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

Mealey's California Insurance

April 07, 2023
California Insurance Commissioner Approves Stipulation In Premium Overcharge Dispute

LOS ANGELES — California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara approved the terms of a stipulation between the California Department of Insurance (CDI) and Kemper Independence Insurance Co. settling the CDI’s allegation that the insurer violated California Insurance Code and California Code of Regulations when it failed to seek the commissioner’s prior approval of a change to its wildfire surcharge.
April 06, 2023
Plaintiffs Drop Negligence, UCL Suit Against Marketer Over Alleged Scheme

SAN DIEGO — Saying the defendant didn’t file an answer or a motion for summary judgment, the plaintiffs in a putative class suit alleging that they were sold counterfeited and nonexistent PregnancyCare insurance policies under “supposed captive reinsurance programs” filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice in California federal court.
April 05, 2023
Class Settlement Of Up To $117.7M Proposed In Life Insurance Cost Increase Suits

PHILADELPHIA — Plaintiffs challenging cost of insurance (COI) increases on universal life insurance policies have asked a Pennsylvania federal court to consolidate two cases for settlement, preliminarily certify a settlement class and preliminarily approve a settlement that includes a fund of up to $117.75 million and a five-year COI rate increase freeze.
April 05, 2023
Bad Faith, Fraudulent Misrepresentation Claims Preempted By ERISA

SAN FRANCISCO — Bad faith and fraudulent misrepresentation claims alleged against a disability insurer are preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act because the claims relate to an ERISA plan and the claimant can seek relief for the denial of her long-term disability (LTD) benefits claim under ERISA, a California federal judge said in granting the disability insurer’s motion to dismiss.
April 05, 2023
Professional Services Exclusion Bars Coverage; Insurer Owed $2M Reimbursement

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a commercial general liability insurance policy’s professional services exclusion bars coverage for the insured’s liability in an underlying lawsuit alleging negligence, loss of consortium, financial elder abuse and fraud and that the insurer is entitled to the reimbursement of the $2 million it paid to settle the underlying lawsuit.
April 05, 2023
California High Court Accepts Certified Question In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court accepted 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.
April 03, 2023
Judge Denies Summary Judgment Motions In D&O Coverage Suit Over Embezzlement

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California denied a directors and officers liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment and a homeowners association insured’s motion for partial summary judgment and to amend in a coverage lawsuit over an underlying $688,931 judgment arising from employee embezzlement.
March 27, 2023
Burger Chain Asks 9th Circuit To Rehear No Coverage Ruling For Coronavirus Losses

PASADENA, Calif. — In-N-Out Burgers filed a petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc challenging the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ March 10 ruling that affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of its breach of contract lawsuit against its commercial property insurer, arguing that the Ninth Circuit should correct or withdraw its ruling and stay the appeal pending the California Supreme Court’s answer to the Ninth Circuit’s certified question in Another Planet Entertainment, LLC v. Vigilant Ins. Co. to determine whether “the actual or potential presence of the COVID-19 virus on an insured's premises” constitutes “direct physical loss or damage to property” to trigger coverage under an insured’s commercial property insurance policy.
March 24, 2023
Air Transport Company Says School District Isn’t Immune From Compensation Suit

FRESNO, Calif. — A school district operating a self-insured health plan is not entitled to immunity as a public entity from claims that it undercompensated for emergency air transport, a company tells a California appeals court.
March 24, 2023
Substance Abuse Providers See ERISA, UCL, Contract Claims Largely Fail

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A dozen substance abuse providers’ reimbursement claims lack any evidence that relevant Employee Retirement Income Security Act plans require payment at the levels they suggest, and the California unfair competition law (UCL) claim lacks any tie to a statutory basis on which the claims could be brought, leaving only oral contract claims remaining, a federal judge in California said in granting a motion to dismiss.
March 23, 2023
Judge: Defective IGUs Caused No Injuries, Property Damage To Condo Project

SAN DIEGO — An insurer is entitled to summary judgment on claims brought by a subcontractor stemming from defective window-wall systems furnished by the subcontractor and installed in a condominium tower project because the issues with defective insulated-glass units (IGUs) in the window-wall system did not involve any injury or property damage to anything other than the IGUs, a federal judge in California ruled.
March 22, 2023
Assignee Says Bristol Provides Standing To Sue Insurers Under ERISA

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should ignore insurers’ “novella about the history of standing” and instead follow the clear precedent giving an assignee the power to pursue them under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a debt collector tells the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a reply brief.
March 22, 2023
9th Circuit Will Not Rehear RESPA Class Decertification Denial Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel declined to rehear its ruling reversing and remanding to federal district court a district court’s ruling denying a motion for class decertification in a long-running Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) class action involving captive reinsurance agreements to federal district court.
March 21, 2023
Judge Issues Final Order Dismissing Amber Heard’s Counterclaims In Coverage Suit

LOS ANGELES — Adopting a March 9 tentative ruling as a final ruling, a federal judge in California granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss Amber Heard’s breach of contract and bad faith counterclaims in the insurer’s declaratory judgment lawsuit alleging that it has no duty to defend or indemnify Heard for a defamation judgment awarded to Johnny Depp.
March 17, 2023
Judge Grants Judgment For Homeowners Insurer In Coverage Dispute Over Fire Loss

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a suit filed against it by a homeowner alleging breach of contract after the insurer denied coverage for a fire loss, finding that the insurer is entitled to rescind the policy based upon the homeowner’s material misrepresentations.
March 16, 2023
9th Circuit Reverses Dismissal Of Insurer’s Complaint Against Law Firm, Partners

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 15 reversed a lower federal court’s dismissal of a professional liability insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to indemnify its law firm insured against underlying malicious prosecution claims and reimbursement of amounts that it paid for the insured’s underlying defense, finding that the lower court erred in finding that California Insurance Code Section 533 did not apply to bar coverage.
March 16, 2023
Professional Liability Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage, Panel Says In Reversal

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 15 held that a lower federal court erred in concluding that a management liability insurance policy’s professional liability exclusion barred coverage for underlying claims that an insured illegally stole a competitor’s clients and agents, further finding that the lower court erred in ruling that California Insurance Code Section 533 does not apply.
March 15, 2023
Positions Outlined In Insurance Coverage Row Over Jet Leased To Russian Operator

SAN FRANCISCO — In a joint filing in California state court, parties in an international aviation insurance coverage dispute involving Russia’s invasion of Ukraine outline their positions, including disagreements on the scope of expected discovery.
March 15, 2023
Magistrate Grants Dismissal In FCA Qui Tam Suit, Says Relator Not Original Source

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge granted dismissal to pharmaceutical companies in a qui tam suit filed against them by a relator asserting that the companies misled the U.S. Patent Office into issuing invalid drug patents that allowed the companies to overcharge the federal government and states under certain programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, finding that the relator does not qualify as an original source under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and that his claims “are therefore barred under the public disclosure bar.”
March 13, 2023
Panel: Contamination Exclusion Bars Burger Chain’s Coverage For Coronavirus Losses

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 10 affirmed dismissal of In-N-Out Burgers’ breach of contract lawsuit against its commercial property insurer, finding that a policy’s contamination exclusion barred coverage for the insured’s losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
March 13, 2023
Federal Judge Dismisses Amber Heard’s Counterclaims In Defamation Coverage Dispute

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California issued a tentative ruling granting an insurer’s motion to dismiss Amber Heard’s breach of contract and bad faith counterclaims in the insurer’s declaratory judgment lawsuit alleging that it has no duty to defend or indemnify Heard against an underlying defamation judgment awarded to Johnny Depp.
March 10, 2023
Damages Claim Remains In Coverage Suit Over Faulty Breaker Installation

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California ruled that an insured has sufficiently pleaded its claim for punitive damages in a coverage dispute over its insurer’s refusal to indemnify the insurer in an underlying property damage lawsuit stemming from the sale and installation of defective circuit breakers under California law because, at this stage of the litigation, the insured is not required to show “with ‘clear and convincing evidence’” that the insurer acted with “‘oppression, fraud, or malice.’”
March 09, 2023
Fact Issue Exists As To Allocation Of Wrongful Death Settlement Among Insureds

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 8 held that a federal court erred in finding that an insured is jointly and severally liable for reimbursement of the $1 million that his insurer paid to settle an underlying wrongful death lawsuit, vacating and remanding.
March 08, 2023
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Spa Owners’ Coverage Suit Arising From Pandemic

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of spa owner insureds’ lawsuit seeking coverage for their losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that the insureds’ coverage argument is “squarely foreclosed” by its ruling in Mudpie, Inc. v. Travelers Casualty Insurance Co. of America and that the policies’ virus exclusion also bars coverage.
March 08, 2023
STD, LTD Benefits Claims Cannot Proceed Against Insurer, Judge Concludes

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Following a one-day bench trial in a disability benefits dispute, a California federal judge determined that claims for short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) benefits cannot proceed because the disability insurer was not responsible for paying STD benefit claims under the employer’s self-insured plan and because the disability claimant failed to exhaust all administrative remedies in connection with the LTD benefits claim.