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Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

  • December 11, 2025

    Homeowners Insurer’s Removal Notice Timely Filed, Indiana Federal Judge Determines

    INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana federal judge denied a motion to remand after determining that the homeowners insurer’s notice of removal was timely filed because it was filed within 30 days of the insurer learning that the amount in controversy exceeded the federal jurisdictional minimum amount of $75,000.

  • December 10, 2025

    Townhome Management Appeals Finding Of Collusion In Case Over Defect Coverage

    DENVER — A townhome management company, as subrogee for a contractor, appealed to the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a Colorado federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in the management company’s case against the insurer for insurance bad faith regarding the coverage of an underlying action the company brought against the contractor for alleged defective construction work; the judge found that the facts established that a Nunn agreement between the company and the contractor was the result of collusion.

  • December 09, 2025

    Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurers’ Favor In Bad Faith Suit Over Factory Work Death

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 8 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of insurers in a plastics manufacturer’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking indemnification for the settlement of an underlying lawsuit brought by the family of the insured’s factory employee who was killed on the job, holding that the policies bar coverage for the underlying claim that the insured violated Ohio’s employer intentional tort statute.

  • December 09, 2025

    5th Circuit Says State Law Bars Arbitration Of Hurricane Policy Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 8, applying a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling on certified questions of law regarding the arbitrability of insurance disputes, affirmed a lower court’s denial of domestic insurers’ motion to compel arbitration of a Louisiana town’s claims for damages, breach of contract and bad faith after finding that the participation of foreign insurers in the policy does not require the court to apply the New York Convention.

  • December 09, 2025

    Judge Dismisses 2 Claims In Coronavirus Coverage Suit, Allows Insureds To Amend

    DURHAM, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina granted 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, N.C., restaurants seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic but allowed the insureds to file an amended complaint to include additional factual allegations related to the insurer’s renewed denial of claims following the North State Deli, LLC v. Cincinnati Insurance Co. decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court.

  • December 09, 2025

    Insurer Waived Right To Object To Insureds’ Civil Remedy Notice, Florida Panel Says

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer in a bad faith suit stemming from the insureds’ claim for water and mold damage in their home because the insurer waived its right to object to the insureds’ civil remedy notice (CRN) by failing to raise an objection to the CRN when it responded to the CRN, a Florida appellate court said.

  • December 09, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Ruling For Insurer In Bad Faith Suit Arising From Rain Damage

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in the insured’s bad faith lawsuit arising from damage caused by rain that leaked through a roof, rejecting the insured’s contention that the lower court erred by excluding its expert testimony regarding causation.

  • December 05, 2025

    Judge Denies Insurer’s Supplemental Summary Judgment Motion In Roof Damage Dispute

    FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Dec. 4 held that fact issues preclude granting a commercial property insurer’s motion for supplemental summary judgment on a church insured’s claims for breach of contract and violations of the Texas Prompt Payment Claims Act, further denying the insured’s motion to reconsider an earlier ruling that dismissed its bad faith claims in a coverage dispute over hailstorm damage.

  • December 04, 2025

    Insurer-Insured Debate Postjudgment Interest After Asbestos Award

    NEW ORLEANS — An insurer in a Dec. 3 response asks for clarification of the period for which insured seeks prejudgment interest after a federal judge in Louisiana entered final judgment for an asbestos defendant on a $338,000 breach of contract claim.

  • December 04, 2025

    Judgment Denied For State Farm In Fire Coverage Dispute Over Misrepresentations

    SCRANTON, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge on Dec. 3 denied summary judgment to State Farm in a breach of contract suit over State Farm’s alleged failure to cover an insured’s fire damage claim, finding that the insured’s testimony during an examination under oath (EUO) creates a dispute of fact regarding whether he made false statements in bad faith as to his knowledge of judgments exceeding $100,000 against him.

  • December 02, 2025

    Insured Appeals Court’s Ruling That It Failed To Toll Statute Of Limitations

    CHICAGO — A condominium association insured filed a notice on Dec. 1 appealing an Illinois federal court’s grant of an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from hail and wind damage to the roofs of its 27-building condominium complex.

  • December 01, 2025

    Defective Construction Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage For Water, Mold Damages

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of insured homeowners on a breach of contract claim after determining that an all-risk policy provides coverage for rainwater intrusion and additional living expenses incurred as a result of mold contamination in the insureds’ home because rainwater, a covered loss, rather than defective construction, an excluded cause of loss, was the “efficient proximate cause” of the insureds’ loss.

  • December 01, 2025

    Panel: Court Erred In Denying Homeowners Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss Bad Faith Suit

    HOUSTON — A state trial court erred in denying a homeowners insurer’s motion to dismiss claims alleging violations of the Texas Insurance Code and bad faith because the insureds’ causes of action against the insurer were barred based on the insurer’s payment of an appraisal award, the First District Texas Court of Appeals said in vacating the trial court’s order.

  • December 01, 2025

    Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims Against Life Insurer Fail, Judge Says

    MONROE, La. — A Louisiana federal judge granted a life insurer’s motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and bad faith claims after determining that the claims fail because the claimant failed to show that the life insurer breached any of the policy provisions.

  • December 01, 2025

    Property Insurer Says Insureds’ Breach Of Contract Claim Must Be Dismissed

    TULSA, Okla. — A breach of contract claim against a property insurer must be dismissed because the insureds failed to file suit within the policy’s one-year suit limitation provision and failed to show in their amended complaint that the limitation provision should be tolled, the insurer says in a motion to dismiss filed in Oklahoma federal court.

  • December 01, 2025

    Insured Failed To Support Bad Faith Claim Against Auto Insurer, Judge Says

    PHILADELPHIA — An insured’s bad faith claim cannot proceed because she failed to show that her auto insurer lacked a reasonable basis to deny a claim for underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits, a Pennsylvania federal judge said.

  • November 25, 2025

    11th Circuit Affirms Bad Faith Verdict Entered In Favor Of Auto Insurer

    ATLANTA — A district court did not abuse its discretion by not allowing an insured to introduce a jury verdict in her favor in the liability trial to the jury in a bad faith trial because the insured previously agreed that the verdict in the liability trial was irrelevant to the bad faith claim, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in affirming the jury’s verdict in favor of the auto insurer on the insured’s bad faith claim.

  • November 25, 2025

    Fact Issues Exist On Cause Of Water Damage, California Panel Says In Reversing

    LOS ANGELES — The Second District California Court of Appeal reversed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer on breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for water damage in the insured’s home after determining that questions of fact exist over whether a windstorm or wear and tear caused a hole in the home’s roof that resulted in water entering the home.

  • November 24, 2025

    N.Y. Appellate Court Affirms Order Requiring Production Of Reinsurance Agreement

    NEW YORK — The First Department New York Supreme Court Appellate Division unanimously affirmed a prior order requiring an insurer to produce copies of its reinsurance agreements in the Archdiocese of New York’s coverage dispute arising from nearly 1,700 underlying sexual abuse lawsuits, holding that the state’s discovery rule governing insurance agreements extends to reinsurance contracts and that recent legislative amendments do not limit disclosure.

  • November 24, 2025

    Employee Accused Of Sharing Captive Insurance Trade Info Files Fraud Counterclaim

    PHOENIX — An ex-employee of an insurance brokerage firm filed an answer and counterclaim in response to the firm’s verified amended complaint alleging that he misappropriated trade secrets and breached his contract by transferring captive insurance client information to a competitor, asserting a claim for fraud and that the firm induced his continued employment through fictitious equity unit awards while concealing a forthcoming corporate acquisition that would render them worthless.

  • November 21, 2025

    W.Va. Court Reverses Summary Judgment Rulings For Subcontractors’ Insurers

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Finding that a trial court misconstrued Soaring Eagle Development Co., LLC v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America to preclude a general contractor’s breach of contract, bad faith and unfair trade practices claims against subcontractors’ insurers, the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals in consolidated appeals reversed the trial court’s rulings granting summary judgment to the general contractor.

  • November 21, 2025

    Bifurcation Warranted To Prevent Prejudice To Homeowners Insurer, Judge Says

    LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Kentucky federal judge granted a homeowners insurer’s motion to bifurcate bad faith claims from a breach of contract claim after determining that bifurcation will prevent an insurer from being prejudiced if the claims are tried together.

  • November 19, 2025

    Farmer Alleges Crop Insurer Wrongly Terminated Policy, Causing $396K In Losses

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A farmer filed an amended complaint in an Alabama federal court, alleging that a crop insurance provider wrongfully terminated her 2022 crop year policy and unduly reported her to a federal ineligibility database; the crop insurer seeks dismissal of the suit on the grounds that the dispute is subject to mandatory arbitration under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA).

  • November 18, 2025

    Contamination Exclusion Bars Coverage For COVID-19 Losses, 9th Circuit Affirms

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 17 affirmed a district court’s ruling that an all-risk policy’s contamination exclusion bars coverage for losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic, rejecting the insureds’ argument that the district court erred in finding that a California appellate panel’s ruling in a similar case is applicable to the instant dispute.

  • November 18, 2025

    W.Va. Federal Judge Mostly Denies Dismissal In Suit Over LTD Benefits

    HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia federal judge declined to dismiss a bad faith claim against a long-term disability (LTD) insurer and ruled that four out of five allegations as to violation of the West Virginia Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA) survive.