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Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

  • March 24, 2026

    Coverage Suit Arising From Tubbs Fire Was Not Timely Filed, 9th Circuit Affirms

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 23 held that an insured failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether she timely filed her lawsuit seeking coverage for her alleged loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal belongings that were destroyed by the Tubbs Fire in October 2017, affirming a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurers in her five-year-old pro se lawsuit alleging claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, misrepresentation, emotional distress and violations of the Unruh Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and California Business and Professions Code Section 17200.

  • March 24, 2026

    Federal Judge Denies WYO Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss Flood Damage Coverage Dispute

    BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana denied a Write-Your-Own insurer’s motion to dismiss as untimely an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for flood damage to its long-term residential rental property, concluding that the insured has established that there is sufficient identity of interests between the insurer and the Federal Emergency Management Agency such that notice on FEMA constitutes notice on the insurer.

  • March 24, 2026

    Judge: Experts Can Opine On Roof Damage In Hurricane Ian Insurance Claim Dispute

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Florida federal judge rejected arguments from an insurance company that three experts retained by an insured to testify on a policy claim dispute are inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Fed. R. Evid. 702, and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.

  • March 23, 2026

    Judge: ‘Unique,’ ‘Compelling Circumstances’ Warrant Action In 20-Year-Plus MDL

    NEW YORK — In a multidistrict litigation that has spanned more than 20 years, a federal judge in New York adopted a magistrate’s report recommending that the court deny without prejudice the plaintiffs’ outstanding requests for additional damages in their lawsuit alleging that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism that provided material support to Al Qaeda for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; certify all of the default judgments against Iran as final judgments nunc pro tunc to their filing date; and immediately process the requests to certify the judgments against Iran for registration in another New York district court where the U.S. government has recently seized more than $11 billion in Bitcoin and related proceeds that are allegedly assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

  • March 19, 2026

    Federal Judge Severs Bad Faith Claim, Enters $9.8M Judgment In Favor Of Insured

    PANAMA CITY, Fla. — To correct a “procedural conundrum” indicated by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals while ruling on an insurer’s petition for writ of mandamus challenging an order requiring it to produce discovery on an insured’s bad faith claim, a federal judge in Florida severed a bad faith claim from a breach of contract claim in a Hurricane Michael coverage dispute and entered a $9,817,232.97 final judgment in favor of the insured on the breach of contract claim so the severed claims can proceed as their own separate lawsuits and result in separate final judgments from which appeals may be filed.

  • March 18, 2026

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss Restaurants’ Amended Complaint In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

    DURHAM, N.C. — Three months after granting a commercial property insurer’s motion to dismiss claims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair and deceptive trade practices brought by four Durham restaurants seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, a federal judge in North Carolina denied the insurer’s motion to dismiss the insureds’ amended complaint because it now includes facts that make the claims plausible to the extent that they are based on the insurer’s conduct since the North Carolina Supreme Court’s ruling in N. State Deli, LLC v. Cincinnati Ins. Co.

  • March 12, 2026

    5th Circuit Finds No Error In Lower Court’s Refusal To Consider Expert Affidavit

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Texas federal judge’s ruling that breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged against a homeowners insurer in a dispute over coverage for water damage must be dismissed because the lower court did not err in failing to consider a late-filed affidavit by the insureds’ public adjuster.

  • March 11, 2026

    Insureds’ Breach Of Contract Suit Untimely, Magistrate Says In Hurricane Ian Dispute

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal magistrate judge in Florida on March 10 granted an insurer’s unopposed motion for summary judgment in its insureds’ breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for Hurricane Ian flood damage, holding that the “simple and unforgiving” math indicates that the insureds failed to file their suit within the one-year jurisdictional deadline and failed to submit a sworn proof of loss.

  • March 10, 2026

    California DOI, Insurer Reach Agreement In Rate Increase Hearing Proceeding

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Insurance, Consumer Watchdog and State Farm General Insurance Co. reached a three-party settlement agreement in a full-rate hearing proceeding to review the insurer’s emergency interim rate increase following the Palisades and Eaton wildfires.  In a news release, the department says the deal “will provide financial relief to many policyholders while ensuring continued coverage for State Farm policyholders while California’s insurance market stabilizes.”

  • March 09, 2026

    Louisiana High Court Affirms Prescriptive Denial In Hurricane Coverage Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Supreme Court on March 6 affirmed and remanded to a trial court an appellate court’s denial of an exception of prescription sought by the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) as purported guarantor for a now-insolvent insurer in an insurance coverage dispute over purported damages from Hurricane Ida, finding that because the insurer made an unconditional payment on its insureds’ claims, which interrupted the prescriptive period, the insureds’ complaint was timely.

  • March 06, 2026

    Federal Judge Remands Hail, Windstorm Coverage Dispute To Oklahoma State Court

    OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge in Oklahoma granted insureds’ motion to remand their coverage lawsuit against their insurer and agent arising from hail and windstorm damage to their home, holding that the insurer has failed to satisfy the high burden required to establish that the agent was fraudulently joined and noting that the court has already found remand appropriate in cases that are “remarkably similar.”

  • March 06, 2026

    Judge Tosses Insureds’ Tortious Interference Claims In Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York granted in part and denied in part insurers’ motion to dismiss Long Island City insureds’ coverage lawsuit arising from damage caused by Hurricane Ida, holding that the insureds’ breach of contract claims can proceed against three insurers but the tortious interference claims must be dismissed.

  • February 26, 2026

    Panel Refuses To Revisit Dismissal Of ‘Frivolous’ Appeal In Hurricane Coverage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 25 denied an insured’s invitation to reconsider its rejection of pro se insureds’ “frivolous” appeal of a lower federal court’s dismissal of their lawsuit seeking coverage for flood and property damages caused by hurricanes Zeta and Ida.

  • February 25, 2026

    Response To Payment Order Filed In Appeal Of Verdict For Guaranty Association

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In a hurricane coverage dispute, a homeowner filed a response to a court order requiring payment of a filing fee in her appeal to a Florida appellate court of a jury verdict and final judgment for the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association.

  • February 25, 2026

    5th Circuit Refuses To Reconsider Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Coverage Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 24 denied an insured’s petition to reconsider its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit, standing by its ruling that the insured failed to provide evidence suggesting that hail occurred within the relevant policy period and, as a result, did not establish a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether covered damage occurred.

  • February 25, 2026

    Judge: No Reasonably Clear Evidence Of Bad Faith In Hurricane Beryl Coverage Suit

    HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas granted an insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment as to the insured’s claim that it violated Texas Insurance Code Chapter 541 when it underpaid a claim for property damage that was caused by Hurricane Beryl, concluding that there is no “reasonably clear” evidence that the insurer acted in bad faith.

  • February 25, 2026

    6th Circuit Partly Vacates Class Certification Order In Tornado Coverage Dispute

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals partly vacated a lower federal court’s order on class certification in a coverage dispute arising from tornado damage to a Nashville-based church insured’s two properties, holding that the insured has standing to represent class members whose claims are governed by the state laws other than Tennessee and that the lower court abused its discretion by failing to conduct an Erie R. Co. v. Thompkins analysis with respect to five of the 10 states involved in the putative class action.

  • February 25, 2026

    Judge Orders Virgin Islands Property Owners To Submit To Appraisal Of Maria Damage

    KINGSHILL, St. Croix— A Virgin Islands judge granted an insurer’s motion to compel property owners to submit to an appraisal of their damage caused by Hurricane Maria after finding that the insurer timely invoked the appraisal procedure, rejecting the insureds’ “novel issue” that 22 Virgin Island Code Section 228(a) precludes the insurer’s appraisal demand.

  • February 23, 2026

    4th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insured’s Favor In Suit Over Snowstorm Roof Damage

    RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that the record does not indicate that the only finding that a reasonable jury could have reached was one in favor of an insurer in a breach of contract lawsuit arising from the insured’s roof damage caused by a snowstorm, concluding that the insurer’s arguments on appeal “fall short of that high bar.”

  • February 20, 2026

    Oklahoma Law Bars Arbitration Of Storm Damage Insurance Dispute, Judge Says

    OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma federal judge denied a group of insurers’ motion to compel arbitration of a dispute over an insured’s claim for storm damage to a commercial property under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention), opining that Oklahoma state law reverse-preempts the convention and bars arbitration of this type of insurance dispute.

  • February 19, 2026

    Hawai’i High Court: Insurers Cannot Intervene In Wildfire Class Action Settlement

    HONOLULU — The Hawai’i Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s order denying subrogating insurers’ motion to intervene in class action settlement proceedings that resulted in a $4.03 billion aggregate “global settlement” in favor of individual plaintiffs affected by the Lahaina wildfire, relying on an In re Maui Fire Cases holding that the insurers’ sole remedy is a lien on the settlement when the insureds settle with defendants and noting that adopting the subrogating insurers’ argument “would  functionally eliminate mass tort class settlements.”

  • February 18, 2026

    Policy’s Windstorm Deductible Applies To Tornado, Texas High Court Rules, Reverses

    AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court held that a homeowners insurance policy’s windstorm deductible applies to the insureds’ damage that was caused by a tornado, reversing an appeals court majority’s judgment and reinstating the trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer after holding that “all authorities indicate the obvious: not all windstorms contain tornadoes, but all tornadoes are windstorms, regardless of whether the broader weather event includes precipitation.”

  • February 11, 2026

    Panel Affirms Judgment In Insurer’s Favor In Bad Faith Suit Arising From Hurricane

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 10 affirmed a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of an insurer in Louisiana insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from Hurricane Ida damage, rejecting the insureds’ argument that the lower court reversibly erred in excluding both evidence of the insureds’ appraisal award amount and the appraiser’s position regarding the value of their damages.

  • February 11, 2026

    Insureds’ Assignment Of Benefits Does Not Violate Florida Statute, Panel Rules

    MIAMI — A Florida appeals panel concluded that a lower court erred in holding that homeowners’ assignment of benefits to a provider of post-loss water mitigation services for their Hurricane Ian damage violated Florida Statutes Section 627.7152(7), reversing the lower court dismissal of the assignee’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking payment of its invoice from the homeowners’ insurer.

  • February 10, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Class Allegations In Suit Against California Fair Plan Association

    LOS ANGELES — Noting that good cause has been shown, a California judge granted an insured’s motion to dismiss without prejudice class allegations in the insured’s lawsuit alleging that the California Fair Plan Association (CFP) issued property insurance policies with fire coverage that is unlawfully restrictive as to smoke damage claims.