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Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

  • January 21, 2025

    Condo Association Files Complaint, Says Hidden Damage Covered Under Policy

    SEATTLE — A property insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith when it denied a condominium association’s claim for hidden water damage because the hidden damage was caused by a covered cause of loss and is not excluded under the policies at issue, an insured contends in a complaint filed in Washington federal court.

  • January 21, 2025

    Building Owner Appeals Attorney Fee Award In Coverage Suit Over Structural Damage

    PHOENIX — A building owner insured filed a notice in an Arizona federal court indicating that it is appealing the court’s order awarding $198,234 in attorney fees to a commercial property insurer after granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for structural damage to its building.

  • January 17, 2025

    Bid To Pursue Resolution With Vesttoo Affiliate In Israel Draws Opposition

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Israeli investors’ request for a Delaware federal bankruptcy court to grant relief from the injunction in the Chapter 11 liquidation of Vesttoo Ltd. and dozens of affiliates so they can pursue arbitration and/or liquidation proceedings in Israel has drawn objections that the investors argue should be rejected.

  • January 17, 2025

    Issues Of Fact Exist As To Cause Of Insureds’ Shutdown During Wildfires

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge partially denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a breach of contract and bad faith case filed by insureds seeking additional coverage for business losses incurred as a result of wildfires after determining that issues of fact exist as to whether two of the insureds’ businesses were forced to close for a period of time because of soot and ash damages from the fires.

  • January 17, 2025

    Insurer’s Denial Of Theft Claim Was Reasonable; Bad Faith Claim Fails

    DAYTON, Ohio — A bad faith claim alleged against a homeowners insurer cannot proceed because the insurer’s justification for denying the insureds’ claim for theft was reasonable, an Ohio federal judge said in partially granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • January 17, 2025

    Insureds Failed To Show Carrier’s Actions Were Unreasonable, Judge Says

    SAN ANTONIO — A Texas federal judge granted a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment on insureds’ claims for bad faith and violation of the Texas Insurance Code after determining that the insureds failed to show that the insurer did not act reasonably in handling their claim for damages caused by a hailstorm.

  • January 15, 2025

    Questions Of Fact Exist On Disability Insurer’s Initial Denial Of LTD Claim

    SAN FRANCISCO — A bad faith claim alleged against a disability insurer can proceed because questions of fact exist on the issue of whether the insurer’s initial denial of a long-term disability (LTD) benefits claim was reasonable based on the evidence available to the insurer, a California federal judge said.

  • January 15, 2025

    Federal Judge Returns Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit To Streamlined Settlement Program

    NEW ORLEANS — One day after an insured filed an amended breach of contract and bad faith complaint seeking coverage for its property damage caused by Hurricane Ida, a federal judge in Louisiana on Jan. 14 returned the case to the streamlined settlement program.

  • January 15, 2025

    No Coverage Owed For Boat, Trailer Damaged In Windstorm, Panel Says

    AKRON, Ohio — A trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer on claims alleging breach of contract, bad faith and fraud because no coverage is afforded under the policy for damages to a boat and boat trailer based on the failure of the boat owner to store the boat and trailer in an enclosed structure, the Ninth District Ohio Court of Appeals said.

  • January 14, 2025

    Exclusion Bars Coverage For Home Depot’s Data Breach Loss, 6th Circuit Majority Affirms

    CINCINNATI — A majority of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 13 affirmed an Ohio federal court’s finding that a commercial general liability insurance policy’s electronic data exclusion bars coverage for Home Depot’s losses stemming from a 2014 data breach, rejecting Home Depot’s contention that the lower court “wrongly expanded the narrow electronic-data exclusion beyond its natural meaning, based on assumed facts outside the record.”

  • January 14, 2025

    Bad Faith Claim Against Auto Insurer Dismissed Without Prejudice

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida federal judge on Jan. 13 dismissed without prejudice an insured’s bad faith claim against an auto insurer after determining that the insured will not be prejudiced if the claim is dismissed without prejudice because the bad faith claim is dependent upon the outcome of the insured’s claim for uninsured motorist (UM) benefits.

  • January 14, 2025

    Insured’s Suit Seeking Coverage For Debris Cleanup Costs Transferred To Michigan

    CINCINNATI — An Ohio federal judge granted an insurer’s motion to transfer an insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for the costs of cleaning demolition debris that polluted the Ohio River to Michigan federal court because the insurance policy was issued in Michigan and because the insured is based in Michigan.

  • January 09, 2025

    Judgment Issued For Oil Company In Dispute Over Hurricane-Damaged Oil Barge

    HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge on Jan. 8 granted in part summary judgment to a gas and oil exploration company in its breach of contract suit against its insurer for failure to cover costs for recovering an oil barge damaged and set adrift during Hurricane Ida, finding that because there is no dispute that removal of the barge was required under law, the protection and indemnity (P&I) policy applies.

  • January 08, 2025

    5th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Suit Prompted By Winter Freeze

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 7 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer in a breach of contract lawsuit arising from property damage caused by a winter freeze, finding that the property did not comport with the insurance policy's coverage requirements because it is undisputed that the plaintiff did not reside on the property at the policy’s inception.

  • January 07, 2025

    Building Owner, Contractor Say Rehearing En Banc Is Warranted In Collapse Suit

    CINCINNATI — A building owner and a contractor filed petitions for rehearing en banc in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, contending that rehearing en banc is warranted because the panel’s finding that coverage is owed only for a portion of a wall that collapsed in a building that was undergoing renovation is inconsistent with a prior Sixth Circuit opinion and other prevailing case law within the Sixth Circuit.

  • January 07, 2025

    Insurers Owe Coverage For Environmental Remediation Costs, Insureds Say

    LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Coverage is owed for environmental contamination remediation costs related to the release of a waste byproduct from a gas pipeline, insureds say in a breach of contract and bad faith complaint filed in New Mexico federal court against three of its environmental liability insurers.

  • January 06, 2025

    10th Circuit Reverses Verdict In Condo Developer’s Favor, Remands For New Trial

    DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a jury $2.54 million award in favor of a condominium developer and remanded for a new trial after finding that it cannot recover under a builders risk insurance policy for repair costs of a cracked concrete slab that it has not paid and has no obligation to pay.

  • January 06, 2025

    Freddie Mac, Insurer Reach Settlement In Directors And Officers Coverage Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) and Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London filed a notice in a District of Columbia federal court indicating that they have settled 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.

  • January 06, 2025

    Homeowners Insurer Did Not Breach Contract, Act In Bad Faith, Judge Says

    HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge granted a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit after determining that the insureds failed to show that the insurer breached its contract in refusing to pay additional coverage for water damage allegedly sustained to the insureds’ home during a wind and hail storm.

  • January 06, 2025

    Wisconsin Majority: Exception To Construction Defect Exclusion Reinstates Coverage

    WAUKESHA, Wis. — A majority of a Wisconsin appeals court reversed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer in its lawsuit challenging coverage for its insureds’ rain damage, finding that the ensuing cause of loss exception to the insurance policy’s Construction Defect Exclusion reinstates coverage and an additional coverage endorsement renders the policy’s Fungi Exclusion inapplicable.

  • January 03, 2025

    Insurer’s Coverage Denial For Roof Damage Was Not Bad Faith, Judge Says

    ABERDEEN, Miss. — An insurer is entitled to summary judgment on an insured’s bad faith claim stemming from the denial of coverage for roof damage to the insured’s rental property because the insured failed to present any evidence that the insurer lacked an arguable basis for denying coverage.

  • January 03, 2025

    Motions For Attorney Fee Award Denied; Judge Says No Party Prevailed On Merits

    PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon federal judge refused to award attorney fees to an insured or to her former attorneys who filed a complaint-in-intervention regarding the enforceability of the attorney-fee contract between the attorneys and the insured because there was no prevailing party as the claims-in-intervention were dismissed based on claim preclusion and not based on the merits of the intervenors’ claims.

  • January 03, 2025

    Lawsuit Filed By 3 Professional Models Against Insurer To Proceed, Judge Says

    BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A lawsuit filed by three professional models against the insurer of a club that used the models’ images without consent will proceed against the insurer because the models’ underlying lawsuit against the insured alleged sufficient facts in support of a claim that the misappropriation of the images was negligent, a Georgia federal judge said in finding that the insurer’s knowing violation exclusion does not clearly bar coverage.

  • January 02, 2025

    Third-Party Bad Faith Claim To Proceed Against Auto Insurer, Judge Says

    MIAMI — A Florida federal judge denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment on a third-party bad faith claim after determining that questions of fact exist regarding whether the insurer’s handling of a bodily injury claim constitutes bad faith.

  • December 30, 2024

    5th Circuit Argument Set In Reinsurer’s Appeal Involving Timely Notice

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has set oral argument for Feb. 5 in a reinsurer’s appeal of a $2,866,423.97 judgment that includes attorney fees; a key issue in the case is whether the reinsurer was given timely notice.