Mealey's Insurance Pleadings : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Insurance Pleadings

October 14, 2024
Owners Of Aircraft Valued At More Than $222M Sue Insurers In State Court

STAMFORD, Conn. — Claiming breach of contract and bad faith, five entities that own two freighter planes that they allege a Russian cargo airline has refused to return after the invasion of Ukraine have filed a suit in Connecticut state court against more than two dozen “insurers, underwriters, underwriting managers, and insurance subscribers of coverage in the international aviation insurance market.”
October 11, 2024
Disability Insurer Says Claimant Not Entitled To More Than $445K In Attorney Fees

MINNEAPOLIS — A disability plan participant is not entitled to more than $445,000 in attorney fees because the participant’s submissions in support of the requested amount are based on unreasonable hourly rates and unsupported time entries, a disability insurer says in its response to the participant’s motion for attorney fees filed in Minnesota federal court.
October 11, 2024
LTD Benefits Owed Based On Fibromyalgia Diagnosis, Disability Claimant Says

ATLANTA — In a complaint filed in Georgia federal court, a disability claimant alleges that her long-term disability (LTD) benefits were wrongfully denied and urges the court to find that she remains disabled under the disability plan as a result of a fibromyalgia diagnosis.
October 11, 2024
Private Equity Firms Amend Federal Complaint Against D&O, Cyber Liability Insurer

OMAHA, Neb.— Two private equity firms filed an amended complaint against their directors and officers and cyber liability insurer in a Nebraska federal court, seeking coverage for the alleged $2.8 million they lost when an imposter investor hacked a reserve account (Panorama Point Partners LLC, et al. v. Everest National Insurance Company, No. 24-393, D. Neb.).
October 11, 2024
Insurer: Alleged Sexual Assaults Do Not Constitute Religious Expression Injury

SEATTLE — A church’s insurer filed a declaratory judgment lawsuit in a Washington federal court, disputing coverage for an underlying claim alleging a minor was sexually assaulted on multiple occasions by the church’s deacon.
October 10, 2024
California Bishop Amends Complaint, Seeks Insurance Coverage For Sex Abuse Suits

SAN FRANCISCO — The Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland, Calif., filed a fifth amended declaratory judgment and breach of statutory duty complaint in a California federal court 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.
October 10, 2024
Standing, Adequacy Of RICO Allegations Disputed In Reinsurer’s Lawsuit

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York federal judge has dismissed a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act lawsuit without prejudice against more than a dozen defendants that a reinsurer alleged took part in purportedly fraudulent workers’ compensation claims and personal injury lawsuits.
October 10, 2024
9th Circuit Unseals Driver’s Brief Challenging GEICO’s ‘Unfair’ COVID-19 Rebates

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unsealed a brief filed by a driver appealing a federal judge’s grant of summary judgment on her class action claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) to GEICO for allegedly unfairly retaining an estimated $238 million in additional premium relief the driver says it owed insureds after the COVID-19 pandemic.
October 10, 2024
Disability Claimant Appeals Any Occupation Standard Ruling To 11th Circuit

ATLANTA — A disability claimant filed a notice of appeal to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals following a Georgia federal judge’s finding that a disability insurer’s termination of long-term disability (LTD) benefits was not wrong because the claimant failed to meet her burden of proving that she is disabled under the plan’s any occupation standard.
October 10, 2024
Bar Seeks 8th Circuit Reversal In Fire Damage Coverage Row, Cites Scope Of Actions

MINNEAPOLIS — A corporation operating a bar and the former spouse of the bar’s prior owner, who pleaded guilty to arson for the fire that destroyed the bar, filed a reply brief in the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals urging the court to reverse a district court’s grant of summary judgment to the bar’s insurer upon finding that the arsonist’s false statements to defraud the insurer were imputed to the bar.
October 09, 2024
Chemical Company: Insurer Withheld Full Value Of Business Interruption Loss

BEAUMONT, Texas — A sustainable chemical company insured sued its insurer in a Texas federal court for breach of contract and declaratory judgment, seeking to obtain coverage for the full value of its business interruption loss caused by an explosion at a Texas plant.
October 08, 2024
Coach Appeals Court’s Ruling That Sexual Abuse Claims Against Him Are Not Covered

TACOMA, Wash. — An insured filed an appeal notice asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review a Washington federal court’s finding that a homeowners insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify him for an underlying sexual abuse lawsuit, challenging the court’s finding that the underlying claims of intentional sexual abuse are not accidental and, as a result, do not constitute an “occurrence” to trigger policy coverage.
October 03, 2024
Insurer Calls Motion ‘Self-Serving’ In $2M Life Policies Misrepresentation Row

MACON, Ga. — Pacific Life Insurance Co. filed a response brief in a Georgia federal court asking the court to deny a motion in limine filed by the beneficiary of two $1 million life insurance policies who is seeking to exclude evidence that the insurer would have issued the policies at a different premium had it known of the policy application misrepresentations.
October 02, 2024
Insurer Seeks To Rescind Rider Of $200K Life Policy Over Health Misrepresentations

CHICAGO — Transamerica Life Insurance Co. on Oct. 1 filed a complaint in an Illinois federal court against its insured and the owner of a $200,000 life insurance policy with a long-term care (LTC) rider after they submitted a claim for LTC benefits due to the insured’s degenerative brain disorder, seeking a declaratory judgment that the policy is rescinded due to the defendants’ alleged material misrepresentations regarding the insured’s treatment for cognitive disorders when medical records showed that he had undisclosed cognitive deficits resulting from a prior coma.
October 02, 2024
Professional Insurer, Contractor Settle Cross-Claims In Mold Damage Coverage Suit

LAS VEGAS — A professional liability insurer and a contractor filed a notice in a Nevada federal court indicating that they have settled their cross-claims in a mold and moisture damage coverage dispute.
October 01, 2024
Insurer Seeks High Court’s Review Of 4th Circuit’s Ruling In Chemical Exposure Suit

WASHINGTON D.C. — Review of a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that an insurer has a duty to defend an insured for an underlying chemical exposure suit is warranted because the Fourth Circuit incorrectly determined that a duty to defend exists even though the underlying complaint fails to assert any covered claims, an insurer says in a petition for a writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court.
October 01, 2024
Insurer Can Pursue Subrogation Against Engineering Firm, Illinois High Court Rules

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed an appeal court’s reversal of a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to an engineering firm in a builders risk insurer’s suit seeking subrogation damages for the flooding of a Chicago college building under construction, agreeing with the appeals court that the trial court erred in finding that the insurer does not meet the prerequisites for equitable subrogation and concluding that none of the facts or provisions barred the insurer’s subrogation action against the engineer.
September 30, 2024
Contractor Says Coverage Is Owed For Damages To Entirety Of Building

CINCINNATI — A federal district court erred in refusing to find that coverage is owed for damages to the entirety of a building as a result of the collapse of some of the bricks from one of the building’s walls, the contractor says in an appellant reply brief filed in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
September 27, 2024
Farmers, USDA Spar Over Decision Regulators Made On Remand Of Crop Insurance Row

BAY CITY, Mich. — Farmers and federal regulators are again sparring in a Michigan federal court over a crop insurance dispute involving a dry-bean revenue endorsement (DBRE), with issues of contention now including whether the court retains jurisdiction after having awarded attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) and whether regulators followed the court’s directions on remand.
September 25, 2024
Insurers File Claims In Ship Owner’s Suit Seeking Exoneration For Bridge Collapse

BALTIMORE — New York Marine and General Insurance Co. and Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London, Axis Syndicate 1686, on Sept. 24 became the fifth and sixth insurers to file a claim and answer to a petition for exoneration from or limitation of liability filed by the owner and technical manager of the ship that allided with and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26.
September 25, 2024
Couple Urges 5th Circuit To Say Ross Remains Its Standard For Insurance Cases

NEW ORLEANS — Asking the Fifth Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a U.S. Tax Court ruling concerning what they unsuccessfully argued were microcaptive insurance arrangements entitled to tax benefits, appellants contend in their opening brief that the Internal Revenue Service and Tax Court “restricted the meaning of the term ‘insurance’ contrary to Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court precedent.”
September 20, 2024
Insured’s Assignees Ask 11th Circuit To Vacate No Coverage Ruling

ATLANTA — Assignees of an accounting services provider insured asked the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to vacate its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a professional liability insurer in their breach of contract lawsuit, asking the circuit court to reaffirm “the principle that only the New Jersey Supreme Court has the right to define the grammatical constructions that create the official natural readings of contracts and statutes in its state.”
September 20, 2024
Judge: CGL Insurer Owes Defense For Sex Trafficking Claims Against Hotel Insured

ATLANTA — A federal judge in Atlanta granted a hotel operator insured’s motion to dismiss a commercial general liability insurer’s complaint to the extent that the insurer seeks a declaration that it has no duty to defend against an underlying lawsuit alleging that the insured did not uphold its duty of care concerning the safety of its hotel and hotel guests by failing to prevent and respond to evidence of sex trafficking, rejecting the insurer’s argument that the policy’s “Abuse or Molestation” and “Assault or Battery” endorsements bar coverage.
September 19, 2024
Interpretation Of ‘Direct Physical Loss’ Phrase Was Erroneous, Building Owner Says

CINCINNATI — A district court erred in relying on a definition of the term “direct physical loss” as used in a prior opinion issued by the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals when it determined that the collapse of some bricks from a wall within a building did not cause any damage to the wall or building as a whole, the building owner maintains in a Sept. 18 appellant reply brief filed in the Sixth Circuit.
September 19, 2024
U.S. Refutes Exoneration Petition Of Owner Of Ship That Destroyed Baltimore Bridge

BALTIMORE — The United States of America on Sept. 18 filed a claim and answer to a petition for exoneration from or limitation of liability filed by the owner and technical manager of the ship that allided with and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, arguing that the petitioners “cut corners in ways that risked lives and infrastructure” and “must be held fully accountable for the catastrophic harm they caused, and punitive damages should be imposed to deter such misconduct.”