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

Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

March 11, 2024
Florida Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Hurricane Irma Coverage Suit

MIAMI — A Florida appeals court affirmed a lower court’s final order denying insureds' motion for attorney fees and entering final summary judgment in favor of the insurer in a coverage dispute arising from Hurricane Irma property damage, finding that the undisputed evidence introduced at the attorney fees hearing demonstrated that there was no breakdown in the claims process that served as the catalyst for the insureds’ lawsuit and that the insurer timely complied with the policy's appraisal clause and made a loss payment pursuant to the policy.
March 11, 2024
Majority: Court Erred In Denying Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss COVID-19 Coverage Suit

RICHMOND, Va. — A majority of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 8 held that a lower federal court erred when it denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s coverage lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic, reversing both the lower court’s order denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss and its class certification order and remanding with instructions to dismiss the lawsuit.
March 08, 2024
2nd Circuit Dismisses Coronavirus Coverage Suit After Appeal Withdrawn

NEW YORK — Four days after a commercial property insurer and a commercial landlord insured stipulated that the insured’s appeal in a coronavirus coverage suit was withdrawn with prejudice, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
March 07, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Arbitration Order In $7M Hurricane Ida Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 6 affirmed an order compelling arbitration of an insureds’ claims for $7 million in damages caused by Hurricane Ida and for bad faith against a group of foreign and domestic insurers that had provided it a surplus line policy.
March 06, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Coverage Dispute Arising From Hurricane Laura

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held March 5 that a lower federal court did not err in not providing an insured leave to amend her breach of contract and bad faith complaint to add the correct insurer, affirming the lower court’s dismissal of the coverage lawsuit arising from Hurricane Laura.
March 06, 2024
Washington Judge Partly Grants Insurer’s Motion For Clarification In COVID-19 Suit

SEATTLE —Partly granting an insurer’s motion for partial clarification or reconsideration of a Jan. 4 order denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss the University of Washington’s lawsuit seeking coverage for losses allegedly incurred by its medical and athletic properties in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a Washington judge held that the university has pleaded facts to trigger its medical centers’ policies’ communicable disease decontamination cost endorsements; its coverage claims under the athletic properties’ policies are not dismissed and its claims for coverage are not limited to the medical center policies’ time element losses due to contamination by communicable disease endorsements.
March 06, 2024
English Justice Denies Summary Judgment As To Coverage Issue In COVID-19 Suit

LONDON — A justice of the High Court of England and Wales denied summary judgment to two restaurant chains on the issue of coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic but granted summary judgment and permission to appeal the policy construction issue.
March 05, 2024
5th Circuit: Court Erred In Denying Arbitration In Hurricane Laura Coverage Suit

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined March 4 that a lower federal court abused its discretion when it denied domestic insurers’ motion to compel arbitration and stay a coverage lawsuit arising from Hurricane Laura property damage to the insured’s Lake Charles, La., apartment complex, reversing and remanding with instructions to grant the insurers’ motion.
March 05, 2024
Panel: No Coverage Owed For Claims Arising From Warehouse Collapse Caused By Tornado

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 4 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer in its lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured against underlying wrongful death and personal injury claims arising from a warehouse collapse that was caused by a tornado, finding that there is no coverage because the insured did not own, rent or occupy the warehouse when it collapsed.
March 01, 2024
Tribal Court Has Jurisdiction Over Tribe’s Coronavirus Coverage Suit, 9th Circuit Affirms

SEATTLE — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 29 affirmed a lower federal court’s finding that a tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over a coronavirus coverage suit involving tribal properties on tribal land that the Suquamish Tribe brought against “nonmember, off-reservation” insurers that participate in a program that is tailored to and offered exclusively to tribes.
March 01, 2024
City Seeks Rehearing In Coverage Suit Over Tax Revenue Losses Arising From Pandemic

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri city asked the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling that a commercial property insurer owes no coverage for the city’s tax revenue losses due to governmental closure orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that the “inartful” policy is not clear and unambiguous.
March 01, 2024
Judge Dismisses Hurricane Sally Coverage Suit After Parties Announce Settlement

MOBILE, Ala. — One day after an insured and its insurers announced they reached a settlement, a federal judge in Alabama dismissed the coverage lawsuit over Hurricane Sally damage to the insured’s 10 four-story residential condominium buildings in Gulf Shores, Ala.
February 29, 2024
Public Adjuster Can Testify In Coverage Suit For Hurricane Damage

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana federal judge denied an insurer’s motion to exclude expert testimony from a public adjuster in a coverage dispute stemming from a hurricane, finding that the insurer’s arguments are not grounds for exclusion.
February 29, 2024
Indiana Panel Affirms No Coverage Ruling In Purdue’s Suit Arising From Coronavirus

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana appeals court on Feb. 28 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of an all-risks commercial insurer in the Trustees of Purdue University’s declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking coverage for its business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that Purdue’s claim does not fall under the unambiguous policy coverage for physical property loss or damage.
February 27, 2024
Judge Clarifies Discovery Scope After Confusion About AI Insurance Tools

CHICAGO — Given the court’s and parties’ own confusion about the scope of artificial intelligence tools potentially used in sorting complex and potentially fraudulent claims from more standard ones, homeowner plaintiffs and their insurer should confer and determine what exactly is at issue before conducting further discovery, a federal judge in Illinois said in a docket entry order in a case involving the Fair Housing Act.
February 27, 2024
Michigan Panel Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurance Agent In Negligence Suit

DETROIT — A Michigan appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary disposition in favor of an insurance agent and agency in an insured’s negligence lawsuit arising from its lack of flood coverage, finding that the defendants did not owe the insured a duty to assess and ensure the adequacy of its business insurance coverage and that the insured failed to establish a special relationship giving rise to that duty.
February 26, 2024
Florida Panel Reverses Ruling In Insured’s Favor In Hurricane Irma Coverage Suit

MIAMI — A Florida appeals court panel held that because an insurer did not deny coverage for an insured’s Hurricane Irma damage and timely paid the insured an appraisal award, a lower court erred in granting prejudgment interest to the insured.
February 22, 2024
Judge: Insurer Breached Its Duty To Defend Baltimore Sun From Suits Over Shooting

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on Feb. 21 held that an insurer breached its duty to defend Tribune Publishing Co. LLC and The Baltimore Sun Co. LLC against underlying wrongful death and negligence lawsuits arising from a 2018 shooting in which five newspaper employees were killed, further finding that the amount of underlying defense costs the insureds are entitled to “remains unresolved.”
February 22, 2024
No Coverage Owed For Losses Incurred By Mandatory Evacuation, 4th Circuit Affirms

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a commercial property insurer in an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit, finding that the insurer owes no coverage for the insured’s business income losses incurred as result of the mandatory evacuation of Jasper County, S.C., in preparation for Hurricane Dorian.
February 22, 2024
New Jersey Panel Affirms No Coverage Owed To YMCAs For Losses Arising From Pandemic

TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division on Feb. 21 affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of commercial property and casualty insurers in a coverage dispute arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that YMCA insureds’ business interruption claims are restricted by their policies’ clear and plain meaning that the court cannot rewrite to cover the “unfortunate losses” they incurred.
February 22, 2024
5th Circuit Vacates Discovery Order, Remands For Stay Pending Arbitration Ruling

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that no discovery is needed to determine whether there is a valid agreement to arbitrate because a Hurricane Laura coverage dispute can be decided as a matter of law, vacating the lower federal court’s discovery order and remanding for the lower court to immediately grant a stay pending its ruling on arbitration.
February 21, 2024
9th Circuit Denies Insurer’s Petition For Rehearing Of Pollution Exclusion Ruling

SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 20 denied an insurer’s petition for panel rehearing, refusing to reconsider the panel majority’s finding that a pollution exclusion does not bar coverage for an underlying toxic exposure suit stemming from the cleanup of wildfire debris.
February 16, 2024
New York High Court: Restaurateur Fails To Allege Direct Physical Loss Or Damage

ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York Court of Appeals on Feb. 15 held that the owner and operator of numerous restaurants failed to allege persistent contamination or total uninhabitability of its restaurants to trigger coverage for “direct physical loss or damage,” affirming the First Department New York Supreme Court Appellate Division’s affirmation of a lower court’s dismissal of the insured’s coverage lawsuit arising from an alleged tens of millions of dollars in revenue loss prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
February 13, 2024
No Coverage For City’s Tax Revenue Losses Arising From Pandemic, Panel Affirms

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 12 found that a commercial property insurer owes no coverage for a Missouri city’s tax revenue losses due to governmental closure orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, affirming a lower court’s ruling in favor of the insurer.
February 13, 2024
Panel Dismisses Insurer’s Appeal In Hurricane Irma Suit For Lack Of Jurisdiction

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected an insurer’s appeal seeking reversal of a Florida federal court’s order compelling appraisal in a Hurricane Irma coverage lawsuit brought by a condominium association insured, finding that for the reasons stated in its recent decision in Positano Place at Naples I Condominium Association, Inc. v. Empire Indemnity Insurance Co., it lacks appellate jurisdiction.