Mealey's Insurance Pleadings

  • October 20, 2026

    Albertsons Seeks Remand Of Opioid Coverage Suits For Full Choice-Of-Law Analysis

    DOVER, Del. —Albertsons and its affiliated grocery store chains filed a reply brief in support of its appeal seeking Delaware Supreme Court review of a lower court’s holding that commercial general liability insurers have no duty to defend and indemnify it against underlying lawsuits seeking to hold it liable for damages arising from the opioid epidemic, seeking reversal and remand to allow the lower court to conduct a full choice-of-analysis to determine whether the California or Idaho law would have applied the same insurance law principles as Delaware.

  • October 20, 2026

    Potbelly: Court Erred In Dismissing Employment Practices Liability Coverage Suit

    SEATTLE — The owner and operator of several Potbelly Sandwich Shop restaurants appealed a Washington federal court’s dismissal of its breach of contract lawsuit seeking employment practices liability coverage for an underlying putative class action alleging that it violated the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, arguing to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the lower court erred by failing to apply the “liberal-construction principles” that govern coverage disputes under Washington law and misapplied Washington law when it analyzed the insurance policy and underlying allegations (Potbelly Corporation v. Beazley Insurance Company Inc., No. 26-2937, 9th Cir.).

  • October 20, 2026

    Insurer Argues Delay Does Not Prevent Amendment In Stucco Coverage Suit

    NEW YORK — An insurer filed reply briefs in New York federal court supporting its motion to amend and its amended complaint seeking a declaration that it owes no coverage for an underlying action stemming from a subcontractor’s allegedly defective stucco work, arguing that it had good cause for filing its motion to amend and that New York courts in recent decisions have granted motion to amend even when the parties failed to demonstrate good cause.

  • October 20, 2026

    Appeal Of Order Denying FIGA Attorney Fee Bid In Water Coverage Row Dismissed

    MIAMI — The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) filed a notice of appeal in a Florida appellate court of a lower court order denying its motion for entitlement to attorney fees in a dispute with a condominium association over FIGA’s alleged failure to cover water damage.

  • October 20, 2026

    Guaranty Association Files Settlement Notice In Coverage Dispute With Homeowner

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), which was substituted as a defendant for a now-insolvent insurer, filed a notice of settlement in a Florida state court, advising the court that the parties have reached a settlement in a homeowner’s suit alleging that the insurer failed to adequately compensate her for purported damage to her home.

  • October 20, 2026

    Underwriters File Counterclaims In Federal Environmental Policies Coverage Dispute

    SHERMAN, Texas — After a Texas federal judge dismissed the bulk of three related oil and gas companies’ claims against a group of insurers participating in the Lloyd’s of London insurance market over the alleged failure and refusal to honor obligations under environmental policies, the underwriters filed an answer to the two surviving causes of action and a series of counterclaims for declaratory judgment, arguing that coverage is unavailable or limited under various policy provisions.

  • October 20, 2026

    Underlying Plaintiff Says Coverage Not Barred For Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Suit

    EL PASO, Texas — A commercial general liability insurer’s amended motion for summary judgment should not be considered because the insurer did not seek leave of a Texas federal court, as required by the court’s local rules, prior to filing the amended motion in a carbon monoxide poisoning coverage suit, the underlying plaintiff maintains in response to the insurer’s amended motion.

  • October 20, 2026

    Insurers Owe Duty To Defend City In Contaminated Water Dispute, Plaintiffs Say

    LANSING, Mich. — In response to a motion for partial summary judgment filed in Michigan federal court by insurers in a coverage dispute stemming from lead-contaminated water supplied by an insured city, the underlying plaintiffs say the city’s insurers have a duty to defend the city and pay for the $25 million consent settlement reached by the city and underlying plaintiffs as consequential damages because the insurers failed to show that no coverage is afforded for the underlying class actions filed against the city.

  • October 19, 2026

    Reinsurance Broker Seeks Dismissal Of Claims In $7.6M Coverage Dispute

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A reinsurance broker has moved to dismiss claims brought against it by a health care system in a dispute over more than $7.6 million in denied excess-of-loss reinsurance claims, arguing that the parties’ claims service agreement precludes contractual liability and that the remaining claims are legally deficient or duplicative.

  • October 19, 2026

    Insurer Seeks To Rescind, Void Insured’s Policy For Alleged Misrepresentations

    PHOENIX — A commercial insurer filed a complaint in an Arizona federal court seeking rescission and a declaration that a commercial general liability policy issued to a purported carpentry remodeling company is void, asserting that the insurer would not have issued the policy had it known the true nature of its insured’s business.

  • October 19, 2026

    Auto Parts Manufacturer Appeals Dismissal Of COVID-19 Coverage Suit

    GREENSBORO, N.C. — An automotive parts manufacturer insured on Oct. 16 appealed a North Carolina federal judge’s summary judgment ruling that dismissed with prejudice its breach of contract, bad faith and unfair and deceptive trade practices lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses caused by the “presence of COVID-19” at its facilities.

  • October 19, 2026

    LTD Claimant Highlights Amended ERISA Regulations In 1st Circuit Appeal

    BOSTON — Arguing in her opening brief that the trial court’s ruling presents “questions of first impression in this Circuit” concerning two amended regulatory requirements, a claimant asked the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reinstate her long-term disability (LTD) benefits or direct the insurer to reconsider her claim.

  • October 16, 2026

    Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Toxic Chemical Release, Insurer Says

    SHERMAN, Texas — A commercial general liability insurer filed a complaint in Texas federal court, seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify insureds for the release of a toxic chemical from an insured facility because its policy’s pollution exclusion applies as a bar to coverage.

  • October 14, 2026

    Senior Care Liability Insurer Seeks Reconsideration Of Summary Judgment Ruling

    SEATTLE — A senior care liability insurer seeks reconsideration of a Washington federal court’s denial of cross-motions for partial summary judgment on an assignee’s breach of contract counterclaim in its lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no further duty to defend or indemnify its insured against an underlying negligence and abuse action that resulted in a $4.2 million settlement, asserting that the court erred by failing to consider evidence that it suffered actual prejudice when the insured settled the case and assigned policy rights without the insurer’s consent.

  • October 14, 2026

    Attorney: Misclassification Of Insurer Client Was ‘Embarrassing Mistake,’ Not Fraud

    RALEIGH, N.C. — An attorney told a North Carolina federal court that he did not properly verify his homeowners insurer client’s corporate status and citizenship before filing the insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend and indemnify in an underlying action accusing an unemancipated minor of going on a shooting rampage that killed several people in a Raleigh neighborhood, asserting in a reply brief in support of a motion for voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit without prejudice that he did not intend to deceive the court.

  • October 13, 2026

    Insurers Say No Defense, Indemnity Owed For Silica Bodily Injury Suits

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Primary and umbrella insurers filed suit in a Virginia federal court seeking a declaration that they have no duty to defend or indemnify their insured, a stone product supplier, against underlying silica bodily injury suits because their policies’ exclusions for silica and pollution bar coverage.

  • October 08, 2026

    California Insureds: Chubb Failed To Conduct Fair Investigation Of Wildfire Loss

    LOS ANGELES — Insureds sued their homeowners insurer for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and violation of the California unfair competition law (UCL), alleging that the insurer, in concert with environmental consulting and testing companies, directed an investigation into their Palisades Wildfire claim “that repeatedly narrowed the scope of testing, ignored evidence of contamination in concealed and exterior areas, and proposed piecemeal remediation that could not restore the Property to its pre-loss condition.”

  • October 08, 2026

    Insurers, County Appeal Judgment On Economic Losses In Bridge Collapse Suit

    RICHMOND, Va. — Insurers and Baltimore County, Md., appealed to the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a Maryland federal judge’s ruling that granted in part and denied in part a motion for judgment on the pleadings by the owner and technical manager of the ship that allided with and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in 2024, a ruling that significantly narrowed the scope of the purely economic loss claims that will proceed in the movants’ exoneration lawsuit.

  • October 07, 2026

    Insurer Attaches Correct Policy, Says Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage

    EL PASO, Texas — A commercial general liability insurer filed an amended motion for summary judgment, correcting its failure to attach the applicable policy to its original motion and reiterating its argument that its policy’s total pollution exclusion bars coverage for an underlying carbon monoxide poisoning suit.

  • October 07, 2026

    Umbrella Insurers File Notice Of Cross-Appeal Of Ruling In PFAS Coverage Suit

    CLEVELAND — Two umbrella insurers on Oct. 6 filed a notice of cross-appeal to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals following an Ohio federal judge’s determination that the insurers lack standing as no coverage dispute exists based on the finding that the primary insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify the insured in underlying lawsuits stemming from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

  • October 07, 2026

    Captive Operator, Reinsurer Sue Tech Startup For $36M In Unpaid Funding

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A captive insurance program operator and reinsurer sued a technology startup company in the Delaware Chancery Court, alleging that the company, which established a captive program to provide automobile insurance coverage for customers using its car rental and car-sharing platform, breached its contractual obligations by failing to pay more than $36 million in capital contributions and other amounts demanded to fund growing claims under the program.

  • September 29, 2026

    Hostile Fire Exception May Operate To Provide Coverage, Underlying Plaintiff Says

    EL PASO, Texas — A commercial general liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment must be denied because the insurer failed to attach the correct insurance policy to its motion and because the insurer’s hostile fire exception to the pollution exclusion may operate to provide coverage for an underlying carbon monoxide poisoning suit filed against the insureds, the underlying plaintiff says in a Sept. 28 response to the insurer’s motion.

  • September 29, 2026

    Insurer Appeals Pollution Exclusion Ruling In Toxic Exposure Coverage Suit

    LOS ANGELES — An insurer filed a notice of appeal on Sept. 28 to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals following a California federal judge’s ruling that a pollution exclusion does not relieve the insurer of its duty to defend its insured against an underlying personal injury suit stemming from a claimant’s exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas.

  • September 29, 2026

    Federal Officials: FCIC Acted Reasonably In Reapproving Dry Bean Insurance Policy

    MINNEAPOLIS — The secretary of Agriculture and the administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) moved for summary judgment in a Minnesota federal court dispute brought by dry bean farmers challenging the Federal Crop Insurance Corp.’s (FCIC) 2023 reapproval of a revenue-protection policy’s contingency pricing methodology, arguing that the agency acted reasonably and not arbitrarily or capriciously because it obtained expert review and concluded that the coverage was actuarially sound and protective of producers’ interests.

  • September 29, 2026

    Insurers: No Coverage Owed For Suit Alleging Insured Sent False, Misleading Emails

    SEATTLE — Commercial and umbrella liability insurers filed a declaratory judgment complaint in a Washington federal court, alleging they have no duty to defend or indemnify their mutual insured against an underlying class action lawsuit alleging that it violated the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) by repeatedly sending emails to consumers with false or misleading end dates of promotional sales for its products in the subject line.