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Mealey's California Insurance

  • April 16, 2025

    Insurers Have No Duty To Defend Based On Silica Exclusions, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — Insurers of an importer and distributor of quartz stone products have no duty to defend their insured in underlying bodily injury suits stemming from exposure to silica dust from the insured’s quartz products because the policies’ silica exclusion clearly bars coverage for the underlying suits.

  • April 15, 2025

    Bad Faith Suit: CFPA Systematically Failed To Investigate, Pay Wildfire Claims

    LOS ANGELES — Plaintiffs sued California Fair Plan Association (CFPA) and its “largest” members for breach of contract and bad faith in a California court, seeking compensation for their losses incurred by the January Los Angeles wildfires and to hold CFPA “accountable for its decade-long, systematic failure to properly investigate and pay wildfire claims.”

  • April 15, 2025

    Effective Vindication Rule Is Focus Of ERISA Imprudence Appeal In 9th Circuit

    SAN FRANCISCO — In separate briefs, a former 401(k) participant and amicus curiae organization Public Justice urge the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm that a nonseverable arbitration provision is void because it contains a class, collective and representative action waiver that they say prevents effective vindication of plan participants’ substantive right under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • April 15, 2025

    Skechers Seeks Coverage For Injury Claims Caused By Shoes’ Lack Of Slip-Resistance

    LOS ANGELES — Skechers USA Inc. sued its commercial liability insurer in a California court for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair competition, alleging that the insurer has a duty to defend it against an underlying action contending that class members were harmed by actual physical accidents caused by the insured’s shoes’ lack of slip-resistance or by the fact that the shoes were unusable.

  • April 09, 2025

    Bad Faith Claim In Water Damage Coverage Suit To Proceed, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — An insured’s bad faith claim alleged against a homeowners insurer in a dispute over coverage for water damage in the insured’s home can proceed because dismissal of the bad faith claim would be premature, a California federal judge said in partially denying the insurer’s motion.

  • April 08, 2025

    Panel: Insurer Entitled To Jury Trial On Defense Costs Issue In Contamination Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 7 affirmed a district court’s ruling that an insurer has a duty to defend an insured in an underlying environmental contamination lawsuit, however, the panel said the insurer is entitled to a jury trial to determine the reasonableness of the defense costs incurred by the insured from the date of the insured’s tender of the underlying complaint through the date of the district court’s order.

  • April 08, 2025

    Insurers: ‘Had SCE Acted Responsibly, The Eaton Fire Could Have Been Prevented’

    LOS ANGELES — Insurers have filed a subrogation lawsuit alleging negligence and inverse condemnation against Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) in a California court, alleging that the Eaton fire could have been prevented had the defendant acted responsibly.

  • April 07, 2025

    Silica, Pollution Exclusions Bar Coverage For Dust Exposure Suits, Insurer Says

    LOS ANGELES — No coverage is owed for underlying bodily injury suits stemming from exposure to silica dust released from an insured’s countertops and stone products because the suits are barred by silica exclusions and total pollution exclusions included in the insured’s commercial general liability insurance policies, an insurer says in a complaint filed in California federal court.

  • April 04, 2025

    California Panel Reverses Judgment For Insurer In HOA’s Suit Over Water Damage

    LOS ANGELES — Finding that there are issues of material fact regarding whether the water damage and faulty workmanship exclusions in a condominium homeowners association’s all risks policy preclude coverage for rain damage that occurred during a reroofing project, a California appellate panel reversed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to the insurer on the association’s breach of contract and bad faith claims.

  • April 02, 2025

    Judge Allows Insureds’ ERISA, UCL Claims Against Cigna In AI Claims Denial Case

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part Cigna Corp. and its affiliate’s motion to dismiss insureds’ claims that they violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by allegedly denying coverage using an artificial intelligence algorithm.

  • March 31, 2025

    Insured’s Failure To Cooperate Dooms Contract Breach, Bad Faith Claims, Judge Says

    SAN DIEGO — An insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims against a property insurer cannot proceed because the insurer did not breach the contract or act in bad faith based on the insured’s failure to cooperate with the insurer’s requests during the investigation of the insured’s fire damage claim, a California federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • March 27, 2025

    Judge Partly Grants, Partly Denies Insureds’ Motion To Strike In Water Damage Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on March 26 granted in part and denied in part insureds’ motion to strike portions of their insurer’s trial declarations in a dispute over the insureds’ water damage loss.

  • March 25, 2025

    Magistrate Judge Approves Joint Case Management Statement In PFAS Coverage Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO — After finding that a pollution exclusion bars coverage for some, but not all, underlying lawsuits filed against an insured and alleging injuries related to exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) allegedly contained in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) that were manufactured and sold by the insured, a California federal magistrate judge approved a joint case management statement submitted by the parties regarding how to adjudicate the hundreds of lawsuits filed against the insured.

  • March 24, 2025

    Suit Alleged Wrongful Acts By Insured, No Coverage Owed, 9th Circuit Affirms

    LAS VEGAS — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded that there is no genuine dispute that an underlying lawsuit alleged willful acts by an insured and, therefore, the exclusionary clause in California Insurance Code Section 533 was triggered, affirming a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of the insurer in an coverage dispute arising from underlying claims that the insured illegally stole a competitor’s clients and agents.

  • March 21, 2025

    Auto Insurer’s Failure To Settle Was Not Unreasonable, Panel Majority Says

    PASADENA, Calif. — The majority of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 20 affirmed a district court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an auto insurer after determining that the auto insurer did not act in bad faith in failing to settle a claim on behalf of its insured because the third-party claimant failed to turn over his medical records despite numerous requests from the auto insurer.

  • March 18, 2025

    Insurer Opposes Catholic Diocese’s Motion To File Amicus Brief In Contamination Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — An insurer on March 17 filed an opposition to a California Catholic diocese’s motion for leave to file an amicus curiae brief in an insured’s appeal in a groundwater contamination coverage suit, telling the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the diocese should not be granted leave to file an amicus brief because the diocese’s arguments are not relevant to the contamination coverage dispute at issue.

  • March 18, 2025

    Oral Argument Sought In Challenge To Rehab Plan For Workers’ Comp Insurer

    SAN FRANCISCO — Both parties have requested oral argument in the First District California Court of Appeal in a workers’ compensation insurance carrier’s challenge to a nonconsensual rehabilitation plan that was approved as part of conservation proceedings brought by California’s insurance regulator and includes resolution of dozens of reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) lawsuits.

  • March 13, 2025

    $2.2M Judgment Awarded To CGL Insurer In Suit Arising From Hard Rock Hotel Damages

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge entered a $2.2 million judgment in favor of commercial general liability insurer after finding that it has no duty to defend a construction company as an additional insured in its equitable contribution and equitable indemnification lawsuit arising from damages to a Hard Rock Hotel location.

  • March 11, 2025

    Insured Says Reimbursement Owed For Underlying Water Contamination Complaints

    LOS ANGELES — An insured company filed suit in California federal court against its general liability insurer, claiming that the insurer’s refusal to defend it or reimburse it for costs incurred in defending itself against two water contamination suits was a breach of contract and a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

  • March 11, 2025

    Insured’s Water Damage Suit Properly Dismissed For Lack Of Ripeness, Panel Says

    PASADENA, Calif. — A district court properly dismissed an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith suit stemming from a water damage coverage dispute because the insured’s claims are not ripe based on a petition filed by the property insurer in Rhode Island state court to appoint an umpire to conduct an appraisal proceeding, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in affirming the lower court’s ruling.

  • March 07, 2025

    No E&O Coverage Owed For Negligence Claim, 9th Circuit Affirms

    PASADENA, Calif.— The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 6 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that an email exchange a year before an errors and omissions insurance policy’s inception put the insured on notice of circumstances reasonably expected to lead to a claim and, therefore, the insurer has no duty to defend an underlying negligence claim.

  • March 07, 2025

    California Federal Judge Says Claimant Met Burden Of Proving She Is Disabled

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A disability claimant is owed more than $81,000 in long-term disability (LTD) benefits and is entitled to future LTD benefits because the claimant met her burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that she is disabled from performing the duties of any occupation as a result of ongoing cognitive and physical effects caused by chemotherapy treatment, a California federal judge said in granting judgment in favor of the claimant.

  • March 05, 2025

    Fact Witness Testimony Limited In RESPA Class Suit Over Captive Reinsurance Pacts

    FRESNO, Calif. — A federal judge in California barred a fact witness in a long-running Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) case from providing opinion testimony based on scientific, technical or specialized knowledge but allowed testimony regarding performed analysis and data review in connection with risk transfer and reinsurance services that he and a partner were hired to provide.

  • March 04, 2025

    Furniture Delivery Company Asks 9th Circuit To Rehear UCL Coverage Dispute

    PASADENA, Calif. — A furniture delivery company insured has asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling that an insurer has no duty to defend it against an underlying misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition lawsuit brought by a competitor, challenging the appeal court’s affirmation of a lower federal court’s grant of the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit.

  • March 03, 2025

    Choice-Of-Law Ruling Issued In Disability Insurance Suit In Federal Court

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Granting an insurer’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings in a suit challenging the discontinuation of long-term disability (LTD) benefits, a Connecticut federal judge ruled that the “tort, equity, and contract claims under the common law are not governed by California law” and that three California and North Carolina statutory claims fail as a matter of law.