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Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

  • March 27, 2026

    Parties To Mediate Coverage Dispute Suit After Texas Federal Judge Denies Motions

    DALLAS — The insurer and the insured in a federal lawsuit alleging bad faith, breach of contract and other claims in a dispute over whether damage to the roofs of two Texas buildings was caused by a 2021 hailstorm agreed in a March 26 notice “to have a magistrate judge conduct a settlement conference or mediation” for the case, taking up a judge’s offer that was included in an opinion denying a motion for summary judgment and motions to exclude and strike expert opinions and testimony.

  • March 27, 2026

    $60,605 In Attorney Fees Awarded In Policy Voidance Suit Over Murdered Spouse

    PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge awarded $60,605 in attorney fees to a life insurer in a declaratory judgment suit seeking to void a $750,000 life insurance policy after the insurer paid death benefits to the beneficiary, the deceased insured’s husband, who was later convicted of her murder, finding that the husband had no just defense for failure to respond to the complaint and while the lodestar method to calculate attorney fees was appropriate, the attorney fee request was reduced by the hours of clerical work.

  • 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 24, 2026

    Coverage Suit Arising From Tubbs Fire Was Not Timely Filed, 9th Circuit Affirms

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 23 held that an insured failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether she timely filed her lawsuit seeking coverage for her alleged loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal belongings that were destroyed by the Tubbs Fire in October 2017, affirming a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurers in her five-year-old pro se lawsuit alleging claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, misrepresentation, emotional distress and violations of the Unruh Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and California Business and Professions Code Section 17200.

  • 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 20, 2026

    Punitive Damages Claim Cannot Survive Dismissal As Pleaded, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s negligent misrepresentation claim because the insured plausibly alleged that the insurer negligently misrepresented its need for additional information about the vandalism of the insured’s property; however, the judge granted the insurer’s motion as it applied to the insured’s claim for punitive damages because such a claim is not an independent cause of action.

  • March 20, 2026

    Panels Affirms Judgment In Favor Of Homeowners Insurer In Water Damage Suit

    TRENTON, N.J. — A panel of the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division affirmed a trial court’s judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer in a water damage coverage dispute after determining that the lower court did not err in allowing a jury to determine if the insurer breached its contract when it ceased payments for the repair of the insured’s condominium unit.

  • March 20, 2026

    Amici Associations: District Court Erred Finding Collusion In Defect Coverage Case

    DENVER —  Three associations filed an amicus curiae brief in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in support of a townhome management company’s appeal of a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a contractor’s insurer in the company’s case against the insurer for coverage of construction defects and alleging bad faith, arguing that the lower court ignored case law surrounding the purpose of Nunn agreements.

  • March 19, 2026

    Homeowner’s Case Against Insurer Dismissed For Lack Of Controversy

    ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania granted a solar panel company’s insurer’s motion to dismiss a case a homeowner brought against the insurer for denying his claim after the solar panel company’s faulty workmanship on the property caused damage, finding that the homeowner failed to allege facts to establish subject matter jurisdiction or establish a controversy.

  • March 19, 2026

    Insureds’ Bad Faith Claim Not Supported By Sufficient Facts, Federal Judge Says

    INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana federal judge dismissed a bad faith claim without prejudice after determining that the insureds failed to show that the insurer of a recreational vehicle wrongfully refused to pay policy proceeds, deceived the insureds or delayed the adjustment of the insureds’ vandalism claim.

  • March 19, 2026

    Trial Court Erred In Dismissing Suit Against Auto Insurer, Georgia Panel Determines

    ATLANTA — A trial court erred in dismissing an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith complaint against his auto insurer because the insurer’s filing of an interpleader action and its deposit of the insured’s auto policy limits into a court registry did not absolve the insurer from its duty to protect the insured from the entry of an excess verdict in an underlying suit filed against the insured, a Georgia appeals panel said.

  • March 19, 2026

    Federal Judge Severs Bad Faith Claim, Enters $9.8M Judgment In Favor Of Insured

    PANAMA CITY, Fla. — To correct a “procedural conundrum” indicated by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals while ruling on an insurer’s petition for writ of mandamus challenging an order requiring it to produce discovery on an insured’s bad faith claim, a federal judge in Florida severed a bad faith claim from a breach of contract claim in a Hurricane Michael coverage dispute and entered a $9,817,232.97 final judgment in favor of the insured on the breach of contract claim so the severed claims can proceed as their own separate lawsuits and result in separate final judgments from which appeals may be filed.

  • March 19, 2026

    Magistrate Judge Finds Course Of Construction Exclusion Bars Coverage

    LOS ANGELES — A federal magistrate judge in California granted insurers’ motion for summary judgment on claims brought against them by an insured subcontractor for not defending or indemnifying it in an underlying construction-defect arbitration because coverage was barred under the policy as the construction project at issue was not completed.

  • 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 16, 2026

    Insured’s Bad Faith Suit Barred By Policy’s Suit Limitation Provision, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a breach of contract and bad faith suit stemming from a coverage dispute over the insured’s water damage claim because the insured failed to file suit within one year of the inception of the loss as required by the policy’s suit limitation provision.

  • March 16, 2026

    9th Circuit Affirms Insurer’s Win In Widow’s Suit Over Life Insurance Payment

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the grant of summary judgment against a widow bringing a putative class action lawsuit against an insurer for alleged underpayment of a life insurance policy, allegedly in breach of contract and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), writing that the insurer paid the policy in full and was entitled to deduct unpaid premiums.

  • 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 13, 2026

    RICO, Conspiracy Claims Dismissed In Workers’ Comp Case Involving Reinsurer, MGA

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York federal judge dismissed without prejudice civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and RICO conspiracy claims brought by a reinsurer and a managing general agency (MGA) against medical providers and law firms in a workers’ compensation fraud suit, holding that alleged reimbursement and administrative injuries were too remote to establish proximate cause and that the reinsurer and MGA failed to plausibly plead an association-in-fact enterprise or agreement in their first amended complaint.

  • 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.