Mealey's Insurance Pleadings : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Insurance Pleadings

September 29, 2025
Insured Maintains Defense Owed By Insurer Under Pollution Liability Policies

LAFAYETTE, La. — A pollution liability insurer has a duty to defend its insureds in an underlying suit seeking damages for saltwater contamination because the underlying complaint alleges potentially covered claims under the policies, the insureds say in a reply brief filed in support of a motion for partial summary judgment pending in Louisiana federal court.
September 26, 2025
Builder Appeals Judge’s Finding Of No Policy Coverage Of Arbitration Award

HOUSTON — A homebuilder filed a notice in federal court in Texas on Sept. 25 that it was appealing to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a judge’s order ruling granting summary judgment in favor of the builder’s commercial liability insurer in its suit seeking indemnification for a $213,000 arbitration award for damages caused by construction defects in a home it built; the judge had found that no coverage existed under the policy.
September 26, 2025
Insurer Waives Right To Respond To Petition Seeking High Court Review In PFAS Suit

CINCINNATI — An insurer waived its right to respond to a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by an insured seeking the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that vacated a district court’s decision to retain jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims but remanded a declaratory judgment claim in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits.
September 26, 2025
Reinsurer, Agency Allege RICO Scheme Inflated Injury Claims And Insurance Costs

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A reinsurer and management general agency allege in a New York federal court that numerous doctors and medical providers engaged in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) scheme in which they had workers stage construction accidents and exaggerate minor injuries to generate fraudulent workers’ compensation and liability claims to drive up settlement values and insurance costs.
September 25, 2025
180-Day Extension Of Claims Objection Bar Date Requested In Vesttoo Liquidation

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal bankruptcy court has been asked to extend the claims objection bar date in the Chapter 11 liquidation of Vesttoo Ltd. and its dozens of affiliates by 180 days to April 6, 2026, with the beleaguered reinsurance provider citing a need for more time to generate proceeds and reconcile claims.
September 25, 2025
Insurance Administrator Sued Over Coverage Reversal Tied To Reinsurance Denial

BEND, Ore. — A public school district filed suit in Oregon state court, alleging that a nonprofit insurance administrator initially accepted coverage for a multimillion-dollar structural damage claim but later reversed its coverage decision after reinsurers denied liability.
September 23, 2025
Insurers Seek $10M Over Alleged Mismanagement Of Captive Insurance Program

NEW YORK — Four insurers filed suit in New York federal court against an insurance services firm, its captive affiliate and its general counsel, alleging mismanagement of a captive program that included failure to collect collateral, obstruction of trust withdrawals and interference with contractual rights, seeking more than $10 million in damages for breach of contract, negligence and tortious interference.
September 23, 2025
Insurer Answers Bad Faith Complaint In California Storm Damage Coverage Suit

LOS ANGELES — Following a California court’s ruling that overruled its demurrer to an insured’s claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and denied its motion to strike all references to punitive damages, an insurer filed its answer to the insured’s first amended complaint in a coverage dispute over storm damage.
September 23, 2025
Insurer, Reinsurer File Joint Dismissal Motion In Mine Coverage Dispute

OMAHA, Neb. — National Indemnity Co. (NICO) and a reinsurer it sued for breach of contract and declaratory judgment jointly moved in Nebraska federal court to dismiss the reinsurer with prejudice as part of NICO’s suit to enforce its reinsurers’ obligations for incurred liabilities related to asbestos exposure stemming from a Montana mine.
September 22, 2025
Appellants Argue Reinsurer Was ‘De Facto Insurer’ In $844M Crash Coverage Appeal

MIAMI — Survivors of a 2016 plane crash and representatives of the deceased filed a brief in a Florida appellate court, arguing that a reinsurer acted as a “de facto insurer” and that state law accordingly permits them to pursue independent bad faith and coverage claims despite a trial court’s dismissal of their amended complaint that sought to enforce approximately $844 million in consent judgments.
September 22, 2025
Reinsurer Claims Insurer Withheld Premiums, Improperly Terminated Agreement

DALLAS — A reinsurer sued an insurer in a Texas state court, alleging that the insurer withheld more than $31 million in reinsurance premiums under a quota share reinsurance agreement (QSRA) and related deal, retroactively attempted to terminate their contract in violation of notice requirements and engaged in conduct amounting to breach of contract, unjust enrichment and statutory theft.
September 22, 2025
Insured Says Insurer Owes Additional Coverage For Underlying Silica Lawsuits

NEW YORK — An insured filed counterclaims against its insurer in New York federal court, seeking declarations that the insurer has a continued duty to defend and indemnify the insured in underlying silica bodily injury lawsuits and further seeking declarations that the underlying lawsuits constitute multiple occurrence and that a pro rata method of allocation applies.
September 22, 2025
Pollution Liability Insurer Says No Defense Owed For Contamination Suit

LAFAYETTE, La. — A pollution liability insurer says it has no duty to defend its insureds in an underlying suit seeking damages for saltwater contamination because the underlying complaint does not stem from activities performed by the insured for a third party at a job site as required by the policies’ covered operations requirement.
September 22, 2025
Following Mediation, Parties In D&O Excess Coverage Dispute Reach ‘Total Impasse’

MIAMI — A mediator told a Florida federal court on Sept. 19 that an excess directors and officers liability insurer and a law firm participated in mediation and failed to resolve the law firm’s lawsuit seeking payment for its legal representation of the insured in underlying criminal and civil lawsuits.
September 19, 2025
LTD Claimant Urges 1st Circuit To Reverse Ruling That Hinges On ‘Working’

BOSTON — Arguing in part that a long-term disability (LTD) plan’s use of “working” is ambiguous and therefore must be construed in his favor, an independent financial adviser filed an appellant brief urging the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse summary judgment against him, to order that his benefits be reinstated and to award him interest and attorney fees and costs.
September 19, 2025
CGL Insurer, City Settle Coverage Dispute Over Wrongful Conviction Settlement

DURHAM, N.C. — A mediator filed a report notifying a North Carolina federal court that a commercial general liability insurer and the city of Concord, N.C., have fully settled the city’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit alleging that the insurer has a duty to defend, indemnify and contribute to a $9.3 million settlement of an underlying wrongful conviction lawsuit.
September 17, 2025
Parties Reach Settlement To Resolve All Remaining Claims In Reinsurance Dispute

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The two remaining parties in a suit involving reinsurance and related agreements notified a California federal court that they have reached a final settlement, resolving all outstanding claims and providing for the distribution of funds held by the court.
September 16, 2025
Insured’s Assignees Say Coverage Owed For Underlying Carbon Monoxide Suit

CLEVELAND — A commercial auto insurer breached its contract when it claimed that its pollution exclusion barred coverage to an insured for an underlying carbon monoxide poisoning suit, the assignees of the insured contend in a complaint filed in Ohio federal court.
September 16, 2025
Countertop Manufacturer Seeks Coverage For Underlying Silica Bodily Injury Suits

LOS ANGELES — An insured manufacturer and distributor of countertops and countertop products filed suit in California state court, claiming that its insurers breached their contracts of insurance and acted in bad faith in relying on their policies’ pollution and silica exclusions to deny coverage for underlying silica-exposure bodily injury suits in which the insured is named as a defendant.
September 16, 2025
Reinsurer Claims Lack Of Issue Preclusion In Mine Subsidence Suit Against Railroad

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A reinsurer filed a reply memorandum supporting its motion for summary judgment in litigation concerning mine subsidence claims, contending that a railroad company’s opposition raises no material factual disputes and that its arguments are immaterial to the claim and issue preclusion factors central to the case.
September 16, 2025
Insurer Moves For Judgment To Appeal Ruling In Suit Brought By Petroleum Company

HONOLULU — An insurer moved for entry of judgment on Sept. 12 so it can immediately appeal a federal court in Hawaii’s summary judgment ruling against it in a lawsuit filed by an insured petroleum company seeking coverage for underlying claims that the company is responsible for contributing to the effects of global warming based on its failure to warn of the hazards of using fossil fuel products, challenging the court’s finding that it has a duty to defend under two policies that did not include pollution exclusions.
September 10, 2025
Developer Argues Genuine Issues Exist As To Whether Defects Coverage Exists

SAN FRANCISCO — A housing developer opposed its excess insurer’s motion for summary judgment in the developer’s breach of contract case in federal court in California against the insurer after the homeowners reported construction defects, arguing that genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether the insurer had breached its contract.
September 10, 2025
LTD Claimant Urges 11th Circuit To Reverse Summary Judgment In Tax Returns Row

ATLANTA — Urging the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to take the position outlined in a report and recommendation that the lower court declined to adopt, a deaf engineer who received long-term disability (LTD) benefits for about a decade before they were terminated due to his refusal to provide personal tax returns argues in part that the insurer isn’t entitled to interpret the term “work” because it is not ambiguous.
September 09, 2025
Defendant Seeks Rehearing In Insurer’s Subrogation Suit Prompted By Jet Damage

SAN FRANCISCO — An aircraft facility operator on Sept. 8 filed a petition asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its opinion that affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in an insurer’s subrogation lawsuit arising from property damage incurred by the insured’s privately owned noncommercial aircraft while it was parked and stored at the petitioner’s facility, challenging the court’s finding that there is a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether it was reasonable for the petitioner to conclude that the pilot had the apparent authority to bind the aircraft owner to the limitation of liability provision of the landing card.
September 09, 2025
Silica Exclusions Bar Coverage For Silica Exposure Lawsuits, Insurers Say

LOS ANGELES — No coverage is afforded to Home Depot U.S.A. Inc. for more than 100 bodily injury lawsuits seeking damages as a result of silica exposure from countertops sold and marketed by Home Depot because the retailer is not an additional insured under policies issued to the countertop manufacturer and because the policies’ exclusions for silica and pollution bar coverage, insurers maintain in a complaint filed in California federal court.