Mealey's Insurance
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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.
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September 30, 2024
Reinsurer’s Declaratory Judgment Suit Is Tossed For Lack Of Contractual Privity
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Ruling in part that a reinsurer “failed to plead privity or third-party beneficiary status” and therefore failed to state any claims, a New York federal judge on Sept. 27 dismissed the lawsuit in which the reinsurer sought a declaratory judgment regarding state court litigation arising from a building’s partial collapse.
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September 30, 2024
Suit Seeking Coverage For Oil Spill Fails To Assert Claim Under Federal Law
OKLAHOMA CITY — An insured’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment suit filed against its excess insurers seeking coverage for damages caused by an oil spill must be dismissed because the insured’s claims for breach of contract and declaratory judgment do not assert a claim under federal law, an Oklahoma federal judge said in granting a motion to dismiss filed by one of the excess insurers.
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September 24, 2024
Discovery Ruling Issued In Asbestos Coverage Row Involving Insolvent Insurer
OMAHA, Neb. — A Nebraska federal magistrate judge granted in part National Indemnity Co. (NICO)’s motion to compel discovery of an insurer in its suit seeking to enforce obligations by multiple insurers, one of whom is now insolvent, for the liability NICO incurred related to claims for asbestos exposure, finding that the attorneys’ eyes only designation (AEO) must be removed from discovery material due, in part, to the insurer’s failure to “articulate why an AEO designation is the right tool to prevent this harm.”
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September 23, 2024
Federal Magistrate Judge Says Asbestos Coverage Suit Should Proceed
CINCINNATI — An Ohio federal magistrate judge recommended denying an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s amended complaint seeking coverage for underlying asbestos liabilities because the amended complaint sufficiently establishes the existence of personal jurisdiction over the insurer and sufficiently alleges facts to support the insured’s declaratory judgment and breach of contract claims.
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September 23, 2024
Pollution Exclusion Does Not Preclude Coverage For Suit Stemming From Breath Mints
ST. LOUIS — A Missouri federal judge on Sept. 20 granted a motion to dismiss an insurer’s suit seeking a declaration that no coverage is owed for an underlying suit seeking damages caused by a child’s ingestion of liquid breath mints that contained a chemical that damaged the child’s esophagus because the policy’s pollution exclusion cannot be interpreted as a bar to coverage for the underlying suit.
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September 23, 2024
California High Court Tosses Certified Question Following COVID-19 Coverage Ruling
SAN FRANCISCO — In light of the recent ruling in John's Grill, Inc. v. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., the California Supreme Court dismissed its consideration of a certified question from the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals asking whether an insurance policy’s virus exclusion is unenforceable in a coverage lawsuit brought by owners, operators and managers of two Napa Valley, Calif., restaurants in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
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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.
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September 19, 2024
Judge Denies Summary Judgment On Issue Of Contamination Exclusion’s Applicability
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge refused to grant summary judgment in favor of an insured on the applicability of a policy’s contamination exclusion to losses sustained by the insured in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic because the evidence could support a jury finding that the insured believed that the contamination exclusion would apply as a bar to coverage for the losses caused by the coronavirus.
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September 18, 2024
No Coverage Afforded For Asbestos Suits Under Exposure Trigger Theory, Insurers Say
FORT WORTH, Texas — Two insurers maintain in reply briefs filed in Texas federal court that summary judgment in their favor in an asbestos coverage suit is warranted because coverage under their policies is barred under an exposure trigger of coverage theory, which they say applies pursuant to a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision on the trigger of coverage issue.
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September 17, 2024
Judge Refuses To Dismiss Contractor’s Coverage Suit Arising From Hotel Collapse
NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana denied builders risk insurers’ motion to dismiss a contractor’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking additional insured coverage for its $89,877,694 in losses arising from the aftermath of the partial collapse of a Hard Rock Hotel project in New Orleans, rejecting the insurers’ contention that the contractor’s lawsuit is untimely.
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September 17, 2024
No Coverage Owed For Subpoena Issued To Insured In Fire-Suppressing Foam MDL
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — No coverage is owed to an insured distributor of a fire-suppressing foam for a subpoena served on the insured in an underlying multidistrict litigation seeking damages for bodily injuries and contaminated drinking water caused by the use of the foam because the subpoena does not constitute a claim under the insurance policy at issue, a Connecticut federal judge said in denying the insured’s motion for summary judgment and in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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September 17, 2024
Parties Dismiss Appeal Following Settlement Of Environmental Coverage Suit
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — An insured and its insurers filed a stipulation of voluntary dismissal of all appeals and cross-appeals in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 16 following the settlement of the insured’s suit seeking coverage for the cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
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September 17, 2024
Insured Says District Court Erred In Interpreting Radioactive Materials Exclusion
CHICAGO — A district court erred in finding that no coverage is owed by insurers pursuant to the policies’ radioactive materials exclusion for an underlying suit seeking damages for bodily injuries caused by exposure to electromagnetic (EMF) radiation from the insured’s electric transformers because a reasonable insured would interpret the exclusion as providing coverage for the EMF exposure claims, the insured maintains in an appellant brief filed in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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September 17, 2024
Review Of Ruling In Benzene Suit Not Warranted, Insured Says In Response Brief
AUSTIN, Texas — Review of a Texas appellate court’s finding that a policy’s arbitration provision applies only to disputes arising under the insurance policy and not to disputes arising under a settlement pertaining to benzene-related claims filed against the insured is not warranted because the appellate court properly found that the settlement agreement’s forum-selection clause requires disputes over the settlement agreement to be resolved in court, the insured says in response to the insurer’s petition for review filed in the Texas Supreme Court.
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September 13, 2024
Settlement Reached Between Insurer, Insureds In Water Damage Coverage Suit
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A homeowners insurer and its insureds notified the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming that a settlement of the insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith suit stemming from a clam for water damages has been reached.
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September 10, 2024
Question Of Fact Exists On Whether Additional Coverage For Water Damage Is Owed
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge on Sept. 9 granted a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment on an insured’s bad faith claim because a question of fact exists as to whether the insured is entitled to additional coverage under the policy for water damage in his home.
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September 10, 2024
Insured Settles With Insurer In Environmental Coverage Suit; Claims Dismissed
DETROIT — A Michigan federal judge dismissed an insured’s claims against an insurer named in the insured’s environmental contamination coverage suit after a settlement was reached between the parties.
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September 10, 2024
Judge Conditionally Dismisses Insureds’ Remediation Suit Following Settlement
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge entered an order of conditional dismissal in a coverage dispute over costs for remediating a riverbank after the insureds notified the judge that they had reached a settlement with their umbrella liability insurer.
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September 10, 2024
Insurer Says Potential For Coverage Of Asbestos Suits Exists Under Other Policies
FORT WORTH, Texas — In response to motions for summary judgment in Texas federal court, an insurer claims that policies issued by two other insurers should be found to afford coverage for underlying asbestos bodily injury suits filed against a mutual insured because some of the underlying claims potentially allege exposure during the insurers’ policy periods.
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September 09, 2024
After Reconsideration, Judge Says Court Erred When It Ruled In Insurer’s Favor
LOS ANGELES — Granting insureds’ motion for reconsideration, a federal judge in California said the court erred when it granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment as to insureds’ breach of contract claim, finding that the court cannot conclude as a matter of law that the insureds’ water damage loss is not covered by their policy.
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September 09, 2024
Judge Rejects Insurer’s Attempt To Amend Complaint In Environmental Dispute
SEATTLE — An insurer’s motion for leave to amend its complaint to add a declaratory judgment claim in a suit filed against another insurer and seeking contribution and indemnity from the other insurer for an insured’s environmental liabilities must be denied because the motion was filed almost 18 months after the imposed deadline for filing amended pleadings and the insurer failed to show good cause for the untimely filing of the motion, a Washington federal judge said Sept. 6.
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September 03, 2024
California Federal Judge Continues Jury Trial In Contamination Suit
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California federal judge continued a jury trial in an environmental contamination coverage suit filed by an insured seeking coverage for groundwater contamination discovered at a local airport.
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September 03, 2024
No Reasonable Juror Could Find Water Damage Was Sudden, Accidental, Panel Says
SAN FRANCISCO — The First District California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer after determining that the trial court did not err in instructing the jury regarding the cause of the loss because no reasonable jury could have found that the cause of a burst water pipe was sudden and accidental and, therefore, covered under the policy.
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September 03, 2024
Discovery Issues Derail Summary Judgment Bid In Cleanup Costs Coverage Row
PADUCAH, Ky. — After a report of discovery issues prompted denial of a summary judgment motion without prejudice in a dispute over pollution-related cleanup costs, a Kentucky federal magistrate judge has set new discovery deadlines and given the plaintiff leave to move to compel production.