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Mealey's Insurance

  • January 26, 2026

    Judge: Property’s Expert On What Caused Collapse Can Testify In Insurance Dispute

    PHILADELPHIA — An insurance company may disagree with the conclusions reached by an expert retained by an insured in a breach of contract case, “but that does not mean those conclusions are unreliable,” a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Jan. 23.

  • January 26, 2026

    Judge Grants Initial OK To $25M Lead Deal Allowing Lawsuit Against City’s Insurer

    GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan has granted preliminary approval to a proposed $25 million settlement between Benton Harbor, Mich., and residents who are seeking damages for injuries related to exposure to lead-contaminated drinking water. The judge said the settlement meets the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a).

  • January 26, 2026

    Pollution Exclusion Can Apply Even If Insured Has Permit For Emissions, Court Says

    CHICAGO — A permit or regulation that authorizes emissions has no relevance as to whether a pollution exclusion should be applied as a bar to coverage for bodily injury claims related to chemical discharges from an insured facility, the Illinois Supreme Court said Jan. 23 in answering a certified question from the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • January 23, 2026

    Additional Insured Owed Coverage For Suits Over Gas Explosion, 7th Circuit Affirms

    CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 22 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in a dispute over coverage for an additional insured for underlying lawsuits arising out of a gas explosion, holding that the primary insured’s “acts or omissions” caused the gas explosion in whole or in part and the plaintiff is an “additional insured” for the purposes of the umbrella insurance policy.

  • January 23, 2026

    Coverage Denial For Mold Suits Was Bad Faith, Insureds Allege In Complaint

    PHILADELPHIA — Pollution liability and commercial general liability insurers of the owner and operator of military housing projects throughout the country acted in bad faith by denying coverage for underlying suits filed against the insureds by families who were injured by mold exposure in insured military housing units, the insureds say in a complaint filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • January 21, 2026

    GE, Others Say PCB Injury Indemnification Lawsuit Belongs In Federal Court

    ST. LOUIS — General Electric Co., along with other defendants, on Jan. 20 filed a supplemental memorandum in Missouri federal court arguing that Monsanto Co.’s motion to remand to Missouri state court the lawsuit it brought seeking indemnification for litigation related to alleged injuries from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) should be denied because federal officer removal jurisdiction applies.

  • January 20, 2026

    Insurers Say Bankruptcy Judge Lacked Power To Enjoin Their Claims In Avon Plan

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal bankruptcy judge’s ruling confirming the Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for asbestos talc debtor AIO US Inc. should be overturned because the order exceeded the court’s authority, nondebtor insurers say in the opening brief in their appeal of the confirmation decision to a federal district court.

  • January 20, 2026

    Request For Exemplary Damages In Water Damage Suit Dismissed Without Prejudice

    DENVER — A Colorado federal judge dismissed without prejudice an insured’s request for exemplary damages in a water damage coverage dispute, agreeing with a magistrate judge’s finding that the insured failed to show that a triable issue of fact exists that would entitle her to exemplary damages.

  • January 20, 2026

    6th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Suit Arising From Building Collapse

    CINCINNATI —The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 16 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in an insured’s lawsuit alleging that the insurer’s misrepresentations that it had full coverage makes the insurer liable for $1.3 million in code-compliance costs that exceeded the policy limit, concluding that the insured failed to demonstrate that the insurer “owed a separate-and-distinct duty to advise” or that the insured “reasonably relied on” the insurer’s alleged misrepresentations.

  • January 20, 2026

    Insured Says Property Insurer Acted In Bad Faith By Relying On Pollution Exclusion

    DENVER — A property insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith by relying on its policy’s pollution exclusion to deny a portion of an insured’s claim for damages caused by the release of asbestos during a fire in a nearby condominium unit, an insured maintains in a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.

  • January 15, 2026

    No Standing For Insurers To Challenge FCR In Hopeman Chapter 11 Case

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Insurers of Chapter 11 debtor Hopeman Brothers Inc. do not have bankruptcy appellate standing to challenge a Virginia federal bankruptcy court’s appointment of a legal representative for future asbestos claimants in the debtor’s case, a federal judge in the state said in granting Hopeman’s motion to dismiss the appeal.

  • January 14, 2026

    Reinsurers, Insurers Ask To Seal Summary Judgment Briefs In Indemnification Case

    TRENTON, N.J. —  The parties in a dispute between insurers and reinsurers over indemnification for asbestos bodily injury claims moved to seal confidential information as part of their cross-motions for summary judgment in a New Jersey federal court, stating that the filings contain nonpublic, competitively sensitive business information and that disclosure would cause competitive harm.

  • January 13, 2026

    Lead-Contaminated Water Coverage Suit Will Remain In Federal Court, Judge Says

    LANSING, Mich. — An insured city’s lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying bodily injury suits stemming from lead-contaminated water supplied by the city will remain in federal court, a Michigan federal judge said after determining that complete diversity of citizenship exists because the underlying plaintiffs, named as defendants by the insured city, must be realigned as plaintiffs based on the fact that their interests are aligned with the insured.

  • January 13, 2026

    Unfair Business Practices Counterclaim Will Not Proceed In Remediation Cost Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — An environmental remediation contractor’s unfair business practices counterclaim alleged against an insurer seeking to recover costs paid on behalf of its insured for environmental remediation work cannot proceed because the contractor failed to show that it suffered a monetary or property loss and failed to request any remedy, a California federal judge said in partially granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss the contractor’s counterclaims.

  • January 13, 2026

    Insurer Cannot Recoup More Than $721K In Attorney Fees, Costs, Judge Says

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge partially denied an insurer’s motion to recoup more than $721,000 in attorney fees, costs and interest deposited with the court in a coverage dispute over environmental contamination costs owed to an insured after determining that the insurer failed to show that the fees and costs billed by the insureds are unreasonable.

  • January 13, 2026

    Louisiana Panel Reverses Ruling In Suit Seeking Coverage For Total Loss To Condo

    GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana appeals panel reversed a lower court’s denial of an insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment in its insureds’ lawsuit seeking coverage for the total loss of their condominium unit, holding that the condominium was not rendered a total loss as a result of the direct physical damage caused by Hurricane Ida and the policy limit for a subsequent water event is $10,000 pursuant to the “Limited Water Damage Coverage” endorsement.

  • January 12, 2026

    High Court Denies Review Of Jurisdiction Ruling In PFAS Exposure Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 denied review of an insured’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that a district court erred in remanding a declaratory judgment claim and retaining jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits.

  • January 09, 2026

    Judge: Bifurcation, Stay Of Discovery Unwarranted In Windstorm Coverage Suit

    CHARLESTON, W. Va. — A federal judge in West Virginia denied an insurer’s motion to bifurcate an insured’s bad faith claim from the breach of contract claim in a windstorm coverage dispute, holding that the factors in Light v. Allstate Ins. Co. do not support bifurcation and that a stay of discovery of the bad faith claims is unwarranted.

  • January 06, 2026

    Florida Panel Reverses For New Trial On Damages In Suit Against Insurance Broker

    DAYTON BEACH, Fla. —Noting that the case was one of first impression, the Fifth District Florida Court of Appeal concluded that a lower court erred by allowing a jury to calculate damages against an insurance broker based on an insurance policy that an earlier panel determined does not provide coverage for restaurant insureds’ damage following Hurricane Matthew, reversing in part and remanding for a retrial limited solely to damages without reliance on the insurance policy.

  • January 06, 2026

    Homeowner Brings Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims In Underpayment Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — A homeowner alleges in a California state court that a property insurer breached its insurance contract and acted in bad faith by refusing to fully pay for covered wind, rain and water damage to his residence, instead issuing only partial payments totaling about $3,250 on a claim seeking nearly $97,000 in repair and mitigation costs.

  • January 06, 2026

    Insured Urges High Court To Review Jurisdiction Ruling In PFAS Exposure Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — An insured urges the U.S. Supreme Court to grant its petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that a district court erred in remanding a declaratory judgment claim and retaining jurisdiction over breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for underlying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure suits, noting in its reply brief that the case presents an “ideal opportunity” to resolve a split among the circuits regarding when a district court is required to exercise discretion over mixed claims.

  • January 06, 2026

    Fact Issues Exist In Insureds’ Water Damage Coverage Suit, Texas Federal Judge Says

    HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge partially denied a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a water damage coverage dispute after determining that questions of fact exist as to whether the insurer breached its contract in denying coverage for damage to a number of areas within the insureds’ home.

  • January 06, 2026

    Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Chemical Exposure Suits, Panel Affirms

    PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s ruling that a pollution exclusion bars coverage for underlying bodily injury suits seeking damages caused by exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO) released from an insured’s medical device manufacturing facility, agreeing with the lower court’s finding that EtO qualifies as a pollutant pursuant to the language of the policies’ pollution exclusion.

  • December 24, 2025

    Reinsurer Seeks Dismissal Of Decades-Old Asbestos Reinsurance Billings

    NEW YORK — A reinsurer moved for summary judgment in a New York federal court, seeking dismissal of all claims brought by the assignee of the liquidator of an insolvent insurer, arguing that decades-old asbestos-related reinsurance billings are barred by New York’s statute of limitations, were extinguished through a court-approved liquidation allowance and fail on the merits because the claimed losses were never proven to be covered under the applicable catastrophe excess of loss treaties.

  • December 23, 2025

    Shepard’s Analysis Of U.S. Supreme Court Bankruptcy Standing Ruling

    As of Dec. 19, 52 federal court decisions have referenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 holding in an asbestos bankruptcy case that an insurer with financial responsibility for bankruptcy claims qualifies as a party in interest with standing to comment on a debtor’s plan of reorganization, rejecting the “insurance neutrality” doctrine that had barred such participation, according to a Shepard’s analysis of the high court’s opinion.