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

Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

September 10, 2024
Panel Refuses To Reconsider Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Suit Prompted By Pandemic

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals refused to reconsider its ruling that affirmed a federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insured in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
September 09, 2024
8th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Bad Faith Suit Arising From Derecho

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 6 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in Iowa insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from their property damage caused by a derecho, rejecting the insurers’ contention that the lower court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and finding that the insurer did not breach the contract when it refused to pay the insureds the remaining replacement cost value.
September 04, 2024
5th Circuit Stands By Reversal In Professional Liability Suit Over Oil Spill Claims

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 3 denied plaintiffs’ request to reconsider last month’s reversal of a lower federal court’s enforcement of a settlement in a lawsuit alleging that law firm insureds committed legal malpractice by failing to properly handle plaintiffs’ claims for compensation of damages caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, finding that there was no enforceable settlement because the defendants did not accept the plaintiffs’ counteroffer.
August 15, 2024
COMMENTARY: Campus Protests May Trigger Insurance Coverage For Property Damage And Economic Losses

By Amber Finch, Anthony Crawford and Adrienne Kitchen
September 03, 2024
5th Circuit Panel Refuses To Reconsider Dismissal Of $192M Coronavirus Coverage Suit

NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an Aug. 30 per curiam order denied Texas’ largest nonprofit health system petition seeking rehearing en banc of a majority opinion that affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of its commercial property insurer in its lawsuit seeking coverage for $192 million in business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
September 03, 2024
5th Circuit: Contractor’s Notice Of Appeal In Suit Against Insurer Is Untimely

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that it lacks jurisdiction over a contractor’s motion to reconsider a Louisiana federal court’s dismissal of its claims against an insurer because its notice of appeal was not timely, dismissing the appeal in the contractor’s lawsuit seeking to recover damages arising out of the insurer’s alleged failure to reimburse it for work it performed for the insured following Hurricane Ida.
August 29, 2024
Judge Dismisses Coverage Dispute Over $1M Settlement Of Canceled Music Festival

AUSTIN, Texas — Two days after the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal, a federal judge in Texas on Aug. 28 dismissed an insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying $1 million class action settlement arising from the insured’s refusal to refund ticket sales for the South by Southwest festival that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 29, 2024
Suit Limitation Provision Bars Insured’s Hurricane Harvey Coverage Suit

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A trial court did not err in granting a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a coverage dispute over Hurricane Harvey damages because the policy’s two-year suit limitation provision clearly bars the insured’s suit, the 13th District Texas Court of Appeals said Aug. 28.
August 28, 2024
California Judge Enters Judgment In Hotel Insureds’ Coronavirus Coverage Dispute

LOS ANGELES — A California judge entered an amended judgment on a jury’s special verdict in favor of a commercial property insurer in hotel insureds’ breach of contract lawsuit arising from the COVID-19 pandemic after the parties signed a confidential settlement agreement and successfully requested dismissal of the insureds’ appeal.
August 27, 2024
11th Circuit Enters Judgment Dismissing Appeal In Hurricane Michael Coverage Dispute

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals entered judgment dismissing a commercial property insurer’s appeal in a Hurricane Michael coverage dispute for lack of jurisdiction, declining the insurer’s invitation to reconsider its conclusion that a Florida federal court failed to properly certify a partial final judgment order in favor of the insured for immediate review pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b).
August 20, 2024
Hurricane Coverage Row With Guaranty Association Dismissed With Reopening Provision

NEW ORLEANS — After being advised that the parties reached a compromise agreement, a Louisiana federal judge dismissed a breach of contract suit over damages from Hurricane Ida filed against the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA), which was substituted for an insolvent homeowners insurer, finding that the claims must be dismissed without prejudice only as to the right to reopen the case if the settlement is not completed within 60 days.
August 13, 2024
Federal Judge Dismisses Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit Per Parties’ Joint Stipulation

NEW ORLEANS — The same day a homeowners insurer and its insured filed a joint motion to dismiss, a federal judge in Louisiana dismissed with prejudice the insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its property damage arising from Hurricane Ida.
August 12, 2024
Insureds Drop Appeal In Coronavirus Coverage Suit In California

LOS ANGELES — One day after the insureds filed a request to dismiss their appeal of a Los Angeles County Superior Court’s judgment on a jury’s special verdict in favor of a commercial property insurer in a breach of contract coverage lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic, Presiding Justice Gonzalo C. Martinez on Aug. 9 signed the order dismissing the appeal.
August 12, 2024
After Reassignment, Judge Considers Vacating Ruling In Hurricane Coverage Dispute

LAFAYETTE, La. — After a hurricane coverage dispute was reassigned to a different Louisiana federal judge, the new judge opined about considering vacating the previous judge’s order denying a homeowner’s motions to amend and file a supplemental complaint to add the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) as a defendant as the purported statutory obligor for a now-insolvent homeowners insurer.
August 09, 2024
Panel Reverses, Tosses Claims Against Guaranty Association In Coverage Dispute

GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana appeals court reversed a lower court’s judgment denying the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association’s (LIGA) exception of no cause of action and dismissed homeowners’ claims in a dispute over their now-insolvent insurer’s alleged failure to cover damage from Hurricane Ida, finding that the petition fails to state a claim for statutory damages against LIGA.
August 09, 2024
California High Court Reverses Ruling In Insured’s Favor In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court on Aug. 8 reversed an appeals court’s ruling in favor of a San Francisco restaurant owner insured in a coverage dispute arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the lower court erred by declining to enforce the specified cause of loss limitation under the policy’s “Limited Fungi, Bacteria or Virus Coverage” endorsement.
August 08, 2024
11th Circuit Affirms Denial Of Condo Association’s Motion For Relief In Irma Suit

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 7 affirmed a lower federal court’s denial of a condominium association insured’s motion for relief from the court’s order dismissing without prejudice its lawsuit against its property insurer in a Hurricane Irma coverage dispute, rejecting the insured’s argument that the lower court used the wrong standard.
August 08, 2024
11th Circuit Affirms $14M Arbitration Award In Coverage Dispute Over Storm Damage

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a property insurer waived its objections to an appraiser's partiality by not objecting before a $14 million appraisal award was issued, affirming a lower court’s ruling denying the insurer’s motion to vacate the award and granting the insured’s motion to confirm the award in a storm damage coverage dispute.
August 07, 2024
Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Bad Faith Suit Prompted By Pandemic

NEW ORLEANS — Bound by its ruling in Baylor Scott & White Holdings v. Factory Mut. Ins. Co., the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 6 affirmed a federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insured in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 06, 2024
Texas Panel Affirms Take-Nothing Judgment In Hailstorm Coverage Dispute

DALLAS — A Texas appeals court affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from hailstorm damage, finding that the insurer did not breach the insurance policy because of its denial of the insureds’ demands to pay the appraisal award.
August 02, 2024
6th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Coverage Suit Over Hailstorm Damage

CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded that an insured’s failure to repair or replace her car dealership property following hailstorm damage is dispositive of her claim for the remainder of an appraisal award covered by an insurance policy’s Ordinance or Law provision, affirming a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer.
August 01, 2024
Insurer Files Counterclaim Against Homeowners, Appraiser In Hurricane Coverage Row

NEW ORLEANS — After homeowners sued their insurer for breach of contract and bad faith related to the insurer’s alleged failure to cover their loss related to Hurricane Ida, the insurer filed a counterclaim against them and a third-party complaint against their appraiser, seeking damages for the homeowners’ and appraiser’s alleged scheme to defraud the insurer by inflating the damages estimate and improperly attributing costs to upgrade the property to hurricane damages.
August 01, 2024
Insurer Asks Panel To Vacate Dismissal Of Appeal In Hurricane Michael Appraisal Suit

ATLANTA —A commercial property insurer asked the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its conclusion that a Florida federal court failed to properly certify a partial final judgment order in favor of a church insured for immediate review pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b), challenging the court’s dismissal of its appeal in a Hurricane Matthew coverage dispute for lack of jurisdiction.
July 30, 2024
Health System Seeks Rehearing Of Dismissal Of $192M Coronavirus Coverage Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — Texas’ largest nonprofit health system filed a petition seeking rehearing en banc of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ majority opinion that affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of its commercial property insurer in its lawsuit seeking coverage for $192 million in business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus.
July 30, 2024
1st Circuit Reverses Ruling In Commercial Insurer’s Favor In ‘Surface Water’ Dispute

BOSTON — Following the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s answer to a certified question that rainwater that lands and accumulates on an insured hospital building’s second-floor outdoor rooftop courtyard or its parapet roof does not unambiguously constitute “surface waters” under Massachusetts law pursuant to the commercial insurance policy, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 29 reversed a lower federal court’s summary judgment rulings in favor of insurers.