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Mealey's Insurance Insolvency

  • February 24, 2026

    Response To Payment Order Filed In Appeal Of Verdict For Guaranty Association

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In a hurricane coverage dispute, a homeowner filed a response to a court order requiring payment of a filing fee in her appeal to a Florida appellate court of a jury verdict and final judgment for the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association.

  • February 23, 2026

    Pollution Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage For Chemical Exposure Suit, Panel Says

    PORTLAND, Ore. — A district court erred in finding that a commercial general liability insurer has no duty to defend or to contribute to the defense of its insured named in an underlying chemical exposure suit because the policies’ pollution exclusion does not bar coverage based on the allegations in the underlying suit, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Feb. 20 in reversing and remanding the court’s summary judgment ruling.

  • February 23, 2026

    Texas Panel Affirms Judgment For Texas FAIR Plan In Insurance Coverage Dispute

    HOUSTON — A Texas appellate court affirmed a lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment to the Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA) in a homeowners insurance coverage dispute, finding that because the homeowners “did not bring forth more than a scintilla of probative evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact on any of their claims,” the lower court correctly granted summary judgment for the TFPA.

  • February 19, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Nonresponsive Subclass Members In ACA Risk-Corridor Class Action

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge dismissed without prejudice six specified subclass members for failure to respond to class counsel in a risk-corridor payment class action filed under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

  • February 18, 2026

    ‘Debtor’ Ordered To File Amended Complaint In Debt Collection Row With Insurer

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge ordered a purported student loan debtor to file an amended complaint in her suit against an insolvent insurer and multiple parties allegedly involved in a fraudulent debt collection practice resulting in a lien against her property, finding that pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the debtor has 21 days to amend a complaint “after the service” of a dismissal motion.

  • 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 17, 2026

    N.C. High Court Won’t Stay Contempt Order Requiring Insurance Mogul To Pay $65.7M

    RALEIGH, N.C. — Without providing an explanation, the North Carolina Supreme Court on Feb. 13 denied a motion for a temporary stay of a civil contempt order requiring former insurance mogul Greg Lindberg to pay $65,775,544 and his company to pay $56,901,099 for violating a temporary restraining order (TRO) regarding conversion of assets in insurers’ breach of contract suit against Lindberg, who once owned them, and his company.

  • February 17, 2026

    Oral Argument Date Set In Reinsurer’s Bid To Dismiss Decades-Old Asbestos Claims

    NEW YORK — A New York federal magistrate judge scheduled oral argument for May 6 on a pending motion for summary judgment through which a U.K.-based reinsurer seeks dismissal of all claims brought by the assignee of the liquidator of an insolvent insurer; in that motion, the reinsurer argues that decades-old asbestos-related reinsurance billings are barred by New York’s statute of limitations.

  • February 12, 2026

    Insurers Ask N.C. Supreme Court To Decline Review Of TRO-Related Contempt Order

    RALEIGH, N.C. — Insurers in liquidation or rehabilitation that were once owned by former insurance mogul Greg Lindberg urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to deny Lindberg and his company’s petition seeking review of a lower court’s civil contempt order for violating a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent other entities affiliated with Lindberg and his company from dissipating assets.

  • February 11, 2026

    Deposition Notice Filed In Breach Of Contract Dispute With Guaranty Association

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Homeowners filed a notice in Florida state court that they will be deposing a nonparty claims adjuster in their breach of contract suit against the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), which was substituted for their now-insolvent homeowners insurer.

  • February 10, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Class Allegations In Suit Against California FAIR Plan Association

    LOS ANGELES — Noting that good cause has been shown, a California judge granted an insured’s motion to dismiss without prejudice class allegations in the insured’s lawsuit alleging that the California Fair Plan Association (CFP) issued property insurance policies with fire coverage that is unlawfully restrictive as to smoke damage claims.

  • February 10, 2026

    Discovery Deadline Extended In Hurricane Coverage Dispute Involving LIGA

    BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge granted homeowners’ unopposed motion for an extension to provide expert disclosures in their Hurricane Ida coverage dispute with an insurance carrier participating in the U.S. government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA).

  • February 10, 2026

    Parties To Reinsurance Breach Of Contract Suits Seek Case Reopening

    FORT WORTH, Texas — The parties to a reinsurance breach of contract dispute arising from a multimillion-dollar tort judgment jointly asked a Texas federal court to reopen their consolidated case that was administratively closed after one of the plaintiffs began insolvency proceedings in Bermuda that triggered an automatic stay.

  • February 03, 2026

    Remand Denied In Hurricane Coverage Dispute With Lender Over Settlement Funds

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge denied a motion to remand by an insured in a dispute with his lender over its alleged failure to endorse settlement checks as an additional payee in a hurricane coverage dispute involving a now-insolvent insurer, finding that removal of the case to federal court was timely and the amount in controversy at the time of removal exceeded the jurisdictional minimum of $75,000.

  • February 02, 2026

    Former DOL Officials, Other Amici Urge 4th Circuit Affirmance In PRT Case

    RICHMOND, Va. — Three amicus curiae briefs filed Jan. 30 urge the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm a ruling that retirees had standing to file a putative class lawsuit that is part of a much-watched string of pension risk transfer (PRT) challenges, with one of those briefs coming from former U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) officials who argue that the Jan. 9 amicus brief the DOL filed here shows that “an effort is underway to limit the scope of” the private right of action under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • January 30, 2026

    Assignee Opposes Bid To Dismiss Decades-Old Asbestos Reinsurance Claims

    NEW YORK — The assignee of the liquidator of an insolvent insurer urged a New York federal court to deny a summary judgment motion filed by a U.K.-based reinsurer, arguing that asbestos-related reinsurance claims are not time-barred and that the reinsurer’s post-liquidation conduct, written acknowledgments and the destruction of records preclude dismissal of the reinsurance contract dispute.

  • January 29, 2026

    PHL Policyholders Move For Emergency Intervention Following Liquidation Notice

    WATERBURY, Conn. — A group of over-the-cap universal life insurance policyholders (UL policyholders) filed an emergency motion in a Connecticut state court to intervene in the rehabilitation of PHL Variable Insurance Co., arguing that they were required to continue paying premiums in reliance on repeated assurances of a forthcoming rehabilitation plan before the rehabilitator reported that liquidation was necessary, leaving their policies subject only to guaranty association limits.

  • January 29, 2026

    Document Production Ordered In Sex Abuse Coverage Suit Involving New York Diocese

    NEW YORK — After conducting an in camera review of documents in a discovery dispute in an insurance coverage suit, a New York federal magistrate judge ordered a nonparty New York diocese to provide specified documents from a personnel file it maintained for a priest alleged to have committed sexual abuse against children while working at another Roman Catholic diocese in the state.

  • January 29, 2026

    Status Conference Date Set In Hurricane Coverage Dispute Involving LIGA

    BATON ROUGE, La. — Without providing explanation, a Louisiana federal magistrate judge set a status conference to address depositions that were canceled but not rescheduled in homeowners’ Hurricane Ida coverage dispute with an insurance carrier participating in the U.S. government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA).

  • January 27, 2026

    Panel Affirms Ruling Denying Motion To Enforce Settlement In Wind Damage Dispute

    LAKELAND, Fla. — A Florida appellate court affirmed a lower court’s ruling denying a motion to enforce a settlement agreement between an insured and his now-insolvent homeowners insurer, finding that pursuant to Florida law, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) may not be obligated to pay a claim under an insurance policy that exceeds the insolvent insurer’s obligation.

  • January 23, 2026

    Default Entered In Auto Accident Coverage Dispute Involving Insolvent Insurer

    LAS VEGAS — As directed by a Nevada federal judge upon determining that an insurer failed to retain new counsel, a federal court clerk on Jan. 22 entered default against a now-insolvent insurer in a bad faith breach of contract dispute over coverage for an auto accident that resulted in deaths and injuries to multiple persons.

  • January 23, 2026

    Fla. Panel Affirms Judgment For Insurer In Dispute Over Water Mitigation Coverage

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — Without providing explanation, a Florida appellate court affirmed a lower court’s final order granting summary judgment for an insurer in a breach of contract dispute with a water mitigation company after the lower court found in part that the assignment agreement by the insured to the water mitigation company was invalid for failure to comply with Florida law requirements to have an itemized list of services to be performed.

  • January 16, 2026

    Fla. Panel Reverses Order As To Attorney Fees In Settlement Agreement With FIGA

    MIAMI — A Florida appeals court reversed and remanded a lower court order requiring the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) to pay the full amount of a settlement agreement between homeowners and their now-insolvent insurer in a hurricane damage coverage dispute, finding that the lower court erred in requiring FIGA to pay the attorney fee portion of the settlement agreement because it was not part of a covered claim pursuant to Florida law regarding FIGA.

  • January 13, 2026

    Defendants Win Dismissal Of Case Involving PRTs To Prudential And RGA

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a putative class pension risk transfer (PRT) case notable for focusing on transfers to nonparties Prudential Insurance Company of America (PICA) and RGA Reinsurance Company (RGA), concluding that the Verizon Communications Inc. retirees who filed the suit lacked standing and failed to state their claims.

  • January 12, 2026

    DOL Becomes Latest Amicus To Urge 4th Circuit Reversal On Standing In PRT Case

    RICHMOND, Va. — Saying, “The magnitude of this case and these issues are hard to overstate,” the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Jan. 9 became the latest amicus curiae to urge the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a ruling that retirees had standing to file a putative class lawsuit that is part of a much-watched string of pension risk transfer (PRT) challenges; among other things, the retirees generally allege that the use of offshore captive reinsurers makes the insurers that are responsible to pay annuities because of the PRTs more likely to fall short of their obligations.