Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

August 09, 2024
California High Court Reverses Ruling In Insured’s Favor In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court on Aug. 8 reversed an appeals court’s ruling in favor of a San Francisco restaurant owner insured in a coverage dispute arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the lower court erred by declining to enforce the specified cause of loss limitation under the policy’s “Limited Fungi, Bacteria or Virus Coverage” endorsement.
August 09, 2024
11th Circuit Affirms $557,500 Judgment In Favor Of Contractor’s Assignee

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s $557,500 summary judgment in favor of a contractor insured’s assignee in his lawsuit seeking coverage for damage that he incurred as a result of the insured’s misconduct.
August 08, 2024
7th Circuit Reverses Ruling In Broker’s Favor In Insurer’s Indemnification Suit

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurance broker in an insurer’s lawsuit seeking indemnification for its settlement of an underlying personal injury lawsuit brought against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a former player, finding that the insurer was not required to provide the broker a tender of defense as a condition precedent to indemnification for settlements with potential liability.
August 07, 2024
Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Bad Faith Suit Prompted By Pandemic

NEW ORLEANS — Bound by its ruling in Baylor Scott & White Holdings v. Factory Mut. Ins. Co., the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 6 affirmed a federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insured in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 07, 2024
Panel Affirms Denial Of Insurer’s Motion Seeking Arbitration In $1.6M Coverage Suit

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s denial of an insurer’s motion to compel arbitration in a coverage dispute over a $1.6 million settlement of an underlying personal injury lawsuit brought against a massage therapist.
August 07, 2024
Delaware Judge Dismisses 1 Excess Insurer From D&O Coverage Dispute

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware judge dismissed an excess insurer from an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking directors and officers and entity securities liability insurance coverage for an underlying appraisal action.
August 07, 2024
Connecticut Judge: Board Exclusion Bars Coverage For Disability Discrimination Suit

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut judge granted summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a Connecticut town’s lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying disability discrimination action brought by a former member of the town’s board of education, finding that the policy board exclusion bars Public Entity Management Liability and Public Entity Employment-Related Practices Liability coverage and the discrimination and employment-related practices exclusions bar the policy’s commercial general liability coverage.
August 06, 2024
No Coverage Owed For Defective Work Claims, Pennsylvania Panel Affirms

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania Superior Court panel on Aug. 5 found that faulty workmanship claims against an insured are not an occurrence to trigger coverage under its contractors general insurance policy, affirming a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurer on its counterclaim that it has no duty to defend or indemnify.
August 06, 2024
Parties Dispute ‘Insurrection,’ Other Issues In Post-Trial Appeal Of Oil Seizure Row

NEW YORK — A partial summary judgment ruling, judicial notice and a jury instruction on causation are all at issue in a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals case filed by reinsurers who were ordered to pay CITGO Petroleum Corp. more than $72.5 million in a suit stemming from the February 2020 seizure of crude oil at a Venezuelan port and involving a marine cargo reinsurance policy.
August 05, 2024
No Automobile Coverage Owed For HPV Transmission, 8th Circuit Affirms

ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 2 affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an automobile insurer in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying claim that the insured transmitted anogenital human papillomavirus (HPV) through sexual activity in his automobile, concluding that the underlying injuries did not "arise out of the use” of the automobile.
August 05, 2024
Connecticut Judge: No Professional Liability Coverage Owed For Malpractice Suit

DANBURY, Conn. — A Connecticut judge granted a professional liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a law firm insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying legal malpractice action, finding that the insurer has established that there is no genuine issue of material fact regarding the basis of its coverage denial.
August 02, 2024
No E&O Coverage Exists For Trade Secret Judgment, 11th Circuit Affirms

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 1 held that no coverage exists under a “Sponsored Insurance Agents Errors and Omissions Liability” insurance policy for a $552,677.61 judgment for misappropriation of trade secrets, affirming a lower federal court summary judgment in favor of the insurer in a writ of garnishment action seeking to collecting the judgment.
August 01, 2024
Judge: Drug Distributor Failed To Establish Potential Coverage For Opioid Suits

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California held that a prescription drug distributor insured failed to establish that five insurance policies spanning 1999-2004 have any potential to cover underlying opioid lawsuits because the lawsuits fail to allege an accident that caused the purported bodily injury, denying the insured’s motion for partial summary judgment.
August 01, 2024
Magistrate Grants Continuance For Status Conference In D&O Insurers’ Coverage Row

INDIANAPOLIS — Finding “good cause,” an Indiana federal magistrate judge granted defendant insurers’ motion for a continuance of a status conference in a suit filed against them by an insurer now in rehabilitation, seeking a declaration that specified directors and officers (D&O) policies apply to cover claims in underlying litigation.
July 31, 2024
9th Circuit Reverses Judgment In Insurance Row Over Application Misrepresentation

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a district court’s grant of summary judgment to insurers in their insureds’ suit seeking coverage for expenses in defending another suit regarding fraud-based claims, finding that the district court erred in applying Nevada law, rather than Texas law, and that pursuant to Texas law, reversal is required because material facts remain in dispute regarding alleged material misrepresentations in the insureds’ application for policy renewal.
July 26, 2024
COMMENTARY: Cyber War Exclusions

By Peter A. Halprin and Brittany Parks
July 31, 2024
Panel Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insureds In Coverage Suit Over Worker Injury

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of a building owner and general contractor in their lawsuit seeking a declaration that a subcontractor’s general liability insurer has a duty to defend them against an underlying lawsuit arising from a worker injury, rejecting the insurer’s assertion that it was not required to provide timely notice to the insureds of its denial of coverage because their insurer was the real party in interest.
July 31, 2024
Wyoming High Court Accepts Certified Question In Negligence Suit Against Engineer

CHEYENNE, Wyo. —The Wyoming Supreme Court has agreed to answer a certified question from the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a subrogated homeowners insurer’s appeal of a Wyoming federal court’s ruling that its claim against an engineering firm that designed a home’s plumbing is time-barred by the two-year statute of limitations for professional negligence claims.
July 31, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek Reargument In Coverage Dispute Over Earplug Liability Claims

WILMINGTON, Del. — Plaintiffs seeks reargument of a Delaware judge’s ruling in favor of liability insurers in their lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying earplug product liability multidistrict litigation that resulted in a $6 billion settlement and millions of dollars of defense costs, challenging the judge’s finding that they have failed to demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact regarding their satisfaction of the self-insured retention under any of the insurance policies.
July 31, 2024
Insurer Has Duty To Indemnify Construction Company, 2nd Circuit Affirms

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined that an insurer has a duty to indemnify its construction company insured against underlying personal injury and property damage lawsuits, affirming a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling against the insurer.
July 31, 2024
Judge Denies Insurers’ Motion For Judgment On The Pleadings To Conserve Resources

MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida denied insurers’ motion for judgment on the pleadings to conserve judicial resources in a 7-Eleven store’s declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking general liability and liquor liability coverage for a customer’s underlying bodily injury action alleging that a 7-Eleven employee physically struck him numerous times, finding that it is appropriate to decide only their motion for summary judgment.
July 30, 2024
Health System Seeks Rehearing Of Dismissal Of $192M Coronavirus Coverage Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — Texas’ largest nonprofit health system filed a petition seeking rehearing en banc of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ majority opinion that affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of its commercial property insurer in its lawsuit seeking coverage for $192 million in business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus.
July 30, 2024
Insured Appeals Take-Nothing Judgment In Coverage Dispute Over Wrongful Termination

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — An insured filed a notice in a Florida federal court indicating that he is asking the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review a take-nothing judgment in favor of a primary insurer in his lawsuit seeking coverage under a professional liability, directors and officer's liability and fiduciary liability insurance policy for underlying claims that he was wrongfully terminated by his former employer.
July 29, 2024
2nd Circuit Reverses Court’s Dismissal Of New York’s Suit Against CGL Insurer

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower federal court’s dismissal of the city of New York’s lawsuit seeking commercial general liability coverage for an underlying negligence lawsuit brought by Consolidated Edison Corporation of New York, finding that the insurer failed to provide an adequate explanation for the change in its litigation position and for its “markedly inconsistent factual statements” as to the location of its business.
July 29, 2024
Broker’s Application For Reargument Is ‘Theatrical Rhetoric,’ Insured Argues

PHILADELPHIA — An insured answered an insurance broker’s application seeking reargument after a Pennsylvania appellate panel affirmed a lower court’s ruling that denied the broker’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict in a coverage dispute arising from an injury from a slip and fall, asserting that the broker’s application for reargument “ignores the standard of review” governing the broker’s appeal and the appellate panel’s decision.