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Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

  • January 15, 2026

    Insured Failed To Show Auto Insurer Acted In Bad Faith, Federal Judge Says

    OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma federal judge denied an insured’s motion for partial summary judgment after determining that the insured is not entitled to attorney fees or filing costs related to a breach of contract claim because there is no evidence that the auto insurer acted in bad faith and no evidence that the insured’s decision to file suit prompted the insurer to pay the claim.

  • January 15, 2026

    Insureds Allege FAIR Plan Mishandled, Underpaid Wildfire Smoke Claims

    LOS ANGELES — A pair of property insurance policyholders sued the California FAIR Plan Association in state court, alleging that the association breached statutory coverage requirements and engaged in bad faith claims handling by relying on policy provisions that impermissibly restricted coverage for wildfire smoke contamination and loss-of-use claims stemming from the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

  • January 15, 2026

    RICO Defendants Say MGA, Reinsurer, Sought Leave To Amend Complaint In Bad Faith

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The defendants in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit filed a letter in a New York federal court urging denial of a reinsurer and a management general agency’s oral request to amend their first amended complaint (FAC) and dismissal of the case with prejudice, arguing that incurable RICO standing defects would remain and that the proposed amendment was sought in bad faith after plaintiffs advanced contradictory arguments.

  • January 14, 2026

    Reinsurers, Insurers Ask To Seal Summary Judgment Briefs In Indemnification Case

    TRENTON, N.J. —  The parties in a dispute between insurers and reinsurers over indemnification for asbestos bodily injury claims moved to seal confidential information as part of their cross-motions for summary judgment in a New Jersey federal court, stating that the filings contain nonpublic, competitively sensitive business information and that disclosure would cause competitive harm.

  • January 14, 2026

    Dismissal Warranted By Insureds’ Repeated Failures To Comply With Discovery Orders

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana held that insureds’ repeated failures to comply with the court’s discovery orders warrant dismissal with prejudice of their bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for their property damage that was caused by Hurricane Ida.

  • January 14, 2026

    Trial Court Abused Discretion In Denying Motion To Bifurcate, Panel Says

    BEAUMONT, Texas — A Texas appellate court conditionally granted a petition for a writ of mandamus after determining that a trial court abused its discretion in denying an insurer and its adjuster’s motion to bifurcate a breach of contract claim from extracontractual claims to avoid prejudice to the insurer and adjuster and to preserve judicial resources.

  • January 13, 2026

    Risk Pool Rebuts Reinsurer’s Dissolution Claim In Arbitration Dispute

    NEW YORK — An intergovernmental risk pool told a New York federal court that a reinsurer baselessly alleged that it was dissolved without notice when the reinsurer urged the court to rule on pending cross-petitions in an arbitration awards dispute involving attorney fees and whether there was a probability or a possibility of an excess judgment in an underlying case.

  • January 12, 2026

    Delaware Judge: 2 Insurers Owe D&O Coverage For Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Suit

    WILMINGTON, Del.— A Delaware judge held that because there is a meaningful link between an underlying demand and a subsequent breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit against an insured’s board of directors, two insurers have a duty to provide directors and officers liability coverage for the underlying action.

  • January 12, 2026

    High Court Denies Review Of Jurisdiction Ruling In PFAS Exposure Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 denied review of an insured’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that a district court erred in remanding a declaratory judgment claim and retaining jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits.

  • January 09, 2026

    Judge: Bifurcation, Stay Of Discovery Unwarranted In Windstorm Coverage Suit

    CHARLESTON, W. Va. — A federal judge in West Virginia denied an insurer’s motion to bifurcate an insured’s bad faith claim from the breach of contract claim in a windstorm coverage dispute, holding that the factors in Light v. Allstate Ins. Co. do not support bifurcation and that a stay of discovery of the bad faith claims is unwarranted.

  • January 08, 2026

    California FAIR Plan Sued Over Alleged Unlawful Wildfire Smoke Claim Denials

    LOS ANGELES — A pair of property insurance policyholders sued the California FAIR Plan Association in state court alleging that the state’s “insurer of last resort”engaged in bad faith insurance practices and breach of contract by relying on unlawful policy provisions to deny or underpay wildfire smoke contamination and loss-of-use claims arising from the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, in violation of California insurance law.

  • January 06, 2026

    Homeowner Brings Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims In Underpayment Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — A homeowner alleges in a California state court that a property insurer breached its insurance contract and acted in bad faith by refusing to fully pay for covered wind, rain and water damage to his residence, instead issuing only partial payments totaling about $3,250 on a claim seeking nearly $97,000 in repair and mitigation costs.

  • January 06, 2026

    Insured Urges High Court To Review Jurisdiction Ruling In PFAS Exposure Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — An insured urges the U.S. Supreme Court to grant its petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that a district court erred in remanding a declaratory judgment claim and retaining jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits, noting in its reply brief that the case presents an “ideal opportunity” to resolve a split among the circuits regarding when a district court is required to exercise discretion over mixed claims.

  • January 05, 2026

    Insured Failed To Show Homeowners Insurer Owes Additional Coverage, Judge Says

    FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer after determining that the insured’s contractual and extracontractual claims cannot proceed because the insured failed to show that the homeowners insurer is liable for additional damages caused by a fire at the insured’s home.

  • January 05, 2026

    Federal Judge Denies Auto Insurer’s Motion To Sever, Abate Extracontractual Claims

    HOUSTON — An auto insurer failed to meet its burden of showing that it would be prejudiced if an insured’s contractual and extracontractual claims are tried together, a Texas federal judge said Jan. 2 in denying the insurer’s motion to sever and abate the insured’s extracontractual claims in a coverage dispute over repairs made to the insured’s vehicle.

  • January 02, 2026

    Claims Over GEICO’s Post-Accident Offer Dismissed With Leave To Amend

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California on Dec. 31 dismissed, largely with leave to amend, a pro se complaint accusing GEICO General Insurance Co. and 10 unnamed Does of various breaches, bad faith and fraud for various acts following a car accident, including offering an allegedly unreasonably low offer on an underinsured claim; the judge declined GEICO’s request to find that the bad faith claims were time-barred, opining that “the allegations in the Complaint do not clearly show when Plaintiff had the requisite factual basis to bring suit.”

  • January 02, 2026

    Ohio Appeals Panel Reverses Dismissal Of Bad Faith, Breach Of Contract Claims

    CLEVELAND — An Ohio appellate court reversed a trial court’s summary judgment in favor of a health insurer, holding that factual disputes over whether a lung transplant patient intentionally misrepresented his intent to reside in the insurer’s service area and his eligibility for Affordable Care Act Marketplace coverage precluded dismissal of breach of contract and bad faith claims arising from the rescission of the insured’s policy.

  • December 29, 2025

    Summary Judgment Granted In Coverage Dispute Over Losses From Frozen Plumbing

    HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge entered summary judgment in favor of an insurer, holding that freeze-related plumbing damage to a policyholder’s property was excluded from coverage because the insured intentionally turned off the heat and failed to drain the system, dismissing each of the five claims brought by the policyholder with prejudice.

  • December 29, 2025

    Insured’s Bad Faith Claims Dismissed For Failure To Plead Unreasonable Conduct

    DENVER — A Colorado federal judge dismissed without prejudice a policyholder’s breach of contract and bad faith claims arising from hailstorm damage to the insured’s property, ruling that the complaint alleged only a valuation dispute and conclusory claim-handling allegations without identifying a policy provision or facts showing an unreasonable delay or denial of benefits.

  • December 29, 2025

    Federal Judge: Insured’s Summary Recitations Are Insufficient To Show Bad Faith

    ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An insured’s allegations of bad faith in a lawsuit accusing her insurer of improperly refusing to pay her the correct underinsured motorist coverage are insufficient as they “suggest nothing more than a disagreement between the parties over the value of the . . . claim,” a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled, dismissing that claim and leaving only a claim for breach of contract.

  • December 26, 2025

    Judge: Pro Se Complaint Over GEICO’s Post-Accident Offer Stays In Federal Court

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California ruled that a pro se complaint accusing GEICO General Insurance Co. and 10 unnamed Does of various breaches, bad faith and fraud for various acts following a car accident, including offering an allegedly unreasonably low offer on an underinsured claim, belongs in federal court due to diversity of citizenship and because the removal more than four months after the complaint was filed was timely.

  • December 24, 2025

    Kentucky High Court Finds Some Information In Bad Faith Case Not Discoverable

    FRANKFORT, Ky. — Finding that a trial court erred in ordering an employment practices liability insurer to produce all responsive documents relating to its insured’s claim for coverage and extensive personnel information in the insured’s bad faith suit against it, the Kentucky Supreme Court partially affirmed and partially reversed, remanding to the Court of Appeals with instructions to issue a writ of prohibition preventing the trial court judge from enforcing certain aspects of the discovery orders.

  • December 23, 2025

    Judge Denies In Part Dismissal To Appraiser, Firm In Hurricane Coverage Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge denied in part an appraiser and his firm’s motion to dismiss claims against them in a Hurricane Ida insurance coverage dispute, denying dismissal of claims for fraud and civil conspiracy to commit fraud because they are adequately pleaded.

  • December 18, 2025

    Insured’s Bad Faith Claim In Contamination Coverage Suit Cannot Proceed, Judge Says

    NEWARK, N.J. — A bad faith claim alleged against a general liability insurer cannot proceed because the claim is duplicative of the breach of contract claim and the insured failed to meet its burden of showing that the insurer “lacked a fairly debatable reason” for denying the insured’s claim for environmental contamination cleanup costs, a New Jersey federal judge said Dec. 17 in granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss the bad faith claim.

  • December 18, 2025

    Water, Mold Damage In Insured Home Caused By Excluded Causes Of Loss, Panel Says

    PASADENA, Calif. — A district court did not abuse its discretion in granting a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a water and mold damage coverage dispute because the evidence shows that a water leak in the insureds’ home was caused by the continuous seepage or leakage of water and wear and tear of the water pipe, both of which are excluded causes of loss under the policy, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said.