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September 23, 2026
DURHAM, N.C. — Less than three weeks after a North Carolina federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of four Durham businesses on their claims for declaratory judgment, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair and deceptive trade practices in their lawsuit seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the insureds and their mutual commercial property insurer filed a joint notice stating that they have reached a settlement in principle and seeking a stay of all case deadlines and adjournment of the Sept. 24 pretrial conference.
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September 23, 2026
PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking directors and officers liability coverage for an underlying shareholder derivative action, agreeing with the lower court that the policy’s Ownership Percentage Exclusion (OPE) unambiguously bars coverage.
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September 23, 2026
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.— A Florida appeals panel reversed a lower court’s dismissal of an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit against an insurer based on the forum-selection provision in marine insurance policies, holding that the forum-selection provision at issue is permissive and not mandatory and the lower court erred in dismissing the action based solely on that provision.
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September 23, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Insurers waived their right to respond to a doctor’s petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling affirming as modified a lower court’s dismissal of the doctor’s breach of contract seeking business interruption and umbrella coverage for her losses arising from discovery of hidden cameras at her dermatology office; the doctor is asking to court to address what defines “direct physical loss” in electronic security context.
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September 23, 2026
TACOMA, Wash. — A commercial general liability insurer filed suit in a Washington federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that it owes no coverage for an underlying lawsuit alleging that a nicotine vaporizer that was distributed by the insured exploded in a customer’s pants pocket and caused severe burn injuries, asserting that coverage is barred by the policy exclusion for “Tobacco, Nicotine Or Nicotine Replacement Products” and endorsement for “Limitation of Coverage to Designated Premises, Project or Operation.”
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September 22, 2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. — An assignee notified a California federal court that he is appealing the court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a business and management liability insurer on his claims for breach of contract, bad faith and punitive damages in a directors and officers liability coverage dispute over an underlying lawsuit alleging breaches of fiduciary duties against the insured’s directors.
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September 21, 2026
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois denied a lawyers professional liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying legal malpractice claim brought against its attorney insured, holding that the facts do not clearly support the insurer’s argument that the policy’s prior knowledge exclusion bars coverage.
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September 21, 2026
HONOLULU — Two insurers notified a federal court in Hawaii that they are appealing the court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of a petroleum company insured in a coverage dispute over claims that the insured is responsible for the damaging effects of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and its failure to disclose or warn of the hazards of using the fossil fuel products that it sold into the stream of commerce.
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September 18, 2026
DETROIT — A Michigan federal judge on Sept. 17 ruled that experts in an insurance coverage dispute cannot “offer testimony that interprets the policies or opines on the parties’ state of mind,” partially granting and partially denying a pair of motions to exclude.
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September 18, 2026
FLINT, Mich. — Insurers ask a Michigan federal court to grant their motion for summary judgment in a coverage dispute arising from the death of a minor who was receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the insured’s facility, asserting that every underlying claim against the insured is based upon professional services arising from the operation and use of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and that state and federal courts applying both Michigan and other state laws have broadly enforced “professional services” exclusions in incidents similar to those asserted in the underlying complaint against the insured and its employees.
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September 18, 2026
WILMINGTON, Del. — The day after parties filed a stipulation of dismissal, a Delaware judge dismissed with prejudice the last remaining insurer in a financial services company insured’s lawsuit seeking directors and officers coverage for its defense costs associated with an underlying arbitration arising from claims that it recruited a broker-dealer’s employees to steal trade secret software code and proprietary information.
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September 17, 2026
CINCINNATI— The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling on summary judgment that insurers have no duty to indemnify its insured in an underlying lawsuit alleging the wrongful death of a minor while he was a resident of a behavioral care center that was managed by the insured, holding that the restraint that the insured’s employees used on the minor was a “professional service” that was excluded from coverage and relieved the insurers of their duty to indemnify.
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September 16, 2026
PASADENA, Calif.— The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in an insured’s breach of contract, bad faith, unfair competition and declaratory relief lawsuit, holding that the insurer has no duty to defend against an underlying negligence lawsuit arising from sexual assault and harassment because it was brought after the policy’s coverage and extended reporting periods expired.
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September 16, 2026
LOS ANGELES — A California state judge granted summary judgment to a school district risk pool and rejected a reinsurer’s attempt to avoid coverage liability for sexual abuse that occurred outside an agreed coverage period, holding that the governing agreements treat multiple victims of the same perpetrator as part of a single “‘occurrence’” arising at the time of the first abuse, despite the reinsurer’s arguments that each victim constituted a separate “‘occurrence’” and that the later abuse fell outside the policy period.
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September 15, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — A majority of a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 14 that a television production company insured forfeited its argument that an insurance policy’s “reality show” exclusion is ambiguous and, therefore, must be construed in its favor, affirming a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer in a coverage dispute arising from underlying injury claims brought against the insured by participants of the reality television show “My 600-lb Life.”
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September 14, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 11 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling that insurers have no duty to defend against underlying lawsuits alleging the insureds violated the federal Anti-Terrorism Act, holding that the underlying actions assert that the insureds “intentionally made payments” to foreign terrorist organizations and, as a result, do not allege an occurrence under the policies.
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September 14, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted an unopposed motion to vacate court filings and hearings following the primary insurers’ settlement with their insured in a coverage dispute stemming from the seizure of the insured’s crude oil tanker by Iranian military forces.
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August 24, 2026
OKLAHOMA CITY— An insured and her homeowners insurer filed a joint stipulation in an Oklahoma federal court seeking dismissal with prejudice of the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit over property damage that was caused by a series of earthquakes.
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September 09, 2026
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington Supreme Court granted an insurer’s petition to review an appeals court’s ruling that a manufacturer cannot assign its rights to an alleged legal malpractice claim to its insurer after both the insured and the insurer settled a personal injury lawsuit, challenging the appeals court’s finding that there is a potential conflict between the insured and the insurer after the insurer defended the insured pursuant to a reservation of rights to deny coverage.
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September 08, 2026
DURHAM, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina granted summary judgment in favor of four Durham businesses on their claims for declaratory judgment, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair and deceptive trade practices in their lawsuit seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, holding that their mutual commercial property insurer failed to identify any policy provisions, exclusions or factual distinctions that would place the insureds’ claims outside the scope of the North State Deli, LLC, et al. v. The Cincinnati Insurance Company, et al. decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court.
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September 08, 2026
WILMINGTON, Del. — The same day the parties filed a stipulation of dismissal, a Delaware judge dismissed with prejudice one of two remaining excess insurers in a financial services company insured’s lawsuit seeking directors and officers coverage for its defense costs associated with an underlying arbitration arising from claims that it recruited a broker-dealer’s employees to steal trade secret software code and proprietary information.
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September 08, 2026
DENVER — An insurer filed a petition seeking a rehearing of the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal of a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of insurers in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking coverage for a negligence action alleging that it failed to take precautions to stop sexual abuse, challenging the panel’s finding that the policies’ definitions of occurrence are ambiguous.
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September 02, 2026
DURHAM, N.C. — A mediator told a North Carolina federal court on Sept. 1 that four Durham businesses and their commercial property insurer have reached an impasse following mediation of the insureds’ declaratory judgment, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair and deceptive trade practices claims in their lawsuit seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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September 02, 2026
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Sept. 1 granted insurers’ motion for partial summary judgment in a declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for underlying claims that their mutual insured violated federal, state and local laws when it deliberately sold and shipped ghost gun parts and kits to New York, holding that the underlying “Ghost Gun” actions do not allege harm that was caused by an “accident” to trigger coverage and, therefore, the insurers have no duty to defend or indemnify.
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September 02, 2026
LOS ANGELES — Three lawsuits were filed in a California court against State Farm General Insurance Co. within a span of three weeks, all alleging breach of contract and accusing the insurer of mishandling insurance claims arising from the Palisades and Eaton wildfires.