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Mealey's Insurance Pleadings

  • October 17, 2025

    Insurer Says Subcontractor’s Arguments Rejected, Shouldn’t Be Reconsidered

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An insurer opposed a subcontractor’s motion for reconsideration of a Kentucky federal judge’s finding that the subcontractor was required to release its counterclaims as part of a global settlement regarding the construction of off-campus student housing and the judge’s grant of summary judgment on the insurer’s behalf, arguing that the court has already rejected the subcontractor’s arguments.

  • October 15, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Defective Wine Coverage Dispute After Winemaker, Insurer Settle

    SEATTLE — The same day a commercial winemaker and an excess commercial general liability insurer filed a notice of settlement, a federal judge in Washington dismissed the coverage dispute arising from an underlying faulty vinification lawsuit over allegedly defective wine.

  • October 15, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Coverage Dispute Over Claims Insured Falsely Markets Milk Product

    CHICAGO — Four days after an insurer filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, a federal judge in Illinois on Oct. 14 dismissed without prejudice the insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify Fairlife LLC against an underlying putative class action alleging that it markets its milk products through false or misleading statements.

  • October 15, 2025

    California ‘Insurer Of Last Resort’ Sued For Alleged Wrongful Denial Of Claim

    LOS ANGELES — A homeowner whose property is covered by the California FAIR Plan sued the insurance pool in state court, alleging that the state’s “insurer of last resort” unlawfully denied coverage for fire, smoke and contamination damage in violation of California insurance law after his home was damaged in the Eaton Fire.

  • October 14, 2025

    Insurance Holding Company Sues Captive Operator, Seeks Preliminary Injunction

    JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An insurance holding company seeks a preliminary injunction in a Florida federal court against a captive operator and its associated entities it accuses of counterfeiting its name and trademarks to sell fake commercial insurance policies through two purported captive programs; in a concurrent complaint, the insurance holding company alleges direct, contributory and vicarious trademark infringement under the Lanham Act and unfair competition under several state common laws and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief.

  • October 14, 2025

    Insurer Dismisses Coverage Dispute Over Claims Insured Falsely Markets Milk Product

    CHICAGO — An insurer voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit asking an Illinois federal court to declare that it has no duty to defend or indemnify Fairlife LLC against an underlying putative class action alleging that it markets its milk products through false or misleading statements.

  • October 14, 2025

    Subcontractor Seeks Reconsideration Of Summary Judgment In Coverage Dispute

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A subcontractor filed a motion for reconsideration of a federal judge in Kentucky’s finding that it was required to release its counterclaims as part of a global settlement regarding the construction of off-campus student housing and the judge’s grant of summary judgment on an insurer’s behalf, arguing that the dismissal of the subcontractor’s bad faith counterclaim hadn’t been negotiated and agreed to as part of that global settlement.

  • October 13, 2025

    Insurer Appeals Judgment In Indemnification Suit Arising From Hurricane Zeta Damage

    NEW YORK — A defendant insurer appealed a New York federal court’s findings that it has a duty to defend against underlying actions arising from damages caused when Hurricane Zeta’s winds purportedly caused a tower crane that was working on top of a New York construction project to become loose and “spin” and that it has a duty to indemnify the plaintiff insurer for $476,575.25 in costs arising from the underlying claims.

  • October 13, 2025

    Insurer Appeals Dismissal Of Suit Disputing Coverage For Sexual Assault Claims

    DENVER — A commercial general liability insurer notified a Colorado federal court on Oct. 10 that it is appealing the court’s dismissal of its lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend or indemnify the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) for a Paralympic swimmer’s lawsuit alleging that a team member sexually assaulted and harassed him and that USOPC failed to warn his parents about the team member or to supervise the accused, challenging the court’s finding that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction.

  • October 10, 2025

    Insurer Disputes Coverage For Suit Alleging Insured Falsely Markets Milk Products

    CHICAGO — An insurer filed suit in a federal court in Illinois seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify Fairlife LLC against an underlying putative class action alleging that it markets its milk products through false or misleading statements, arguing that the runoff exclusion bars coverage.

  • October 10, 2025

    Group Home Appeals No Coverage Ruling For Underlying Negligence Suit

    DULUTH, Minn. — The operators of a group home notified a Montana federal court that it is appealing the court’s holding that a commercial general liability insurer has no duty to defend them against an underlying negligence lawsuit and that they are not entitled to attorney fees, challenging the court’s ruling that no coverage was triggered because the underlying complaint alleges only mental injuries and not bodily injury, sickness or disease.

  • October 06, 2025

    15 States Urge High Court To Accept Review Of Jurisdictional Issue In PFAS Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should grant certiorari to review an insured’s appeal of a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that vacated a district court’s decision to remand a declaratory judgment claim and to retain jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits because the issue is one that divides the circuits, Ohio and 14 other states say in an Oct. 3 amicus curiae brief.

  • October 06, 2025

    Amici Urge U.S. High Court To Bar State Court Control Over Foreign Assets

    WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Insurance and business interests told the U.S. Supreme Court that jurisdiction ends at a state’s borders and urged the court to reject a South Carolina justice’s appointment of a receiver over the assets of a solvent Canadian company as a discovery sanction in an asbestos case.

  • October 03, 2025

    Grain Production Firm Seeks Amended Judgment As To Coverage For Defective Bins

    INDIANAPOLIS — A grain production firm moved to alter or amend a partial summary judgment order in favor of a grain equipment company’s insurer in which a federal judge in Indiana held that some of the claimed losses for the repair and replacement of leaky grain storage bins related to a contractual dispute rather than to coverage liability; the grain production firm argues “that unintentional, defective workmanship constitutes an ‘occurrence’ under Indiana law.”

  • October 02, 2025

    Relator Appeals Dismissal Of FCA Suit Against Publix Super Markets

    TAMPA, Fla. — An organization comprising two former Publix Super Markets pharmacists that alleges that the grocery chain violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by knowingly filling prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances that it knew were improper is appealing to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a decision by a Florida federal judge that dismissed its second amended complaint with prejudice.

  • October 01, 2025

    Property Owners Affected By Hurricanes Allege Scheme By Attorneys, Law Firms

    NEW ORLEANS — A complaint requesting class action status was brought against attorneys, law firms and a professional liability insurer in a Louisiana federal court, alleging that the attorneys committed legal malpractice and breach of contract by setting “up a scheme in an attempt to quickly settle thousands” of Hurricane Laura, Delta, Zeta and/or Ida cases and “collect an exorbitant fee” that they would all share.

  • October 01, 2025

    Insurer Argues 7th Circuit Should Affirm Judgment, Find Exclusion Applies

    CHICAGO — An insurer asked the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm a lower court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings to the insurer in its suit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify a roofing contractor in an underlying suit alleging that the contractor’s negligent repair work contributed to the collapse of a building’s façade,  which killed two people, arguing that a Prior Work Exclusion applies to bar coverage for the underlying action.

  • September 30, 2025

    Insured Appeals Federal Court’s Ruling That Flood Damage Claims Are Time-Barred

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — An insured filed a notice appealing a Louisiana federal court’s ruling that her claims for flood damage caused by Hurricane Delta and a separate flood event are time-barred under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) and must be dismissed with prejudice, challenging the court’s grant of the insurer’s motion for summary judgment on her claims for breach of contract and bad faith.

  • 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.