Mealey's Insurance
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August 16, 2023
Judge: Insurers’ Bids To Nix AFFF Coverage Case Moot In Light Of Amended Complaint
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina on Aug. 15 issued a text order on the docket ruling that all pending motions to dismiss an insurance coverage action brought by a defendant in the multidistrict litigation for the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) are moot in light of the manufacturer’s amended complaint.
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August 15, 2023
All-Risk Policies Provide Coverage For Wind-Driven Rain, Federal Judge Says
SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge granted an insured condominium association’s motion for summary judgment in a coverage dispute over millions of dollars of hidden water damage sustained by the association’s buildings by wind-driven rain after determining that coverage is owed under two sets of policies for wind-driven rain when interpreting the policies’ language based on an ensuing loss provision and the efficient proximate rule.
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August 15, 2023
Requests For Compensatory, Emotional Distress Damages In Mold, Water Suit Dismissed
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge dismissed an insured’s requests for compensatory damages and emotional distress damages in a water and mold damage coverage suit because compensatory damages are not available in connection with a bad faith claim and emotional distress damages are not available in connection with a breach of contract claim.
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August 15, 2023
Insurer Says District Court’s Ruling On Misrepresentations Must Be Reversed
ATLANTA — A district court’s ruling that an insurer could not demonstrate reliance upon its insureds’ fraudulent misrepresentations regarding mold damage in an insured hotel must be reversed because the district court failed to view the evidence in the insurer’s favor as the nonmoving party, an insurer argues in a cross-appeal reply brief filed in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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August 14, 2023
Pro Rata Method Of Allocation Applies In Coverage Suit Over Hog Farm Operation
RALEIGH, N.C. — In two separate opinions, a North Carolina judge determined that underlying property damage and bodily injury lawsuits stemming from the operation of a hog farm must be construed as arising out of a single occurrence and that a pro rata method of allocation must be applied to excess policies because a pro rata method of allocation is consistent with the allocation method set forth by the North Carolina Supreme Court.
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August 11, 2023
Georgia Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Coronavirus Coverage Dispute
ATLANTA — A Georgia appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s grant of insurers’ motion to dismiss their mutual insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the “overwhelming majority” of federal and state courts have rejected similar pandemic coverage claims.
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August 09, 2023
Justice Seals Communications With Liquidated Insurer, But Not Asbestos Settlement
NEW YORK — A New York justice found no good reason to seal or redact the amount a liquidator settled asbestos claims for, but said communications among the liquidator, counsel and the referee who oversaw the settlements included discussion of litigation strategy and would be sealed.
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August 08, 2023
State Farm: AI Claims Handling Allegations Don’t Establish Fair Housing Case
CHICAGO — Property insurance lacks sufficient connection to the sale of a home for liability under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), an insurer tells a federal judge in Illinois in urging dismissal of claims alleging that the company employs a discriminatory artificial intelligence during the claims handling process.
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August 07, 2023
Insurer Owes $3.5M For Defense Costs, Fees Incurred In Toxic Emissions Suit
MIAMI — An insurer owes its insured approximately $3.5 million in damages and attorney fees and costs incurred by the insured for an underlying lawsuit alleging that toxic emissions created by the insured’s practice of sugarcane burning caused property damage and bodily injuries, a Florida federal judge said in partly granting the insured’s motion for summary judgment.
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August 07, 2023
No Coverage Owed For Underlying PFAS Contamination Suit, Insurer Says In Complaint
HOUSTON — No coverage is owed to an insured for an underlying suit arising out of the contamination of containers with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) because the contamination occurred prior to the effective date of a primary pollution liability policy and an environmental excess liability policy, an insured maintains in a complaint filed Aug. 4 in Texas federal court.
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August 07, 2023
Connecticut Judge Rules For Insurer In Coronavirus Coverage Dispute
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut judge granted a business owner insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, rejecting the insured’s argument that the adhesion of coronavirus-infected respiratory droplets to its property caused direct physical loss or damage.
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August 03, 2023
Judge Denies Insurer JMOL Or New Trial, Insured Interest After Water Damage Verdict
MOBILE, Ala. — A federal judge in Alabama on Aug. 2 denied an insurer’s renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial following a nearly $170,000 verdict against it in an insurance dispute over the handling of a property damage claim after Hurricane Sally, adopting as its own the insured church’s argument that it proved through expert testimony that its claimed losses were covered under the policy and that the jury was properly instructed as to causation.
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August 02, 2023
Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims Fail In Water, Mold Damage Suit
MOBILE, Ala. — Breach of contract and bad faith claims against a homeowners insurer fail because the insureds did not show that their home sustained a direct physical loss as a result of a hurricane or that a material issue of dispute exists as to whether the insurer acted in bad faith in investigating and adjusting their claim for water and mold damages, an Alabama federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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August 01, 2023
Panel Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurer In Pollution Suit On Duty To Defend Issue
NEW ORLEANS — No coverage is afforded for an underlying suit against an insured alleging that the insured’s junkyard operations polluted stormwater runoff because the policies’ pollution exclusion bars coverage for the underlying allegations, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal said July 31 in affirming a district court’s ruling.
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August 01, 2023
Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Medical Provider’s COVID-19 Suit
PORTLAND, Ore. — After the Oregon Supreme Court declined to answer a certified question in a coronavirus coverage dispute, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 31 reassumed jurisdiction and concluded that the Oregon high court would interpret the phrase “direct physical loss or damage” to require physical alteration of the insured property and affirmed a federal court’s finding that a medical provider insured failed to state a claim for coverage for its losses arising from the pandemic.
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August 01, 2023
Insured Seeks 11th Circuit Panel Rehearing In Water Damage Suit
ATLANTA — An insured says panel rehearing of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision affirming a district court’s ruling in favor of a commercial liability insurer in a water damage coverage dispute is warranted because the 11th Circuit panel did not properly interpret a policy’s water exclusion.
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July 31, 2023
Insurer Files Complaint, Says No Coverage Owed For Underlying Lead Poisoning Suit
DETROIT — No coverage is owed to insureds for an underlying bodily injury suit arising out of lead paint exposure because the commercial general liability policy’s lead and hazardous properties exclusion bars coverage, the insurer asserts in a complaint filed in Michigan federal court.
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July 31, 2023
3rd Circuit Dismisses Appeals In Asbestos Coverage Suit For Lack Of Jurisdiction
PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 28 dismissed an excess insurer and an insured’s appeals in an asbestos coverage dispute for lack of jurisdiction after determining that the orders issued by the district court are injunctive orders that are subject to appellate review.
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July 27, 2023
Insurer Owes More Than $90M For Past Defense Costs In Chemical Exposure Suit
CHICAGO — An insurer must reimburse its insureds for more than $90 million in defense costs incurred by the insureds for an underlying chemical exposure lawsuit arising out of discharges of ethylene oxide (EtO) from the insureds’ sterilization facilities, an Illinois federal judge said.
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July 26, 2023
Damage Caused By Insured’s Fracking Work Is Not Occurrence, Panel Reiterates
PHILADELPHIA — Following a panel rehearing, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 25 reiterated that an insurer owes no coverage to its insured for damages to natural gas wells caused by the insured’s fracking work because neither faulty workmanship nor failure to perform a contract in a workmanlike manner can be construed as an occurrence as required by the policy.
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July 24, 2023
No Coverage Owed For Gas Station’s Losses Arising From Coronavirus, Panel Affirms
PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of a gas station owner insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its economic losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, concluding that the virus exclusion bars coverage because COVID-19 “is the efficient proximate cause” of the insured’s purported losses.
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July 24, 2023
No Additional Abrupt Collapse Coverage Owed, Insurer Argues To 10th Circuit
DENVER — An insurer and its claims service manager argue to the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a building owner insured is owed no coverage under an insurance policy’s additional abrupt collapse coverage, contending that the insured’s building “did not collapse because its structural capacity was not ‘substantially’ or ‘significantly’ impaired.”
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July 24, 2023
District Court Erred In Reducing Contract Damages Award In Silo Collapse Suit
RICHMOND, Va. — A district court erred in reducing a jury’s $7.6 million award in favor of an insured in a coverage dispute arising out of the collapse of the insured’s silo because the court did not properly calculate the period of restoration pursuant to the policy’s terms, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in reversing a portion of the lower court’s ruling following the jury verdict.
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July 24, 2023
New Hampshire High Court Majority Says Water Exclusion Is Ambiguous
CONCORD, N.H. — A water exclusion must be construed in favor of providing coverage for water damage sustained in an insured apartment building because the exclusion is ambiguous as to whether the word “drain” applies to shower and toilet drains, the majority of the New Hampshire Supreme Court said in affirming a trial court’s ruling in favor of the insured.
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July 21, 2023
Insurers Urge Ohio High Court To Reverse Ruling In Lead Paint Coverage Suit
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court should reverse a state appellate court’s ruling that an insured’s obligation to contribute to a lead paint abatement fund constitutes damages under applicable insurance policies because the decision nullifies prior rulings made by the Ohio high court, the insurers maintain in a brief on the merits.