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Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

  • November 20, 2024

    Trump Corp. Sues Employment Practices Liability Insurer For Breach Of Contract

    NEW YORK — The Trump Corp. sued it employment practices liability insurer in a New York federal court for breach of contract and seeks a declaration that the insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify it against a terminated employee’s lawsuit alleging unpaid overtime, age discrimination and breach of contract.

  • November 20, 2024

    Insured Seeks Coverage For Disparagement Suit Brought By Maker Of COVID Test

    PHILADELPHIA — An insured sued its commercial umbrella insurer in a Pennsylvania federal court seeking personal and advertising coverage for an underlying disparagement lawsuit alleging that it sent 19,000 letters to Chester County residents asserting that the COVID-19 test kits they used were unreliable.

  • November 20, 2024

    Stipulation Approved In Bishop’s Row With Insurers Over Sex Abuse Suit Coverage

    SAN FRANCISCO —  A California federal judge filed a docket-only order granting the parties’ stipulation seeking to reschedule a case management conference in a suit filed by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland, Calif., against numerous insurers and the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA), which the plaintiff believes assumed responsibilities for its now-insolvent insurer, seeking a declaratory judgment stating that the plaintiff is entitled to a defense and indemnity regarding covered claims for the more than 300 suits filed against it related to alleged clergy sexual abuse.

  • November 20, 2024

    Insurers: Auto Makers Failed To Recall Vehicles With Potential Deadly Defects

    SANTA ANA, Calif.— Automobile and property insurers filed a subrogation lawsuit on behalf of their insureds against automotive manufacturers, telling a California court that the defendants  “purposefully and knowingly failed to recall millions of their defective vehicles” that contained “potentially deadly defects” and, as a result, put “countless lives at risk from 2006 to date” and caused their insureds to suffer property damage including the loss of use of their vehicles.

  • November 19, 2024

    Federal Class Action Complaint Accuses Auto Insurer, Law Firm Of Barratry

    HOUSTON — Insureds filed a class action complaint in a Texas federal court against an automobile insurer and a law firm alleging that they committed barratry, conspiracy and statutory violations by illegally sharing the personal information of car accident victims for solicitation.

  • 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 18, 2024

    Ohio Panel Affirms Ruling For Intervenor Insurer In Wrongful Death Suit

    AKRON, Ohio — An Ohio appeals panel on Nov. 18 affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer that intervened in a wrongful death lawsuit brought against its insured, finding that the insured’s intentional shooting that resulted in a fatality did not constitute an “occurrence” or “loss” to trigger coverage under his homeowners and umbrella insurance policies.

  • November 18, 2024

    N.J. Panel Reverses Denial Of Broker’s Summary Judgment Motion In Malpractice Suit

    TRENTON, N.J.—A New Jersey appeals panel reversed a lower court’s ruling that denied an insurance broker’s motion for summary judgment in a malpractice lawsuit, finding that a women’s health clinic and a doctor assigned to the plaintiffs their rights to pursue a broker malpractice claim without providing any evidence that they incurred a loss or had actual damages due to the broker’s acts or omissions.

  • November 15, 2024

    W.Va. High Court Affirms Anti-Suit Injunction Order In Opioid Coverage Dispute

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Almost three years to the day that the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals remanded an opioid epidemic coverage dispute for a lower court to consider the breadth of its anti-injunction order, the high court on Nov. 14 affirmed the lower court’s grant of a pharmaceutical distributor’s motion to enjoin insurers sued in West Virginia from pursuing parallel litigation against it in California after finding that, contrary to the lower court’s previous ruling, this order is not overly broad.

  • November 14, 2024

    Calif. Panel: Defense Costs Not Restitutionary Damages In D&O Coverage Dispute

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California appeals panel reversed a lower court’s ruling in favor of an excess directors and officers liability insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit brought by an insured and its former chief financial officer, rejecting the insurer’s argument that the insured’s claim for underlying defense costs is the substantial equivalent of “restitutionary damages.”

  • November 13, 2024

    Panel: Jury’s Finding Of Defamation Established Willful Act, No Coverage Owed

    PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 12 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for a $4,941,071 judgment in a defamation action brought by its former employee, finding that the underlying jury's finding of defamation per se established a willful act under California Insurance Code Section 533.

  • November 13, 2024

    Judge Partially Denies Freddie Mac’s Summary Judgment Motion In D&O Coverage Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Washington, D.C., granted in part and denied in part a motion for partial summary judgment brought by Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking directors and officers liability coverage for underlying expenses it incurred on behalf of its directors, officers and employees who were subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission during an investigation and subsequent lawsuit.

  • November 12, 2024

    Insurers Say Kia, Hyundai Disregarded Dangerous Defects For Years

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — Several insurers filed a complaint in subrogation in California state court accusing the makers of Kia and Hyundai-brand cars of causing insureds harm in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to report or recall vehicles with dangerous electrical defects, including spontaneously catching fire while deactivated.

  • November 12, 2024

    California Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Vicarious Liability Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer in an insured’s lawsuit alleging that the insurer was vicariously liable for the negligence of an insurance agent that resulted in the insured’s underinsurance for a fire loss to her Malibu property under a California FAIR Plan Association insurance policy, concluding that the insured failed to present evidence that raises a triable issue as to whether the agent was the defendant insurer’s agent when she assisted the insured in procuring the FAIR Plan policy.

  • November 12, 2024

    Insurer Asks Georgia Federal Court To Find No Coverage Owed For Wrongful Death Suit

    ATLANTA — A commercial general liability insurer filed a lawsuit in a Georgia federal court, seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify its tavern operator insured against an underlying wrongful death lawsuit, asserting that the underlying bodily injury did not take place at the policy’s “Designated Location” to trigger coverage and the policy’s “assault and battery,”  “expected or intended injury,” “liquor liability” and “duty to defend” exclusions bar coverage.

  • November 12, 2024

    9th Circuit Grants Coach’s Motion To Dismiss Appeal In Sexual Abuse Coverage Suit

    SEATTLE — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted a coach insured’s motion to voluntarily dismiss his appeal of a Washington federal court’s finding that a homeowners insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify him for an underlying sexual abuse lawsuit.

  • November 11, 2024

    Insured Asks 4th Circuit To Reconsider No Coverage Ruling For Cryptocurrency Loss

    RICHMOND, Va. — An insured filed a petition seeking a rehearing or rehearing en banc of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ affirmation of a lower court’s dismissal of his breach of contract lawsuit seeking homeowners insurance coverage for his alleged $170,000 cryptocurrency loss, challenging the courts’ findings that the loss of cryptocurrency is not a “direct physical loss” to trigger policy coverage.

  • November 08, 2024

    No Coverage Owed For Business Owner Who Killed Intruder, Kentucky Panel Affirms

    FRANKFORT, KY. — A Kentucky appeals court on Nov. 8 affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a general liability insurer owes no coverage for an underlying wrongful death lawsuit brought against a business owner insured who shot and killed an intruder, rejecting the insured’s argument that the shooting was an accident.

  • November 08, 2024

    N.Y. Appeals Court: Evidence Conclusively Established Insurer Did Not Act In Bad Faith

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York appeals court concluded that a lower court should have granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s bad faith claim in a coverage dispute over an underlying personal injury lawsuit but found that the lower court properly determined that the insurer failed to establish that coverage was barred under the policy’s employee exclusion.

  • November 08, 2024

    Insurers Dispute Coverage For BIPA Violation Class Action Against Taco Bell Owners

    NEW ORLEANS — Commercial general liability and umbrella insurers filed a complaint in an Illinois federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that they have no duty to defend and indemnify against an underlying class action lawsuit alleging that the owners and operators of Taco Bell restaurants in Illinois violated the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

  • November 07, 2024

    No Coverage Owed For Alleged Sexual Assault By Insured, 9th Circuit Affirms

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that an insurer owes no coverage for an underlying sexual assault action brought against the insured, affirming the lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurer in the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit.

  • November 06, 2024

    Theft Claim Is Time-Barred By Policy’s Limitations Period, Panel Affirms

    PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s finding that a man’s $126,000 theft claim is time-barred by his homeowners insurance policy’s one-year limitations period, rejecting the insured’s contention that California’s Emergency Rule 9 tolls the limitations provision.

  • November 05, 2024

    5th Circuit Rejects Insurer’s Argument In Coverage Dispute Over LSU Hazing Death

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S Court of Appeals on Nov. 4 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling against an excess homeowners insurer in lawsuit brought by the parents of a Louisiana State University (LSU) freshman who died in 2017 of alcohol poisoning following a fraternity hazing incident, finding that the lower federal court did not err by denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment on the applicability of its policy exclusions.

  • November 05, 2024

    Freddie Mac, Insurer Move To Dismiss Claims Between Them In D&O Coverage Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) and an insurer filed a joint stipulation asking a Washington federal court to dismiss the claims between them in Freddie Mac’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking directors and officers liability coverage for underlying expenses it incurred on behalf of its directors, officers and employees who were subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission during an investigation and subsequent lawsuit.

  • November 04, 2024

    Insurer: No D&O Coverage Owed For Claims Insured’s Employee Mishandled Corpse

    CHICAGO — An insurer filed suit in an Illinois federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend and indemnify against an underlying lawsuit alleging that its insured’s employee mishandled the remains of a decedent whose body was donated for research, arguing that directors and officers and entity liability (D&O) coverage is barred by the policy’s professional services, medical service, contract and bodily injury exclusions.