Mealey's Catastrophic Loss : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

May 01, 2023
5th Circuit To Review Challenge To Arbitrability Of $7M Hurricane Ida Claims

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal has granted an unopposed request to review a federal court’s ruling compelling arbitration of a dispute over an insured’s claims for millions of dollars in damages caused by Hurricane Ida and for bad faith against its foreign and domestic insurers, after the insured and insurers both stated that the arbitrability of such claims is the subject of a “split among the Louisiana federal district courts.”
April 28, 2023
Panel: Tribe Fails To Show COVID-19 Caused Physical Property Damage To Casino

VENTURA, Calif. — A California appeals court panel on April 27 found that an insured Indian tribe and its experts failed to present sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the COVID-19 virus caused property damage to the tribe’s casino and resort, affirming a summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer in the tribe’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the pandemic.
April 28, 2023
8th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Minnesota Medical Center’s COVID-19 Coverage Suit

ST. LOUIS —The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a federal court’s dismissal of a medical center insured’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding the insured failed to assert that SARS-CoV-2 had any effect on its property.
April 26, 2023
Panel Reverses Choice-Of-Law Analysis, Affirms No Coverage Ruling In COVID-19 Suit

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appeals panel held that a lower court improperly applied a choice-of-law analysis in a coronavirus coverage dispute but properly held that the existence of the virus in the hotel air or on hotel surfaces fails to constitute direct physical loss or damage to the insured premises, affirming in part and reversing in part.
April 25, 2023
Illinois Judge: Unclear Whether Retirement Facilities Incurred Covered Crisis Event

CHICAGO — An Illinois judge granted insurers’ motion to dismiss insureds’ claims seeking a declaratory judgment as to Interruption by Communicable Disease, Contaminated Food/Communicable Disease and Preservation of Property (PP) coverage for their losses incurred by their continuing care retirement facilities following the coronavirus outbreak but refused to dismiss the insureds’ declaratory judgment and breach of contract claims as to the Crisis Management coverage and their breach of contract claim as to the Contaminated Food/Communicable Disease coverage under the primary insurance policies.
April 25, 2023
Denial Of Guaranty Association Intervention Bid Affirmed In Hurricane Coverage Row

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana federal judge affirmed a magistrate judge’s denial of the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association’s (LIGA) motion to intervene as a statutory obliger in a bad faith insurance coverage suit filed against a homeowners insurer over purported hurricane damages, finding that the magistrate correctly determined that LIGA failed to explain its interest in the suit.
April 21, 2023
Questions Of Fact Exist As To Whether Property Insurer Acted In Good Faith

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana federal judge denied an insured property owner’s motion for summary in a hurricane damage coverage dispute after determining that questions of fact exist regarding whether the insured properly submitted a satisfactory proof of loss and whether the insurer acted in good faith in failing to timely tender payment for the losses incurred.
April 21, 2023
Hurricane Coverage Suit Remanded For Failure To Show More Than $75,000 Is In Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — A breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit filed against a property insurer seeking additional coverage for damages sustained to insured properties during Hurricane Ida must be remanded to state court because the insurer failed to show that the amount in controversy exceeds the federal jurisdictional minimum amount of $75,000.
April 20, 2023
Bound by 10012 Holdings, Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Hotel’s COVID-19 Coverage Suit

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 20 affirmed a federal court’s dismissal of a hotel owner insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its business losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, saying that 10012 Holdings, Inc. v. Sentinel Insurance Company, Ltd. bounds the panel to rule that no coverage was triggered.
April 19, 2023
9th Circuit Denies Burger Chain’s Petition For Rehearing In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 18 unanimously denied In-N-Out Burgers’ petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc challenging its March 10 ruling that affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of its breach of contract lawsuit against its commercial property insurer seeking business interruption coverage for its coronavirus losses.
April 19, 2023
Judge Approves $17.3M Settlement Between Receiver, Insurers In Collapse Suit

MIAMI — A Florida judge signed an order granting a joint motion for approval of a $17.3 million settlement and release agreement between a receiver and the insurers of the Champlain Towers South (CTS) Condominium Association in a consolidated case over the June 2021 partial collapse of the CTS condominium building in Surfside, Fla..
April 18, 2023
Bound By Connecticut High Court Ruling, Panel Says No Coverage For COVID-19 Losses

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 17 affirmed a lower federal court’s finding that insureds failed to plausibly assert “direct physical loss or damage” to their insured property to trigger business interruption and extra expense coverage under their policy, noting that it is bound by the Connecticut Supreme Court’s recent holding in Connecticut Dermatology Group, PC v. Twin City Fire Insurance Company as to the meaning of the phrase “direct physical loss.”
April 17, 2023
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Restaurant’s Coronavirus Coverage Dispute

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 14 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of an insurer’s motion to dismiss a restaurant and banquet hall insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that the virus exclusion bars coverage.
April 17, 2023
Insured Fails To Assert Efficient Cause Of Its Losses Is Anything But Coronavirus

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 14 affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of a commercial real estate investment company’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for its economic losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that the policy’s virus exclusion bars all coverage because the insured fails to plausibly assert that the efficient cause of its losses is anything but the coronavirus.
April 14, 2023
Policies Cover Named Windstorms, 11th Circuit Says, Reverses Ruling For Insurer

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 13 held that a Florida church insured’s 2016 and 2017 insurance policies cover named windstorms, reversing a federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer in a coverage dispute arising from hurricanes Matthew and Irma.
April 14, 2023
Florida Panel Reverses JNOV In Favor Of Insured In Hurricane Irma Coverage Suit

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel held that the evidence taken in the light most favorable to an insurer supported a jury verdict in its favor and a lower erred in granting a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) to the insured in its breach of contract lawsuit over Hurricane Irma damage, reversing the lower court and directing it to reinstate the jury verdict.
April 13, 2023
Judge: Insured Businesses ‘Fatally Undermined’ Their COVID-19 Interruption Suit

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge dismissed without leave to amend two businesses’ lawsuits accusing their insurer of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by denying them coverage for damages caused by the suspension of their operations during government-ordered shutdowns, finding that they “fatally undermined” their argument opposing application of a virus exclusion in the policies by acknowledging that the shutdowns were caused by COVID-19.
April 12, 2023
5th Circuit Affirms No Coverage Owed For Dental Insureds’ COVID-19 Losses

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 11 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of an insurer in a coverage dispute arising from the coronavirus, finding that Cajun Conti, LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London forecloses the insureds’ arguments on appeal.
April 12, 2023
No Coverage Owed For Hurricane Irma Damage To Growing Crops, 11th Circuit Affirms

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in its lawsuit disputing coverage for Hurricane Irma damage to a farm owner insured’s growing crops, finding that the plain language of the policy makes clear that it does not insure growing crops.
April 12, 2023
Insured’s Expert Testimony Is Curtailed In Homeowner’s Coverage Dispute

HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge has partially granted and partially denied a motion to exclude an insured’s expert in an insurance coverage dispute for damage caused by a storm after finding that certain of the expert’s opinions aren’t admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
April 12, 2023
Homeowners Sue Insolvent Insurer, Guaranty Association Over Hurricane Ida Damage

NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana homeowners sued an insolvent insurer and the Louisiana Guaranty Association (LIGA) as the purported guarantor for the insurer, asserting claims for breach of contract and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing related to the insurer’s alleged failure to compensate them for their damage from Hurricane Ida.
April 11, 2023
9th Circuit Certifies Coronavirus Coverage Question To Oregon Supreme Court

SEATTLE — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 10 certified a question to the Oregon Supreme Court 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.”
April 11, 2023
Exclusions Bar Coverage For Restaurant’s COVID-19 Losses, California Panel Affirms

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California appeals panel on April 10 held that although a restaurant operator insured has demonstrated that there is potential for coverage for its business income losses resulting from the governmental orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the insurer has established that the policy’s “ordinance or law” and virus exclusions precluded coverage as a matter of law.
April 10, 2023
Insured: Insurer Is Distracting N.Y. High Court From Controlling Policy Language

ALBANY, N.Y. — The owner and operator of numerous restaurants replied to a commercial property insurer’s response to its appeal of the First Department New York Supreme Court Appellate Division’s affirmation of a lower court’s dismissal of its coverage lawsuit arising from an alleged tens of millions of dollars in revenue loss prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, asking the New York Court of Appeals to reject the insurer’s attempt to distract it from the policy’s controlling language.
April 10, 2023
7th Circuit Refuses To Rehear No Coverage Ruling In $5.3M COVID-19 Suit

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied an insured’s petition to rehear its March 2 ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of its declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking commercial insurance coverage for its more than $5.3 million in claimed derivative losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.