured motorist coverage dispute arising from a 2023 auto accident, holding that the policyholder plausibly alleges breach of contract, bad faith and statutory violations and provides sufficient notice of the claims and underlying factual circumstances to proceed.
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January 20, 2026
HAMMOND, Ind. — A professional services exclusion does not apply as a bar to coverage for an underlying suit filed against an insured crane inspection company because the inspection by the company does not qualify as a professional service as the company’s inspectors did not have extensive training and operated more like technicians, an Indiana federal judge said in denying the insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment and granting the insured’s motion for partial summary judgment.
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January 20, 2026
DENVER — A property insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith by relying on its policy’s pollution exclusion to deny a portion of an insured’s claim for damages caused by the release of asbestos during a fire in a nearby condominium unit, an insured maintains in a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.
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January 20, 2026
HARTFORD, Conn. — A bad faith claim alleged against a workers’ compensation insurer cannot proceed because the insurer met its burden of showing that it did not act with a sinister motive or handle the insured’s claim in an unreasonable manner, a Connecticut judge said in granting summary judgment in favor of the insurer.
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January 20, 2026
BALTIMORE — A Maryland federal judge denied an insurer’s bid to dismiss or obtain summary judgment in a pro se policyholder’s suit arising from a 2022 auto accident, holding that disputed issues remain as to whether the insurer’s handling of a personal injury protection (PIP) claim excused the policyholder’s failure to meet a 12-month presentment requirement and whether administrative remedies were exhausted before the complaint was filed.