Mealey's Insurance
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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.
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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.
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September 22, 2025
Insurers Appeal Subrogation Ruling In Bankruptcies Of Imerys Asbestos Talc Parties
WILMINGTON, Del. — An appeal by a group of insurers of asbestos talc debtors Imerys Talc America Inc. and Cyprus Mines Corp. who say they have subrogation rights to the proceeds of the debtors’ $280 million settlement with other insurers was docketed in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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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.
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September 18, 2025
Virginia Federal Judge Says Chemical Exposure Dispute Will Proceed To Arbitration
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia federal judge granted an insured’s motion to compel arbitration in a dispute over coverage for underlying chemical exposure claims after determining that the insurer failed to show that it will be prejudiced if forced to proceed with arbitration, a Virginia federal judge said in granting the insured’s motion to compel arbitration and to stay the insurer’s declaratory judgment suit.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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September 15, 2025
Insurers Settle Dispute Stemming From Hot Tub Injury Suit Filed Against Insured
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge entered an order of conditional dismissal in a dispute between two insurers over whether coverage is owed to a mutual insured for an underlying hot tub injury lawsuit after the insurers reached a settlement.
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September 12, 2025
Insured Condo Association Settles Water Damage Suit With Insurer; Suit Dismissed
SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge dismissed a water damage coverage suit filed by an insured condominium association against its insurer after the parties reached a settlement and stipulated to dismissal of the suit.
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September 10, 2025
Breach Of Contract Suit Dismissed Following Settlement Between Insurer, Reinsurer
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge ordered the dismissal without costs and without prejudice of an insurer’s breach of contract suit against its reinsurer after the parties reached a settlement.
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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.
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September 08, 2025
Pollution Liability Insurer Owes Defense For Contamination Suit, Insureds Maintain
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 claims that are potentially covered under the policy, the insureds maintain in a motion for partial summary judgment.
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September 08, 2025
Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Stormwater Damage Suit, Judge Says
SAVANNAH, Ga. — An insurer has no duty to defend its insured in an underlying property damage suit caused by stormwater runoff because the policies’ pollution exclusion bars coverage, a Georgia federal judge said, noting that multiple Georgia courts have found that stormwater qualifies as a pollutant.
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September 08, 2025
Fla. Panel Reverses, Finds ‘Triable Issue’ As To Loss In Homeowners Coverage Suit
MIAMI — A Florida appellate court reversed and remanded a trial court’s final judgment of $25,711.90 for Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which describes itself on its website as Florida’s “insurer of last resort,” after the trial court granted summary judgment for the insurer, finding that the record contains disputes of fact regarding whether the insureds met the burden to show that the cause of their loss is a “triable issue.”
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September 04, 2025
Calif. Federal Judge: Insurance Companies Liable For Cleanup At CERCLA Site
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge ruled that intervening insurers in a dispute over responsibility for groundwater contamination under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act at a former wood preservation plant are liable on behalf of a former operator for past and future cleanup costs in granting a state agency’s motion for partial summary judgment.
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September 04, 2025
Parties Agree To Dismiss Contamination Coverage Suit In Pennsylvania Federal Court
PITTSBURGH — An insurer and its insured filed a joint stipulation of dismissal in Pennsylvania federal court after agreeing to litigate the insurer’s declaratory judgment suit in Massachusetts federal court where the insured filed a similar suit seeking coverage for underlying environmental contamination lawsuits.
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September 02, 2025
Pollution Liability Insurer Has No Duty To Defend Insured, Federal Judge Says
SAN FRANCISCO — A pollution liability insurer has no duty to defend its insured against underlying suits stemming from the insured’s environmental remediation work because the pollution conditions at issue were not unexpected or unintended as required by the policies, a California federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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August 28, 2025
Delaware High Court Denies Interlocutory Appeal In Product Liability Coverage Suit
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Delaware Supreme Court on Aug. 27 refused insurers’ request for interlocutory appeal of a lower court’s ruling that underlying product liability claims brought against Mattel Inc. and Fisher Price Inc. (collectively, Mattel) constituted a single “occurrence” under their tower of commercial general liability insurance policies and should be allocated by the year in which the bodily injury occurred for the policies above the primary tower level, finding that “[p]iecemeal appeals will not promote efficiency or considerations of justice.”
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August 28, 2025
Transfer Of Coverage Dispute Over Fire, Chemical Damages Not Warranted, Judge Says
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal judge denied a motion to dismiss or transfer an insurer’s suit to another division of the Texas federal court after determining that the environmental remediation company failed to show that the federal division where the insurer filed its declaratory judgment suit is improper or inconvenient.
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August 27, 2025
Insured Says District Court’s Aggregate Limit Ruling Must Be Reversed
SAN FRANCISCO — An umbrella liability insurer failed to explain why its insured’s interpretation of policy language pertaining to an aggregate limit is not supported, an insured says in urging the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court’s ruling in a dispute over coverage for environmental contamination remediation costs.
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August 26, 2025
Bankruptcy Judge Says Avon Entities’ Liquidation Plan Can Be Confirmed
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Chapter 11 liquidation plan of the U.S. divisions of cosmetics giant Avon was proposed in good faith and can be confirmed once various minor revisions are made, a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge held in a memorandum opinion following the plan confirmation hearing.
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August 26, 2025
Fraud, Breach Of Duty Of Good Faith Claims Dismissed In Water Damage Dispute
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama federal judge granted a property insurer’s motion to dismiss claims alleging fraud and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing because the insured fails to allege facts in support of the fraud claims and because Alabama law does not recognize a claim for breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.
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August 25, 2025
Bad Faith Claim Proceeds, Punitive Damages Request Nixed In Asbestos Coverage Suit
NEW YORK — An insured’s bad faith claim against an umbrella insurer in a dispute over coverage for underlying asbestos bodily injury lawsuits filed against the insured can proceed because the claim is not duplicative of the breach of contract claim; however, the insured’s request for punitive damages cannot proceed because the insured failed to show that the insurer’s actions caused any harm to the public as required to support the claim under New York law, a New York federal judge said.
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August 25, 2025
Judge Dismisses Contractor’s Coverage Suit After Parties Announce Settlement Reached
FLORENCE, S.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina dismissed a contractor’s coverage suit stemming from water intrusion and other construction defect issues at a mixed-use development project, noting that the parties have indicated that they have reached a settlement.