Mealey's Catastrophic Loss
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June 06, 2023
California Judge Enters Judgment On Special Jury Verdict In Insurer’s Favor
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge entered judgment on a jury’s special verdict in favor of a commercial property insurer in the insureds’ breach of contract coverage lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic after the jury found last month that SARS-CoV-2 did not cause any direct physical loss or damage to the insureds’ hotel on or before June 1, 2020.
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June 06, 2023
Judge Dismisses Tulane’s Suit Seeking Coverage For Losses Arising From Coronavirus
NEW ORLEANS — Three days after the administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund filed a stipulation of dismissal, a federal judge in New Orleans on June 5 dismissed the fund’s declaratory judgment and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for its medical catastrophe expense (MCE) claim and evacuation expenses (EE) resulting from the COVID-19 virus.
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June 06, 2023
11th Circuit Affirms $9.3M Jury Verdict Against Insurer In Hurricane Irma Dispute
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 5 concluded that the evidence on the record was sufficient to sustain a jury’s $9,280,000 verdict in favor of an insured in a breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for Hurricane Irma damage to its assisted living facility, affirming a lower federal court’s refusal to grant the insurer’s motion for a new trial.
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June 05, 2023
Health Care System Insured Fails To State Claim Above $1M Already Received, Panel Says
CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 2 held that a Wisconsin-based health care system insured did not state a claim for coverage beyond the $1 million it already received under its all-risks insurance policy’s limited coverage provision for communicable diseases, affirming a lower court’s ruling in favor of the insurer in a coverage dispute over the insured’s alleged $85 million in losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
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June 05, 2023
Insured Retains Standing To Seek Enforcement Of Policy, Florida Panel Says, Reverses
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel concluded on June 2 that a lower court erred in ruling that an insured lacked standing to sue her property insurer for Hurricane Irma damage because she assigned all of her rights to a contractor, finding the scope of the insured’s assignment is limited to the work that was performed by the contractor, which was none, and, therefore the insured retains standing to sue.
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June 02, 2023
No Coverage Owed For Horse Racing Track Owner’s COVID-19 Losses, Panel Affirms
PHOENIX — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 1 affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of a horse racing track owner’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that the contamination exclusion unambiguously bars coverage.
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June 02, 2023
Dismissal Of Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Suit Was Error, Panel Majority Says
DALLAS — The majority of the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a trial court’s dismissal of a breach of contract and bad faith suit brought against a homeowners insurer after determining that the insurer failed to show that the insureds’ claims have no basis in fact.
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June 01, 2023
Majority: Order Compelling Appraisal, Staying Irma Suit Not Immediately Appealable
ATLANTA — A majority of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held May 31 that a lower federal court’s compelling appraisal and staying a Hurricane Irma coverage dispute pending the appraisal is an interlocutory order that is not immediately appealable under 28 U.S. Code Section 1292(a)(1), 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1), or under the Federal Arbitration Act, dismissing the insured’s appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction.
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May 31, 2023
California Panel: Insured’s Direct Physical Loss Claims Are ‘Mere Legal Conclusions’
SAN DIEGO — A California appeals panel on May 30 affirmed a lower court’s grant of a commercial property insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in a coverage dispute arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that it is clear that the causes of the insured’s business losses are not attributable to the presence of the coronavirus on its premises but are the purported result of “certain government orders, community infection, and assumption that the virus is ubiquitous.”
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May 30, 2023
Florida Panel Affirms Judgment In Insurer’s Favor In Hurricane Irma Coverage Suit
LAKELAND, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in a Hurricane Irma coverage dispute, finding that the insureds failed to provide the insurer a timely “notice of claim.”
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May 26, 2023
Louisiana Panel Reverses Default Judgment In Hurricane Ida Coverage Dispute
BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana appeals court panel on May 25 reversed a default judgment awarding insureds $694,072.63 in outstanding sums purportedly due under a homeowners insurance policy, penalties, attorney fees and general damages and remanded the Hurricane Ida coverage dispute.
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May 25, 2023
Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Suit Against Property Insurer Dismissed
RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge dismissed a breach of contract and bad faith suit against a property insurer in a hurricane damage coverage dispute after determining that the insureds failed to show how the insurer, which adhered to the terms of the contract by paying an appraisal award entered in favor of the insureds within 60 days, breached the insurance contract and acted in bad faith.
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May 25, 2023
Magistrate Recommends Adding Guaranty Association In Insureds’ Wind Damage Suit
LAFAYETTE, La. — Two weeks after a Louisiana federal magistrate judge issued a report recommending granting homeowners’ motion to add the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) as a defendant in a suit against their now-insolvent homeowners’ insurer, a federal judge adopted the report and recommendation, finding that the magistrate’s findings were “correct under applicable law.”
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May 24, 2023
Insurer Seeks JMOL Or New Trial After $170,000 Verdict In Water Damage Suit
MOBILE, Ala. — In the wake of a nearly $170,000 verdict against it in an insurance dispute over the handling of a property damage claim after Hurricane Sally, an insurer has filed a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial, arguing that an insured church failed to establish that its claimed losses were covered under the policy, that the insured’s expert testimony was not reliable and that the “jury instructions were incomplete.”
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May 23, 2023
Insolvent Insurer Substituted With Guaranty Association In Hurricane Coverage Row
MONROE, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge granted an insured’s request to substitute its insurer that was ordered into liquidation by a Florida state court with Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) in a breach of contract suit against the insurer seeking coverage for purported hurricane damage to commercial property.
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May 22, 2023
Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Consolidated Class Actions Seeking Coronavirus Coverage
SEATTLE — In three rulings, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 19 affirmed a Washington federal judge’s ruling that granted insurers’ motion to dismiss consolidated class actions brought by western Washington businesses seeking coverage for lost income stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, agreeing that COVID-19 does not cause the physical loss or damage to the insureds’ property that is required to trigger coverage.
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May 22, 2023
Homeowners Insurer Did Not Act In Bad Faith In Denying Water, Mold Damage Claim
NEW ORLEANS — A homeowners insurer did not act in bad faith in handling an insured’s water and mold damage claim following damages sustained as a result of Hurricane Ida because the evidence supports a finding that the insurer had a reasonable basis to deny coverage for the insured’s damages, a Louisiana federal judge said May 19 in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment on the bad faith claim.
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May 17, 2023
Insurance Breach Of Contract Claims Survive After Judge Allows Causation Expert
MOBILE, Ala. — A federal judge in Alabama denied an insurer’s motion to exclude an expert retained by homeowners in a policy coverage dispute after finding that his testimony met the requirements of Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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May 16, 2023
11th Circuit: Fact Issue Exists As To Whether Insureds’ Breach Prejudiced Insurer
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated a federal court’s denial of insureds’ motion for summary judgment in a Hurricane Irma coverage dispute, finding that there is a dispute of fact regarding whether the insureds’ breach of their policy’s proof-of-loss requirement prejudiced the insurer.
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May 15, 2023
Oregon High Court Declines Panel’s Certified Question In COVID-19 Coverage Suit
SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Supreme Court declined to accept the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ certified question asking whether “the actual or potential presence of the COVID-19 virus on an insured's premises constitute ‘direct physical loss or damage to property’ for purposes of coverage under a commercial property insurance policy.”
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May 15, 2023
Parties Reach Settlement In Coverage Dispute Over Wildfire Damage To Napa Wineries
SAN FRANCISCO — An insured and its insurer filed a notice in a California federal court indicating that they have settled the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for property damage to its Napa County wineries caused by two wildfires.
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May 15, 2023
Broadway Owner, Insurers Voluntarily Dismiss Federal Coronavirus Coverage Suit
NEW YORK — The owner and operator of five Broadway theaters and its insurers filed a stipulation notifying a New York federal court that they are voluntarily dismissing the insured’s breach of contract coverage lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
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May 12, 2023
N.H. High Court Reverses Ruling In Hotel Insureds’ Favor In COVID-19 Coverage Suit
CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire Supreme Court on May 11 held that the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the air or on surfaces at insureds’ premises fails to satisfy a property insurance policy’s requirement of “loss or damage” or “direct physical loss of or damage to property” under Mellin v. Northern Security Insurance Co., reversing a lower court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of the insureds in a coronavirus coverage dispute.
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May 12, 2023
California Panel: Insurer Did Not Act In Bad Faith In Windstorm Coverage Dispute
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California appeals court on May 11 held that an insurer did not act in bad faith in its handling of an insured’s windstorm damage claim, rejecting the insured’s arguments on appeal that the insurer failed to thoroughly investigate his property damage and misrepresented his rental coverage.
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May 10, 2023
Federal Judge Denies Insurer’s Summary Judgment Motion In Hurricane Damage Suit
BEAUMONT, Texas — A Texas federal judge adopted a recommendation to deny a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and bad faith claims, noting that the magistrate judge correctly found that issues of fact exist regarding whether additional coverage is owed for hurricane damages sustained to the insureds’ home and whether the insurer’s denial of additional damages was reasonable.