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Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

  • November 20, 2024

    Panel Refuses To Rehear Coverage Suit Arising From Hurricanes Laura, Delta

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied petitions filed by a church insured and its insurer seeking rehearing of a ruling that partly reversed a lower federal court’s decision in the insured’s lawsuit alleging that the insurer underpaid its losses arising from hurricanes Laura and Delta.

  • November 18, 2024

    Philadelphia Eagles Ask Court To Reconsider Dismissal Of COVID-19 Coverage Suit

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

  • November 15, 2024

    Majority Affirms Ruling In Last Resort Insurer’s Favor In Hurricane Coverage Suit

    BATON ROUGE, La. — A majority of a First Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal panel held that a lower court properly interpreted the state Legislature's amendment of Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 22:1892(H) by Act 290 to be a procedural change that applied retroactively and, as a result, eliminated any class action for damages, including bad faith penalties, brought against the state’s insurer of last resort.

  • November 14, 2024

    6th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Coverage Dispute Over Hail Damage

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of an insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for commercial property damage caused by a hailstorm because the insured assigned the rights to his insurance proceeds and did not qualify as the “real party in interest” pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17.

  • November 13, 2024

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss Declaratory Relief Claim in Hurricane Ian Coverage Dispute

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s declaratory relief claim in a Hurricane Ian coverage dispute, finding that the insured has plausibly asserted a declaratory judgment claim and the issue of whether that claim is subsumed by the insured’s breach of contract claim can better be resolved at the summary judgment stage.

  • November 11, 2024

    Insurer, Insured Reach Confidential Settlement In Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge announced that a confidential settlement has been reached in a commercial property owner insured’s lawsuit against its insurer seeking coverage for its damage caused by Hurricane Ida.

  • November 11, 2024

    Appraisal Award Partly Vacated, Counterclaim Dismissed In Wildfire Coverage Suit

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A federal magistrate judge in California granted in part a homeowners insurer’s motion to vacate a more than $33 million appraisal award in a coverage dispute over damage caused by the Glass Fire in Northern California, further granting the insureds’ motion to dismiss the insurer’s counterclaim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

  • November 08, 2024

    Gold Mining Co. Estimates Losses In Coverage Row At More Than $200M

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge ordered parties to file a joint report on the prospect of arbitrating a breach of contract lawsuit for losses estimated at more than $200 million for a gold mining breakdown that involves a dispute over whether the defendants are direct insurers or reinsurers of the plaintiff.

  • November 08, 2024

    Federal Magistrate Denies Insured’s Motion To Remand Hurricane Ian Coverage Dispute

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal magistrate judge in Florida denied an insured’s motion to remand its declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking coverage for its damage caused by Hurricane Ian, finding that the insurer timely removed the lawsuit and that the amount in controversy was satisfied.

  • November 05, 2024

    Church, Insurer Seek Rehearing Of Coverage Suit Arising From Hurricanes Laura, Delta

    NEW ORLEANS — A church insured and its insurer filed petitions seeking a panel rehearing of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ Oct. 17 ruling that partly reversed a lower federal court’s ruling in the insured’s lawsuit alleging that the insurer underpaid its losses arising from hurricanes Laura and Delta, with both relying on First Baptist Church of Iowa v. CM Insurance Company in their respective arguments.

  • November 04, 2024

    Panel Affirms $6.6M Appraisal Award In Insured’s Favor In Hurricane Coverage Dispute

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of a condominium association insured’s motion for summary judgment and confirmation of a  $6,599,810.67 appraisal award for its actual cash value loss arising from Hurricane Irma damage, saying it will not save the insurer “from the undesired consequences of the binding appraisal agreement it chose to enter.”

  • October 29, 2024

    Federal Judge Stays Dismissal Of Philadelphia Eagles’ COVID-19 Coverage Dispute

    PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania stayed his dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the owner and operator of the Philadelphia Eagles football organization seeking a declaration as to coverage for its losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic pending a ruling on the insured’s motion for reconsideration.

  • October 28, 2024

    Michigan Supreme Court Refuses To Review Ruling In Favor Of Insurance Agent

    LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court on Oct. 28 denied an insured’s request for leave to appeal an appeals court’s ruling that affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary disposition in favor of an insurance agent and agency in its negligence lawsuit arising from its lack of flood coverage.

  • October 28, 2024

    La. Supreme Court Says 5th Circuit Wrong On Arbitrability Of Insurance Disputes

    NEW ORLEANS — Addressing questions of law certified to it regarding state law and arbitration agreements embodied in insurance policies, the Louisiana Supreme Court on Oct. 25 ruled that state law prohibits arbitration of insurance disputes, directly contradicting the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ “flawed” findings in two cases involving hurricane insurance claims against foreign and domestic insurers.

  • October 25, 2024

    U.S., Ship Owner File Settlement Notice In Exoneration Suit Over Bridge Collapse

    BALTIMORE — The United States and the owner and technical manager of the ship that allided with and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore filed a joint notice on Oct. 24 indicating they have reached a settlement and asked a Maryland federal court to dismiss the United States’ Sept. 18 claim and answer to the ship owner’s petition for exoneration from or limitation of liability for the casualties and damage arising from the bridge collapse.

  • October 24, 2024

    Driver’s Claims For Larger COVID-19 Refunds Properly Dismissed, 9th Circuit Told

    SAN FRANCISCO — GEICO in an Oct. 23 appellee brief tells the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a federal judge properly granted summary judgment on an insured driver’s class action claim against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by providing drivers an insufficient rebate on premiums after COVID-19, arguing that its rebate was fair under the relevant policy and state insurance regulations.

  • October 22, 2024

    Judge Remands Hurricane Damage Dispute Involving Insurer, Guaranty Association

    BATON ROUGE, La. — “[F]or the reasons set forth” in a Louisiana federal magistrate judge’s report and recommendation to remand to state court a hurricane coverage dispute between a homeowner and his now-insolvent insurer, a Louisiana federal judge remanded the case “for lack of subject matter jurisdiction” after the magistrate judge granted the insured’s motion to amend his complaint to add the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) as a defendant.

  • October 22, 2024

    Contamination Exclusion Bars Coverage For COVID-19 Losses, Federal Judge Says

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An all-risk policy’s contamination exclusion bars coverage for losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic because a California appellate panel’s determination that a contamination exclusion bars coverage for COVID-19 losses is binding and warrants the same finding in a similar suit filed by insureds in federal court, a California federal judge said Oct. 21 in granting an insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • October 22, 2024

    3rd Circuit Dismisses Urban Outfitters’ Appeal In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — One day after URBN US Retail LLC (Urban Outfitters) and its insurer filed a joint stipulation to dismiss, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals tossed Urban Outfitters’ appeal of a lower federal court’s dismissal of its coverage lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

  • October 22, 2024

    Motion To Substitute Guaranty Association Denied In Row Over Hurricane Coverage

    LAFAYETTE, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge denied an insured’s motion to substitute the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) for a now-insolvent insurer in a dispute over coverage for purported damages caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta, finding that even if the court determined that it had subject matter jurisdiction over LIGA through a transfer of interest from the insurer to LIGA, the state of Louisiana’s interest in regulating insurance provides a sufficient reason for abstention.

  • October 18, 2024

    Panel Partly Reverses Ruling In Coverage Suit Arising From Hurricanes Laura, Delta

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 17 reversed a lower federal court’s imposition of statutory penalties, attorney fees and costs in favor of a church insured in its lawsuit alleging that the insurer underpaid its losses arising from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, finding that the lower court erred when it determined that the insurer’s conduct was arbitrary and capricious and without probable cause.

  • October 18, 2024

    Contractor Appeals No Coverage Ruling In Suit Arising From Alleged Faulty Roof Work

    NEW YORK — A contractor filed a notice indicating that it is appealing a New York federal court’s ruling that adopted a magistrate’s report and recommendation in concluding that insurers owe no coverage for an underlying lawsuit that accuses the contractor and a subcontractor of faulty work on roofs in a New York City apartment complex that failed during Hurricane Sandy.

  • October 17, 2024

    Federal Judge Dismisses Philadelphia Eagles’ COVID-19 Suit Against Insurer

    PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Oct. 16 dismissed a lawsuit brought by the owner and operator of the Philadelphia Eagles football organization seeking a declaration as to coverage for its alleged losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, noting that the court is bound by Ungarean v. CAN & Valley Forge Ins. Co. that was recently decided by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

  • October 17, 2024

    Insured’s Hurricane Zeta Lawsuit Is Untimely Under SFIP, 5th Circuit Affirms

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 affirmed a lower federal court’s “carefully crafted opinion” that dismissed with prejudice an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its Hurricane Zeta damage, agreeing with the lower court that the insured’s action is time-barred by the one-year statute of limitations pursuant to its Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP).

  • October 10, 2024

    9th Circuit Unseals Driver’s Brief Challenging GEICO’s ‘Unfair’ COVID-19 Rebates

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unsealed a brief filed by a driver appealing a federal judge’s grant of summary judgment on her class action claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) to GEICO for allegedly unfairly retaining an estimated $238 million in additional premium relief the driver says it owed insureds after the COVID-19 pandemic.