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Mealey's Insurance Pleadings

  • July 03, 2025

    Judge: Reinsurer Failed To Meet Burden Of Proof In Motion For Partial Judgment

    FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas federal judge denied a reinsurer’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings for claims brought by National Transportation Associates Inc. (NTA) concerning a dispute over whether contractual mandates issued by California and other states render a commission payment structure unenforceable; the case is part of broader consolidated litigation among reinsurers and NTA that centers on the reinsurers’ claims of inflated provisional commissions and breach of various agreements.

  • July 02, 2025

    Yacht Insurers Sue Owners, Seeking Finding Of No Coverage For Flooding Incident

    KEY WEST, Fla. — Insurers of a yacht sued the vessel’s owners and the bank listed as the loss payee in a Florida federal court, seeking a declaration that there is no coverage under the policy for a flood-related loss due in part to the insureds’ purported misrepresentations regarding their claim in the policy renewal questionnaire that they had complied with the fire extinguishing equipment warranty.

  • July 02, 2025

    Reinsurer Moves To Seal Cross-Motion To Confirm Confidential Arbitration Award

    NEW YORK — A reinsurer asked a New York federal court to seal portions of its cross-motion to confirm a confidential arbitration award it won against a food processing company concerning a poultry rendering facility fire and subsequent reinsurance dispute due to a confidentiality agreement between the parties; the food processing company’s petition and documents in support were previously sealed in this case.

  • July 01, 2025

    CGL Insurer Disputes Coverage For Suits Arising From Music Festival Shooting

    SEATTLE — A commercial general liability insurer filed suit in a Washington federal court seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify its insureds against underlying lawsuits alleging that the insureds’ negligence and failure to exercise due care proximately caused the deaths and injuries from a shooting at a music festival.

  • July 01, 2025

    Insurer Says It Owed No Duty To Defend Water Contamination Suits

    LOS ANGELES — An insurer maintains in opposition to an insured’s motion for judgment on the pleadings that it owed no duty to defend the insured against two water contamination complaints filed by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board because the complaints only sought to impose penalties against the insured and did not seek damages as required by the policy.

  • June 30, 2025

    Oral Argument Set In 6th Circuit Appeal Of Collateral Estoppel Appeal

    CINCINNATI — Oral argument is scheduled for July 30 in an insurer’s appeal to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concerning a ruling issued in a Michigan federal court that collateral estoppel applies to defense cost expenses resolved in a prior arbitration award as part of a dispute relating to asbestos lawsuits.

  • June 30, 2025

    California Insureds Allege Insurers Underinsured Homes Destroyed In Wildfires

    LOS ANGELES — In two separate complaints filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, insureds whose homes were destroyed in the January wildfires allege that their homeowners insurers underinsured their homes, leaving the homeowners unable to rebuild their destroyed homes.

  • June 26, 2025

    Insured Seeks More Than $5M From Property Insurer For Business Income Losses

    PORTLAND, Ore. — An insured hotel filed suit in Oregon federal court, seeking more than $5 million from its commercial property insurer for business income losses and extra expenses incurred as a result of water damage and the repairs necessitated by the water damage.

  • June 26, 2025

    Pollution Exclusion Applies Even If Permit Regulated Toxic Emissions, Insurer Says

    CHICAGO — Permits or regulations authorizing toxic emissions have no bearing on whether a pollution exclusion applies as a bar to coverage for bodily injury claims related to chemical discharges from an insured facility, a commercial general liability insurer tells the Illinois Supreme Court, which agreed to answer a certified question posed by the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals regarding what effect, if any, a permit or regulation that authorizes emissions has in determining how a pollution exclusion should be applied.

  • June 23, 2025

    Parties Settle Coverage Suit Over Subcontractor’s Negligent, Defective Work

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A contractor and community owner insured and its insurer filed a joint notice indicating that they have reached a settlement in principle of the insured’s second amended complaint seeking declaratory relief as to additional insured coverage for a homeowner’s association’s underlying lawsuit arising from allegations of a subcontractor’s negligent and defect construction work.

  • June 23, 2025

    Lower Court Misinterpreted Reinsurance Contract, Insurer Tells 5th Circuit

    NEW ORLEANS — Contending that a district court misinterpreted three provisions of a 2017 reinsurance authorization agreement and erroneously granted a reinsurance broker’s motion to dismiss, a homeowners insurer filed an appellate brief in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals challenging the dismissal of its breach of contract claim stemming from the collapse of Vesttoo Ltd.

  • June 20, 2025

    Pollution Liability Insurer Says No Coverage For Underlying Contamination Lawsuits

    HOUSTON — No coverage is owed for two underlying environmental contamination lawsuits filed against the operators of a waste disposal facility because the pollution liability insurance policy precludes coverage for known pollution incidents and because the insured’s transfer of its rights under the policy was not valid, a pollution liability insurer says in a complaint filed in Texas federal court.

  • June 18, 2025

    Plaintiff Cites N.Y. Federal Ruling In Discovery Row Involving Reinsurance Info

    STATESVILLE, N.C. — The plaintiff in a bad faith suit over an excess liability insurer’s alleged duty to indemnify has filed a notice of supplemental authority in which it directs the attention of a North Carolina federal court to a New York federal court ruling that it says “held that reserve and reinsurance information is discoverable in an insurance coverage action.”

  • June 18, 2025

    Insurer Says No Defense Owed To Company For Underlying Hair Relaxer Lawsuits

    ATLANTA — A company that purchased certain assets and liabilities of an insured is not entitled to coverage for underlying lawsuits alleging that hair relaxer products manufactured by the insured and others caused cancer diagnoses in individuals because the insurer did not consent to the transfer of any rights under its policies, the insurer says in a complaint filed in Georgia federal court.

  • June 17, 2025

    CGL Insurer Removes City’s Coverage Suit Over $9.3M Wrongful Conviction Settlement

    DURHAM, N.C. — A commercial general liability insurer filed a notice in a North Carolina federal court seeking removal of the city of Concord’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit alleging that the insurer has duty to defend, indemnify and contribute to a $9.3 million settlement of an underlying wrongful conviction lawsuit.

  • June 16, 2025

    Insurer Says Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Silica Dust Exposure Suits

    LOS ANGELES — No coverage is owed for underlying bodily injury suits filed against an insured stemming from silica dust exposure from the insured’s products because the suits are barred by the pollution exclusion contained in primary and excess policies issued to the insured, an insurer maintains in its motion for summary judgment filed in California federal court.

  • June 16, 2025

    Insurer Files Notice Of Supplemental Authorities In Contamination Coverage Suit

    ATLANTA — An insurer on June 13 filed a notice of supplemental authorities in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, citing two cases in support of its argument that no coverage is owed for contamination cleanup costs stemming from the release of petroleum and other contaminants from an underground storage tank at a gas station based on the insured’s late notice.

  • June 16, 2025

    Putative Class Lawsuit Challenges Revision To American Airlines LTD Plan

    FORT WORTH, Texas — In a putative class complaint filed in Texas federal court, a disabled pilot sued American Airlines Inc. (AA) and related defendants under the theory that a May 2024 revision of its long-term disability (LTD) plan improperly excluded “vacation, ratification bonuses, profit sharing, one-time supplemental payment, bereavement, grievance payouts, extended sick bank, and Special Assignment” from average monthly compensation, resulting in underpayment of LTD benefits.

  • June 13, 2025

    7th Circuit Affirms Ruling Against LTD Claimant Who Has Fibromyalgia

    CHICAGO — Calling the challenged decision “detailed and diligent,” the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 12 ruled that a district court properly found that a former PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) director failed to satisfy her burden of proving that she remained disabled from working in a sedentary occupation as a result of symptoms related to fibromyalgia.

  • June 12, 2025

    Class Action Alleges Insurer Intentionally Disclosed Driver’s License Numbers

    NEW YORK — A class action complaint for violation of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) was brought against Lemonade Inc. in a New York federal court on June 9, alleging that the insurer knowingly and intentionally obtained, used and disclosed class members’ driver’s license numbers and other personal information on its online quoting platform that was ultimately accessed by cybercriminals.

  • June 11, 2025

    Ferrosilicon Producer Seeks Reconsideration On Discovery Limits In Cleanup Row

    PADUCAH, Ky. — A ferrosilicon producer seeks reconsideration of a Kentucky federal magistrate judge’s ruling limiting the scope of the producer’s issued deposition topics, claiming that the court erred in failing to acknowledge a reinsurer as a proper party in the litigation and misinterpreted its role in a reinsurance contract in a dispute over pollution-related cleanup costs.

  • June 10, 2025

    Declaratory Judgment Suit Filed Regarding Insolvent Insurer Litigation

    TRENTON, N.J. — Excess and primary insurers filed a declaratory judgment suit in New Jersey federal court, seeking a declaration that there is no coverage in underlying litigation and arbitration proceedings involving a now-insolvent insurer due to certain policy exclusions, including an exclusion related to insolvency and receivership.

  • June 10, 2025

    9th Circuit Sets Argument In Oral Surgeon’s Bid To Revive Disability Benefits Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has scheduled oral argument for July 7 in an appeal seeking revival of an oral surgeon’s breach of contract and bad faith suit filed after he unsuccessfully sought disability benefits on the grounds that his comorbid conditions and inability to access recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) made it necessary to close his practice early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • June 06, 2025

    6th Circuit Denies Petition For Rehearing On Duty-To- Defend Building Damage Suit

    CINCINNATI — A panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 5 denied an insurer’s petition for rehearing of the panel’s decision that alleged damages to a building caused by a contractor’s work could potentially be covered by the contractor’s commercial general liability and umbrella excess insurance policies.

  • June 06, 2025

    Insurer Says Lower Court Properly Found Policies Include Aggregate Limit

    SAN FRANCISCO — A district court did not err in finding that an umbrella liability insurer’s policies include an aggregate limit and cap the insured’s recovery for environmental contamination remediation costs, the insurer tells the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in its appellee brief.