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Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

  • January 21, 2025

    Federal Judge: No Coverage Owed For Fire Damage To Insured’s Cannabis Crops

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal judge in Connecticut on Jan. 21 entered judgment in favor of an insurer after granting its motion for summary judgment in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for the insured’s claim for losses arising from an exploding lamp that caused fire damage to 998 marijuana plants, concluding that there is no coverage owed because the insured’s loss did not result from a suspension of its operations.

  • January 17, 2025

    Argument Set For Hawaii Supreme Court Case On Wildfire Settlement Subrogation

    HONOLULU — An amicus curiae group called the “Consolidated Class Plaintiffs” will take part in Feb. 6 oral argument after the Hawaii Supreme Court expanded the time allotted in the case concerning reserved questions on how the subrogation rights of property and casualty insurance carriers bear on a proposed global settlement of claims related to the August 2023 Maui wildfires; additionally, a pending opposed motion seeks to stay a lower court’s allocation proceeding.

  • January 17, 2025

    Issues Of Fact Exist As To Cause Of Insureds’ Shutdown During Wildfires

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge partially denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a breach of contract and bad faith case filed by insureds seeking additional coverage for business losses incurred as a result of wildfires after determining that issues of fact exist as to whether two of the insureds’ businesses were forced to close for a period of time because of soot and ash damages from the fires.

  • January 15, 2025

    Citing Settlement, Judge Dismisses Hurricane Coverage Row With Insolvent Insurer

    LAFAYETTE, La. — After being advised that the parties have settled, a Louisiana federal judge dismissed a homeowner’s suit against his now-insolvent insurer for its purported failure to cover damages caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta.

  • January 15, 2025

    Federal Judge Returns Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit To Streamlined Settlement Program

    NEW ORLEANS — One day after an insured filed an amended breach of contract and bad faith complaint seeking coverage for its property damage caused by Hurricane Ida, a federal judge in Louisiana on Jan. 14 returned the case to the streamlined settlement program.

  • January 15, 2025

    Judge Overrules Objections To Magistrate’s Appraisal Order In Hurricane Irma Dispute

    FORT MYERS, Fla. —A federal judge in Florida overruled an insurer and its condominium association insured’s objections to a magistrate’s order as to the form of an appraisal award in a Hurricane Irma coverage dispute, finding that neither party has demonstrated that the magistrate has erred.

  • January 10, 2025

    Federal Judge Dismisses Hurricane Ian Coverage Suit After Insured Fails To Respond

    FORT MYERS, Fla. —A federal judge in Florida dismissed without prejudice an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit over Hurricane Ian property damage for the insured’s failure to comply with an order to show cause and for want of prosecution, finding that although the insured’s “lack of diligence is disturbing, on balance, this is not the type of ‘extreme situation’ warranting dismissal with prejudice.”

  • January 10, 2025

    Hospital, Insurer Announce Settlement Of Coronavirus Coverage Suit In Federal Court

    BOSTON — A hospital insured and its commercial property insurer tell a Massachusetts federal court in a Jan. 9 joint motion that they have reached a settlement in principle of the insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

  • January 09, 2025

    Judgment Issued For Oil Company In Dispute Over Hurricane-Damaged Oil Barge

    HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge on Jan. 8 granted in part summary judgment to a gas and oil exploration company in its breach of contract suit against its insurer for failure to cover costs for recovering an oil barge damaged and set adrift during Hurricane Ida, finding that because there is no dispute that removal of the barge was required under law, the protection and indemnity (P&I) policy applies.

  • January 09, 2025

    N.Y. Appeals Court Affirms Arbitration Award In Coronavirus Coverage Dispute

    NEW YORK — A New York appeals court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that denied an insurer’s request to disqualify a former New York Supreme Court justice as an umpire in an arbitration of a COVID-19 coverage dispute and concluded that the lower court properly determined the insured failed to demonstrate that the arbitration award should be vacated.

  • January 09, 2025

    N.Y. Appeals Court Reinstates Complaint Against 1 Insurer In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

    NEW YORK — A New York appeals court concluded that Bowlero Corp. has stated a cause of action against one of its insurers because its complaint sufficiently asserts that a policy’s special time element coverage extension was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the additional pathogenic materials policy exclusion does not apply, unanimously modifying the lower court’s ruling, reinstating the insured’s complaint against the one insurer and affirming the remainder of the lower court’s decision.

  • January 08, 2025

    5th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Suit Prompted By Winter Freeze

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 7 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer in a breach of contract lawsuit arising from property damage caused by a winter freeze, finding that the property did not comport with the insurance policy's coverage requirements because it is undisputed that the plaintiff did not reside on the property at the policy’s inception.

  • January 08, 2025

    Judge Refuses To Reconsider Dismissal Of Philadelphia Eagles’ Coverage Dispute

    PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge denied the owner and operator of the Philadelphia Eagles football organization’s motion to reconsider the dismissal of its action seeking a declaration as to coverage for its losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, rejecting the insured’s contention that the present lawsuit “is unlike any other that already has been decided and warrants proceeding past a motion to dismiss.”

  • January 06, 2025

    Idaho High Court Reinstates Negligence, Respondeat Superior Claims Against Insurer

    BOISE, Idaho— The Idaho Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of an insured’s negligence/respondeat superior claims against its insurer in its lawsuit alleging the insurer was vicariously liable for an insurance agent’s negligence in failing to provide information on the availability of landslide coverage and failing to renew coverage for a home construction project, remanding for further proceedings.

  • January 06, 2025

    Citing Wildfire Risks, California Issues Net Cost Of Reinsurance Regulation

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Insurance has issued a Net Cost of Reinsurance (NCOR) in Ratemaking Regulationthat Commissioner Ricardo Lara says was prompted by insurers pulling back from the state’s property insurance market in light of the growing risk of wildfires. 

  • January 02, 2025

    North Carolina Panel Affirms Judgment For Insurer In Hurricane Coverage Dispute

    RALEIGH, N.C.  — The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment in favor of a now-insolvent insurer in a dispute over coverage for purported damage caused by Hurricane Florence, finding that the lower court correctly held the insured was barred from filing suit under the insurance contract because he failed to submit for an insurer-requested examination under oath (EUO), a condition precedent under the policy.

  • December 20, 2024

    Expert Out In Hurricane Ida Damage Coverage Case; Report Found Unreliable

    JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi federal judge granted a home insurer summary judgment in a case brought by a couple who say their claim for damages stemming from a hurricane was not covered after finding that their expert’s testimony on causation is inadmissible.

  • December 16, 2024

    N.C. Supreme Court: Retailer’s COVID-19 Loss Excluded By Policy As Contamination

    RALEIGH, N.C. — Ruling that a contamination exclusion in a clothing retailer insured’s “all-risk” commercial insurance policy excluded the insured’s claimed losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Carolina Supreme Court on Dec. 13 — while disagreeing with its reasoning — affirmed the judgment of a state appellate court, which in turn affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage under the policy for its losses.

  • December 16, 2024

    N.C. High Court Rules COVID-19 Lockdowns Caused Restaurants’ Direct Physical Loss

    RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Supreme Court on Dec. 13 reversed the judgment of a state appellate court that had reversed a trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of restaurant insureds in a COVID-19 coverage dispute, concluding that the restaurants’ insurance policies did not “unambiguously bar coverage when government orders and threatened viral contamination deprived the policyholder restaurants of their ability to physically use and physically operate property at their insured business premises.”

  • December 13, 2024

    Hawaii Supreme Court Considers Subrogation Issues For Wildfire Settlement

    HONOLULU — How the subrogation rights of property and casualty insurance carriers bear on a proposed global settlement of claims related to the August 2023 Maui wildfires is the focus of three reserved questions the Hawaii Supreme Court is considering, with some recent filings involving how reinsurance could be affected.

  • December 11, 2024

    5th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurer In Dispute Over Hail, Wind Damage

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 10 affirmed a Texas federal court’s ruling that an insured’s extracontractual claims against a homeowners insurer cannot proceed because no coverage is owed for hail and wind damage to the insured’s roof based on the insured’s failure to satisfy the policy’s residence premises requirement.

  • December 11, 2024

    No Coverage Owed For Regal Cinemas’ Coronavirus Losses, 9th Circuit Affirms

    PASADENA, Calif.— The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of insurers in Regal Cinemas’ breach of contract lawsuit seeking recovery for its revenue losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that, pursuant to New York law, Regal Cinemas was not insured for its alleged business losses.

  • December 10, 2024

    Panel: Reservation Court Has Jurisdiction In Tribe’s Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over an insurance company in a dispute over the tribe’s claims for business interruption losses at its casino caused by the coronavirus pandemic, affirming a lower federal court on the alterative ground that the insurance policy at issue satisfies Montana’s consensual-relationship exception.

  • December 10, 2024

    Retail Furniture Insured Voluntarily Dismisses Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — A retail furniture insured filed a notice in a federal court in Pennsylvania to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses stemming from the forced closure of its business in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

  • December 09, 2024

    Majority Renders $4.5M In Attorney Fees To Insureds In Hurricane Katrina Suit

    JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi Supreme Court majority affirmed a jury's $10,457,858.89 damages award against an insurer in a Hurricane Katrina coverage dispute and reversed the lower court’s denial of the insured’s estate’s posttrial motion for attorney fees and rendered $4,500,000 in attorney fees to the estate plus postjudgment interest, finding that the court’s decision to force the estate to use nearly half of its award to pay attorney fees fails to adequately compensate them for bringing this bad faith action against the insurer.