Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

June 13, 2024
Auto Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims Granted

LAS VEGAS — A Nevada federal judge granted an auto insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s claims alleging bad faith and unfair claims practices because the insured failed to allege sufficient facts showing that the insurer’s handling of the claim was unreasonable; however, the judge said the insured will be provided one last opportunity to amend the complaint.
June 13, 2024
Third-Party Claimant Is Entitled To Depose Insurer’s Attorney In Bad Faith Suit

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge determined that a third-party claimant who alleges that an auto insurer acted in bad faith by failing to settle a claim against its insured is entitled to depose an attorney from the firm that represents the insurer because the financial relationship between the insurer and the law firm is relevant based on the insurer’s advice-of-counsel defense.
June 13, 2024
Insureds Failed To Show Auto Insurer Acted In Bad Faith In Handling Claim

PHILADELPHIA — A bad faith claim alleged against an auto insurer cannot proceed because the insureds failed to show that the dispute over the insureds’ claim for uninsured motorist benefits is anything more than a dispute over the value of the claim, a Pennsylvania federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss the bad faith claim.
June 13, 2024
Insurer’s Refusal To Pay All Medical Bills Was Not Breach Of Contract, Panel Says

ATLANTA — A district court did not err in dismissing breach of contract and bad faith claims against an auto insurer based on the insurer’s failure to pay all of the insured’s medical expenses incurred after an auto accident because the policy clearly states that the insurer will pay only for medical expenses deemed necessary and reasonable, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in affirming the district court’s dismissal of the insured’s amended complaint.
June 12, 2024
Texas Federal Magistrate Judge Severs Bad Faith Claim In Auto Coverage Dispute

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal magistrate judge granted an auto insurer’s motion to sever a bad faith claim from a claim for underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits, agreeing with the insurer that severing contractual claims from extracontractual claims is the preferred approach under Texas law.
June 12, 2024
Federal Judge Dismisses Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit After Parties Settle Claims

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana granted parties’ joint motion to dismiss with prejudice a skilled nursing facility insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for Hurricane Ida damage after the insurer and the insured indicated that all claims have been settled or compromised.
June 11, 2024
Testimony From Experts Retained In Crash Coverage Spat Limited By Federal Judge

DENVER — A Colorado federal judge on June 10 partially granted two motions to exclude experts retained by a woman injured in a car accident who sued an insurer for failing to fully cover her injuries and also granted the insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment.
June 11, 2024
Request For Punitive Damages Cannot Proceed Without Bad Faith Claim

SALT LAKE CITY — An insured’s request for punitive damages fails as a matter of law because the insured agreed to dismiss a bad faith claim against her auto insurer and punitive damages are not recoverable on a breach of contract claim, a Utah federal judge said in partially granting an auto insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
June 05, 2024
Hurricane Coverage Row Tossed After Insured Fails To Refute Lack Of Coverage

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana federal judge granted summary judgment to the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) as successor to a now-insolvent insurer and dismissed with prejudice a homeowner’s breach of contract and bad faith hurricane coverage dispute, finding that the insured failed to refute evidence that his home was not insured by the insurer on the dates of purported loss.
June 03, 2024
Judgment Denied For Allstate Absent Evidence Showing Prior Insurance Requirement

HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge on May 31 denied Allstate’s motion for summary judgment in a breach of contract and bad faith suit against it for failing to cover fire damage to its insured’s home, finding that issues of fact remain regarding whether the homeowner’s purported misrepresentations were material to Allstate’s assertion that it would not have issued the policy had it know of the homeowner’s lack of prior continuous coverage.
June 03, 2024
Bad Faith, Unfair Practices Claims Properly Dismissed In Hurricane Coverage Suit

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 31 affirmed a district court’s dismissal of claims alleging bad faith and violation of North Carolina’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (UDTPA) against a homeowners insurer because the district court properly found that the insured’s amended complaint failed to show that there was anything more than an honest disagreement between the parties regarding the amount damages.
May 31, 2024
Judge Dismisses Coverage Dispute Between Contractor, Insurer After Settlement

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California granted a contractor and a commercial general liability insurer’s joint stipulation of dismissal filed after the parties agreed to a settlement, dismissing with prejudice allegations stemming from claims that the contractor failed to secure a building before a hurricane.
May 31, 2024
Bad Faith, Unfair Practices Claims Proceed Against Auto Insurer, Federal Judge Says

RENO, Nev. — A Nevada federal judge denied an auto insurer’s motion for summary judgment on claims alleging unfair claims practices and bad faith because questions of fact exist regarding the insurer’s conduct and handling of the insured’s claim for underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits.
May 31, 2024
Fund Defends Bad Faith, Other Claims Against Dismissal Bid In Reimbursement Case

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Urging an Alabama federal court to deny dismissal motions in a dispute over reimbursement for workers’ compensation claims, the plaintiff argues in part that a bad faith claim is proper because it “is not an ‘insurer’ under Alabama law and is not a party to a reinsurance contract with Defendants.”
May 30, 2024
11th Circuit Affirms No CGL Coverage Owed For Negligence Suit Against Landscaper

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a commercial general liability insurer in a landscaper insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying negligence action, finding that the insurance application expressly disclaims the work the insured did and the bad faith claim fails because the insurer had a lawful basis to deny the claim.
May 30, 2024
Insurers Owe No Coverage For Underlying Judgments In Asbestos Exposure Suits

SAN FRANCISCO — A trial court properly found that two insurers owe no coverage for underlying judgments totaling $41 million entered against their insured in underlying lawsuits arising out of a claimant’s exposure to asbestos in the insured’s products because the policies’ auto exclusions apply as a bar to coverage based on the fact that the claimant was exposed to the asbestos while unloading the insured’s product from the insured’s delivery van, the First District California Court of Appeal said.
May 30, 2024
Insureds’ Summary Judgment Motion In Water Damage Suit Is Premature, Judge Says

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal judge denied a motion for summary judgment filed by insureds who allege that their homeowners insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith in handling a series of claims related to water and sewer damages in the insureds’ home because the motion is premature as no discovery has taken place and initial disclosures have not been exchanged.
May 30, 2024
Excess Loss Reinsurance Case With ERISA, Bad Faith Claims Closed On Deal Report

PITTSBURGH — After the parties reported that they reached an unspecified “tentative resolution,” a Pennsylvania federal judge administratively closed an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over an excess loss reinsurance contract.
May 29, 2024
Bad Faith, Breach Of Contract Suit Stayed Until Appraisal Proceeding Is Completed

HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge granted a motion to compel appraisal and to abate a lawsuit filed by insureds who claim that their homeowners insurer acted in bad faith and breached its contract in denying their claim for storm damages to their home because an appraisal proceeding will resolve the amount of the loss sustained by the insureds regardless of whether the loss was caused by the storm or by an excluded cause of loss.
May 29, 2024
Winemaker Adds Bad Faith Claim In Washington Coverage Suit Over Defective Wine

SEATTLE — A wine producer amended its complaint in a Washington court adding claims against its insurer for breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing and violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act and the Insurance Fair Conduct Act in its lawsuit seeking coverage for the “tragic damage to 320,922 cases of premium Washington wine” that resulted in a loss of more than $8 million.
May 28, 2024
Contractor, Insurer Seek Dismissal Of Coverage Claims After Settlement

LOS ANGELES — A contractor and an insurer filed a joint stipulation of dismissal on May 24, seeking to bring an end to their dispute in a California federal court stemming from the contractor’s alleged failure to properly secure a building under construction in advance of a hurricane after they agreed to a settlement.
May 28, 2024
Questions Of Fact Exist As To Cause Of Damaged Floor, Magistrate Judge Says

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin federal magistrate judge denied an insured’s motion for partial summary judgment in a coverage suit stemming from the collapse of the insured’s roof because questions of fact exist regarding the cause of a heaved floor, discovered after the collapse, and whether any of the policy’s exclusions, including those pertaining to earth movement, subsurface water and defects, bar coverage for the damaged floor.
May 24, 2024
Bad Faith Claims Proceed; Fact Issue Exists On Whether Additional Covered Is Owed

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A homeowners insurer is not entitled to partial summary judgment on its insureds’ bad faith claims arising out of a dispute over coverage for hurricane damages because a question of fact exists as to whether additional payments were owed and withheld under the policy by the insurer, a Louisiana federal judge said.
May 24, 2024
Suit Limitation Provision Bars Insureds’ Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Suit

PHILADELPHIA — Breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged against a homeowners insurer and based on the insurer’s handling of a claim for fire damages cannot proceed because the insureds failed to file suit within one year of the loss as required by the policy’s one-year suit limitation, a Pennsylvania federal judge said May 23 in dismissing the claims without prejudice.
May 24, 2024
California Jury Awards Sisters $18M In Bad Faith Suit Over Flood Damage

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A California jury awarded two sisters $6 million in past noneconomic losses and $12 million in punitive damages after finding that insurers committed breach of contract and acted in bad faith in their handling of the insureds’ property damage claim arising from a 2019 flood.