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Mealey's Insurance Pleadings

  • March 24, 2026

    Insurer Owes Duty To Defend Insured In Underlying Silica Suits, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — An insurer has a duty to defend its insured for underlying bodily injury suits filed against the insured stemming from silica dust exposure from the insured’s products because the insurer failed to meet its burden of showing that the underlying suits are barred by the pollution exclusion included in primary and excess policies, a California federal judge said in denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment and granting the insured’s motion for summary judgment.

  • 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 23, 2026

    Duty-To-Indemnify Claim In Exposure Coverage Suit Must Be Dismissed, Insured Says

    BATON ROUGE, La. — An insured, which is named in underlying mercury bodily injury suits stemming from the decommissioning of a chemical plant, says its insurer’s claim seeking a declaration that it owes no duty to indemnify must be dismissed because a determination on the duty to indemnify cannot be made until after the underlying suits are resolved.

  • March 23, 2026

    LTD Claimant Files 7th Circuit Appeal In ‘Regular Care’ Provision Case

    CHICAGO — A former Whole Foods worker who said he had to stop working because of back pain has gone to the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to challenge a ruling that upheld termination of his long-term disability (LTD) benefits on the grounds that he didn’t show “that he was under the ‘regular care of a physician’ as is required under the Plan.”

  • March 20, 2026

    Insurer: Judge Should Reject Developer’s Fee Calculations In Coverage Dispute

    LOS ANGELES —A general liability insurer filed a reply in support of its motion for reconsideration asking a federal judge in California to reconsider his grant of summary judgment to developers in the developers’ case seeking coverage for construction defects, arguing that the judge should reject the developer’s faulty fee calculations.

  • 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 20, 2026

    Insurer Asks 9th Circuit To Find Claim For Rescission Not Time-Barred

    SAN FRANCISCO — In its opening brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, an insurance company argues the appellate court should enter summary judgment on its behalf in its case against a general contractor and find that its claim for rescission of the general contractor’s policies was not time-barred.

  • March 19, 2026

    Insurer Argues Appellate Court Should Affirm No Coverage For Homebuilder

    NEW ORLEANS — In its appellee brief in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a builder’s insurer argues that a federal judge in Texas was right to find that no coverage existed under a policy the insurer provided the builder in a suit the builder filed against the insurer seeking indemnification for an arbitration award for damages caused by construction defects in a home the builder built; the insurer argues that the alleged defects occurred while the builder owned the property and therefore fell under a policy exclusion.

  • March 19, 2026

    Insurer Objects To Finding That Alleged Damage Fell Under Scope of Coverage

    SAN ANTONIO — An insurer objected to a federal magistrate judge in Texas’ finding that the insurer had not shown that the property damage alleged in an underlying construction defects suit fell outside the scope of coverage.

  • March 19, 2026

    Re-Notice Of Deposition Filed In Guaranty Association Breach Of Contract Dispute

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — After a Florida state court judge ordered homeowners to appear for depositions in their breach of contract suit against the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), which was substituted as the defendant for their now-insolvent homeowners insurer, FIGA filed a re-notice stating that it will be deposing the homeowners on May 11.

  • March 18, 2026

    Reinsurance Broker Seeks Transfer-Related Fees In Contract Breach Counterclaim

    NEW YORK — A reinsurance broker asserted a breach of contract counterclaim in a New York federal court alleging that a reciprocal insurance exchange breached the parties’ broker services agreement’s (BSA) forum selection clause by initially commencing litigation in a Pennsylvania federal court, seeking recovery of attorney fees and litigation costs incurred in enforcing the clause and transferring the action.

  • March 18, 2026

    LTD Insurer To 9th Circuit: Affirm Preexisting Condition Exclusion Ruling

    SAN FRANCISCO — Describing the ruling at issue as “plausible, logical and supported by the record,” an insurer urged the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm an order that upheld its denial of long-term disability (LTD) benefits under a preexisting condition exclusion.

  • March 17, 2026

    Insured Seeks To Dismiss 3 More Insurers From Opioid Epidemic Coverage Suit

    SPARTANBURG, S.C. — An insured filed a stipulation in a South Carolina federal court seeking to dismiss three more insurers from a coverage dispute arising from governmental entities’ underlying lawsuits alleging that it caused or contributed to the opioid crisis by improperly marketing, distributing and selling opioid medications, leaving its excess insurers’ intervenor complaint to proceed.

  • March 12, 2026

    Former NFL Player Sues Over Denial Of His Claim For Disability Benefits

    NORFOLK, Va. — Claiming that his application for total and permanent (T&P) disability benefits didn’t get “a full and fair review” and that “the lasting effects of his injuries . . . render him substantially unable to engage in any occupation or employment for remuneration or profit” under the applicable definition, former National Football League player Aaron R. Rouse sued the NFL Player Disability and Survivor Benefit Plan in a Virginia federal court on March 11 for retroactive and continuing benefits.

  • March 10, 2026

    Liquor Liability Insurer, Insured Seek To Dismiss Coverage Suit Over Fatal Shooting

    GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The same day a liquor liability insurer told a Montana federal court that a bar owner insured fully satisfied a judgment including a $160,088 attorney fees award, the parties on March 9 filed a stipulation to dismiss with prejudice the insurer’s lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying negligence action arising from a fatal shooting at the insured’s bar.

  • March 10, 2026

    Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Contaminated Sugar, Insurer Maintains

    STOCKTON, Calif. — A commercial general liability insurer filed suit in California state court against its insured, maintaining that no coverage is owed to the insured for an underlying lawsuit stemming from refined sugar that was destroyed or contaminated following the death of an employee in a silo where the sugar was stored because the policy’s pollution exclusion bars coverage based on the underlying allegation that the insured allowed the decedent’s bodily fluids and disinfectants to come into contact with the sugar left in the silo.

  • March 10, 2026

    Panel Says Pesticide Was Product Of Insured, Affirms District Court’s Ruling

    PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s partial grant of summary judgment in favor of an insured, agreeing with the lower court’s finding that a pesticide used by the insured was the product of the insured because the insured’s technician handled the pesticide during application.

  • March 06, 2026

    Delaware High Court Affirms $50M Judgment In Insured’s Favor In Professional Liability Dispute

    WILMINGTON, Del. — The Delaware Supreme Court on March 5 affirmed a lower court’s final judgment awarding more than $50 million in favor of an insured in its breach of contract lawsuit seeking professional liability coverage for three underlying class actions alleging that it failed to disclose material information regarding the potential of future long-term care (LTC) insurance policy rate increases.

  • March 04, 2026

    Temporary Restraining Order, Preliminary Injunction Denied In Crop Insurance Case

    OMAHA, Neb. — A Nebraska federal judge denied a crop insurer’s request for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order against a former employee, holding that the crop insurer failed to show a likelihood of success on its contract, loyalty and tortious interference claims or to demonstrate irreparable harm stemming from the former employee’s alleged solicitation of its customers.

  • March 02, 2026

    Class Complaint: Insurer Sold Out Customer And Website Users’ Trust For Money

    CHICAGO — A class complaint was filed in an Illinois federal court alleging that an insurer committed an egregious privacy violation and breach of consumer trust in violation of Illinois, California and federal laws by knowingly deploying tracking technologies without the consent of its insurance customers and other website visitors and in violation of its own express assurances that the customers’ private information would remain confidential, asserting that the insurer sold out its customers and website users’ trust for money.

  • February 25, 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 24, 2026

    Insurer Files New Motion For Reconsideration In Water Damage Coverage Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — A general liability insurer filed a new motion asking a federal judge in California to reconsider his grant of summary judgment to developers on their declaratory judgment and breach of contract claims against the insurer after the judge issued docket-only orders striking the insurer’s earlier motions for reconsideration.

  • February 24, 2026

    Duty-To-Indemnify Claim Is Unripe, Chemical Facility Operator, Contractor Say

    BATON ROUGE, La. — An insurer’s claim seeking a declaration that it owes no duty to indemnify its insured and others named in underlying mercury exposure bodily injury suits stemming from the decommissioning of a chemical plant should be dismissed or stayed until the underlying suits are resolved because questions pertaining to the insurer’s duty to indemnify are unripe, the operator of the chemical facility and a contractor, both of which seek coverage under the insured’s policies, say in response to the insured’s motion to dismiss.

  • February 20, 2026

    Rehearing Of ‘Equitably Devastating’ Ruling Sought In Professional Liability Suit

    NEW YORK — Calling a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in early February “not only legally incorrect but equitably devastating,” a financial services company insured’s liquidating trust filed a petition for rehearing of the panel’s holding that a professional liability insurance policy’s fee exclusion bars coverage for the insured’s liability in two underlying class actions alleging that certain mortgage loan fees were unlawful and that the insured was derivatively liable under the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act.

  • February 20, 2026

    Judge Strikes Motions For Reconsideration In Water Damage Coverage Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California issued docket-only orders striking a contractor’s commercial general liability insurer’s motions asking the judge to reconsider his grant of summary judgment to developers on their declaratory judgment and breach of contract claims against the insurer.