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Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

  • November 20, 2025

    Judge Dismisses 1 Claim In Insurer’s Coverage Suit Over Consumer Fraud Action

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on Nov. 19 granted in part and denied in part an embryo storage lab’s motion to dismiss its professional liability insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend or indemnify the lab for an underlying class action alleging that the insured engaged in false and deceptive advertising and failed to fully disclose the accuracy of preimplantation genetic testing, dismissing one of the insurer’s declaratory judgment counts for failure to state a claim.

  • November 19, 2025

    Panel: No Indemnification Owed For Negligence Suit Over Sexual Abuse Of Patients

    FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Kentucky appeals court panel affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a liability insurer in its lawsuit disputing indemnity coverage for underlying negligent retention and negligent supervision claims that were brought against its insured, holding that the appellants failed to demonstrate that coverage was triggered by an “occurrence” under the policy and that the policy's “expected or intended” exclusion precluded coverage.

  • November 19, 2025

    Panel: Assault And Battery Exclusion Bars Coverage For Battery, Negligence Claims

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a bar’s insurer in a lawsuit brought by a patron who was hit in the head by a bottle that bounced off another patron at the insured’s premises, holding that the policy’s unambiguous assault and battery exclusion bars coverage for the patron’s battery and negligence claims.

  • November 18, 2025

    Amicus Supports NRA’s Certiorari Petition In Free Speech Suit Over Insurance Program

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amicus curiae Consumers’ Research on Nov. 18 filed a brief in support of The National Rifle Association of America (NRA)’s petition seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals holding that a former superintendent of the New York department that regulates insurance is entitled to qualified immunity on the NRA’s First Amendment coercion and retaliation claims against New York state officials and the department, arguing that “the increasing use of government threats and pressure to indirectly regulate puts constitutional rights at risk, especially the rights of individual consumers.”

  • November 18, 2025

    Contamination Exclusion Bars Coverage For COVID-19 Losses, 9th Circuit Affirms

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 17 affirmed a district court’s ruling that an all-risk policy’s contamination exclusion bars coverage for losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic, rejecting the insureds’ argument that the district court erred in finding that a California appellate panel’s ruling in a similar case is applicable to the instant dispute.

  • November 18, 2025

    Stipulation Filed To Dismiss 1 Insurer From Coronavirus Coverage Suit In Nevada

    LAS VEGAS — A stipulation was filed asking a Nevada court to dismiss with prejudice all claims against one insurer in an insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage under its all-risk insurance policies for its loss caused by COVID-19 and its causative virus at its insured properties.

  • November 17, 2025

    COMMENTARY: The Notice-Prejudice Rule In Hybrid Occurrence - Claims-Made Policies

    By Robert M. Hall

  • November 17, 2025

    Insured Seeks Rehearing In Unjust Enrichment, UCL Suit Against Travel Insurers

    PASEDENA, Calif. — An insured on Nov. 14 filed a petition for rehearing en banc asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider a panel majority ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of travel insurers in his unjust enrichment and unfair competition lawsuit, challenging the majority’s finding that he is not entitled to recover any portion of the premium for a travel insurance policy he purchased for a cruise that was later canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic because there was no unearned premium.

  • November 17, 2025

    Judge Tosses D&O Coverage Dispute Arising From Securities Fraud Suit Against Insured

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Three days after parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal without prejudice, a federal judge in Delaware on Nov. 14 dismissed a corporation insured’s lawsuit alleging breach of contract and seeking a declaration that a directors and officers liability insurer must promptly reimburse it for the costs it incurred in defending an underlying securities fraud lawsuit brought by shareholders.

  • November 17, 2025

    Embryo Storage Lab Asks Federal Court To Dismiss Consumer Fraud Coverage Suit

    CHICAGO — An embryo storage lab moved to dismiss its professional liability insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend or indemnify the lab for an underlying class action alleging that the insured engaged in false and deceptive advertising and failed to fully disclose the accuracy of preimplantation genetic testing, asserting that the insurer’s indemnification claims are not ripe.

  • November 14, 2025

    4th Circuit Stands By Reversal Of Class Certification In Suit Against Auto Insurer

    RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied an insured’s petition for rehearing en banc of a split panel’s ruling that a lower federal court abused its discretion in certifying a class in a lawsuit alleging that an insurer improperly decreased the compensation for totaled vehicles, standing by the panel’s holding that common questions do not predominate because the claims are “essentially individualized claims requiring mini trials as to each.”

  • November 14, 2025

    Judge Confirms $10.9M Award Against German Insurer In Favor Of Singaporean Company

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on Nov. 13 confirmed an arbitral award that, with interest, is worth more than $11 million in favor of a Singaporean company for a dispute over directors and officers (D&O) coverage allegedly owed by its German excess insurer, which had unsuccessfully moved to vacate the award.

  • November 13, 2025

    Insurers’ Objections To Discovery Orders Substantially Overruled In COVID-19 Suit

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York substantially overruled insurers’ objections to discovery orders that granted in part and denied in part a holding company for the U.S. interests in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group’s motion to compel the insurers to produce certain documents they have withheld as privileged in a coronavirus coverage dispute.

  • November 12, 2025

    Stay Denied In Class Suit Over Insurer’s ‘Discriminatory Advertising’ On Facebook

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge denied an insurer’s motion for a stay in a putative class action accusing the insurer of “discriminatory advertising” on Facebook, finding that the insurer failed to show how a ruling in a parallel state court case would have a “preclusive effect” on the instant case.

  • November 12, 2025

    Insured Dismisses Suit Seeking Defense Costs Arising From Securities Fraud Action

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A corporation insured asked a Delaware federal court to dismiss without prejudice its lawsuit alleging breach of contract and seeking a declaration that a directors and officers liability insurer must promptly reimburse it for the costs it has incurred in defending an underlying securities fraud lawsuit brought by shareholders.

  • November 10, 2025

    COMMENTARY: Uh-EUO: How Examinations Under Oath Impact Claims

    By Rachel E. Hudgins, Kevin V. Small and Charlotte E. Leszinske

  • November 11, 2025

    Parkland Shooting 1 Occurrence Under Excess Policy, 11th Circuit Affirms

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 10 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insured in its lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying negligence suits arising from a 2018 shooting spree at a Parkland, Fla., high school, finding that the term “occurrence” is ambiguous and must be construed in favor of the insured and the lower court correctly determined that shooting was one occurrence under the policy.

  • November 11, 2025

    Nebraska High Court Reverses No Coverage Ruling In Suit Over Loss Of Aircraft

    LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in its lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to cover its insured’s alleged loss after an airport owner seized the insured’s aircraft, saying that it sees no reason why the airport owner’s act of blocking the aircraft with a truck was not an “accident” under the policy and rejecting the insurer’s argument that the insured did not incur “direct physical loss” because it eventually recovered the aircraft.

  • November 10, 2025

    Delaware Judge Signs Order Dismissing Excess Insurers’ Opioid Coverage Suit

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware judge signed an order granting a management consulting firm insured’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by its excess commercial general liability insurers seeking a declaration that they have no duty to defend and indemnify against more than 260 underlying lawsuits seeking to hold the insured accountable for contributing to and profiting from the opioid epidemic.

  • November 07, 2025

    8th Circuit Tosses Appeal In Dog Bite Coverage Suit For Lack Of Jurisdiction

    ST. LOUIS — The Eighth U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 6 dismissed an insurer’s appeal of a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insured in a coverage dispute arising from a dog bite, finding that the lower court’s order is not final and the appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

  • November 06, 2025

    La. Panel Reverses Judgment, Grants Peremptory Exception In Boat Coverage Dispute

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana appellate court on Nov. 5 reversed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling dismissing a bank’s claims against GEICO and granted GEICO’s peremptory exception of no right of action, dismissing the bank’s claims against GEICO with prejudice in the bank’s suit against GEICO seeking to recover damages related to property being stolen from an insured boat, finding that the bank as loss payee lacks a right of action against GEICO.

  • November 05, 2025

    Judge Deems Policy Void For Misrepresentations About Business Operating As A Bar

    SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A South Carolina federal judge on Nov. 4 granted an insurer’s motion for default judgment in its suit seeking rescission of a commercial liability policy for purported misrepresentations about operating the business as a bar, finding that because the misrepresentations “were material to the risk” and the insurer relied on the misrepresentations when issuing the policy, the insurer was entitled to rescind the policy.

  • November 05, 2025

    N.C. Judge: Property Insurers Must Cover Loss After Incident At Iron Ore Facility

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ruling on summary judgment motions, a North Carolina judge held that property insurers must provide coverage for their insureds’ losses following an incident at an iron ore processing facility, determining that unlike the insured in North State Deli, LLC v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., the insureds present evidence of tangible harm to trigger coverage and the faulty design and inherent defect policy exclusions do not apply.

  • November 04, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Coverage Suit Over Claims Dental Office Violated Privacy Rights

    CHICAGO — Four days after a commercial general liability insurer filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, a federal judge in Illinois on Nov. 3 dismissed without prejudice the insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify for an underlying putative class action alleging that its dental office insured violated privacy rights through its use of internet tracking that collected private information without notice and without consent.

  • November 04, 2025

    Majority Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Travel Insurers In Unjust Enrichment, UCL Suit

    PASADENA, Calif. — A majority of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of travel insurers in a plaintiff’s unjust enrichment and unfair competition lawsuit, holding that the insured is not entitled to recover any portion of the premium for a travel insurance policy he purchased for a cruise that was later canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic because there was no unearned premium.