Mealey's Insurance
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December 03, 2024
No Coverage Owed For Bacteria, Mold In Insureds’ Home, Federal Judge Says
LAKE CHARLES, La. — A homeowners insurer did not breach its contract or act in bad faith in refusing to provide coverage for bacteria, mold and contamination allegedly caused by hurricane damage because the policy clearly excludes coverage for contaminants and pollutants, a Louisiana federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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December 03, 2024
Following John’s Grill, Panel Affirms No Coverage Ruling In COVID-19 Suit
SAN DIEGO — Reconsidering its earlier holding in favor of a diner insured in light of John's Grill, Inc. v. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., a California appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s judgment in favor of an insurer in the diner’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its business losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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December 03, 2024
No Coverage Owed For Pollution Claims Under Excess Insurance Policy, Justice Says
NEW CITY, N.Y. — An insured is not entitled to coverage under an excess policy issued in 2008 because the insured did not seek coverage during the applicable policy period for underlying claims stemming from a 2009 pollution event, a New York justice said in granting a motion for summary judgment filed by two excess insurers.
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December 03, 2024
Numerous Fact Issues Exist In Pollution Liability Suit, N.J. Federal Judge Says
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge denied an insured’s motion for summary judgment and a pollution liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment after determining that questions of fact exist regarding whether the insurer was prejudiced by the insured’s failure to obtain the insurer’s consent before settling an underlying environmental contamination lawsuit and whether several of the policy’s exclusions apply as a bar to coverage.
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December 02, 2024
Insured Says Property Insurer Acted In Bad Faith In Handling Water Damage Claim
SEATTLE — An insured condominium owners association filed suit in Washington federal court, alleging that its property insurer acted in bad faith by failing to investigate and make a coverage decision regarding the association’s claim for hidden water damage discovered in condominium buildings maintained by the association.
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November 27, 2024
Chapter 11 Asbestos Debtor’s Settlement Protections Too Broad, U.S. Trustee Says
RICHMOND, Va. — Two settlements among new Chapter 11 debtor Hopeman Brothers Inc. and its insurers to help fund a trust to pay asbestos personal injury claims cannot be approved because the agreements purport to protect nondebtor third parties in violation of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the U.S. trustee tells a Virginia federal bankruptcy court in his objection to the deals.
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November 25, 2024
Judge Rejects Pollution Liability Insurer’s Objections; Suits Stays In Louisiana
LAFAYETTE, La. — A Louisiana federal judge adopted a federal magistrate judge’s report and recommendation to deny an insurer’s motion to transfer an environmental contamination coverage suit filed by insureds to Oklahoma federal court where a similar suit filed by the insurer is pending after rejecting the insurer’s objections to the report and recommendation.
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November 25, 2024
9th Circuit Panel Remands Environmental Suit For Allocation Of Defense Costs
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal remanded a district court’s ruling on the allocation of defense costs in an environmental contamination coverage suit after determining that the lower court must apportion the defense costs in accordance with Oregon law.
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November 25, 2024
7th Circuit Affirms Dismissal To Arbitration In Preclusion Row
CHICAGO — Saying that neither Morgan v. Sundance, Inc. nor Section 13 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) casts doubt on Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals precedent establishing “that the preclusive effect of an arbitral award is an issue for the arbitrator to decide, not a federal court,” a panel on Nov. 22 affirmed dismissal to arbitration of a lawsuit reinsurers filed over asbestos-related liabilities.
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November 22, 2024
COMMENTARY: 2024 Key Insurance Decisions, Trends & Developments & A Look Ahead To 2025
By Scott M. Seaman, Pedro E. Hernandez and Lisa M. Roccanova
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November 22, 2024
Insured Failed To Comply With Policy’s Notice, Warranty Provisions, Judge Says
SAN DIEGO — No coverage is owed to a hospital company insured under a pollution liability policy for remediation of mold discovered in the insured’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems because the insured failed to comply with the policy’s warranty and notice provisions, both of which are conditions precedent to coverage, a California federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment and denying the insured’s motion for summary judgment.
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November 21, 2024
Parties Settle Suit Related To Dust Emissions Stemming From Insured Facility
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — An insurer, its insured and other named defendants filed a joint stipulation of dismissal in Texas federal court after reaching a settlement of the insurer’s suit, which sought a declaration that no coverage is owed for an underlying class action stemming from dust emissions from the insured’s facility.
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November 21, 2024
Radioactive Materials Exclusion Clearly Bars Coverage, Insurers Maintain
CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should affirm a district court’s 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 the radioactive materials exclusion clearly bars coverage, the insurers say in their Nov. 20 appellee brief.
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November 19, 2024
Compelling Arbitration, Judge Says MOU Is ‘Closely Related’ To Reinsurance Contract
LOS ANGELES — Concluding that a 1984 memorandum of understanding (MOU) is “closely related to the reinsurance contract and not a completely separate agreement,” a California federal judge granted reinsurers’ motion to compel arbitration in a lawsuit over reinsurance billings arising from asbestos bodily injury claims.
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November 18, 2024
Insurer Says Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Chemical Injury Suits
RICHMOND, Va. — An insurer contends in a complaint filed in Virginia federal court that no coverage is owed to its insured for underlying suits alleging injuries caused by an influx of chlorine and muriatic acid into the insured homeowners association’s pool because the policy’s pollution exclusion bars coverage for the suits.
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November 18, 2024
Texas High Court Denies Insurer’s Petition For Review In Benzene Suit
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Nov. 15 denied an insurer’s petition for review, refusing to review a state 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.
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November 18, 2024
High Court Refuses To Review Duty-To-Defend Ruling In Chemical Exposure Suit
WASHINGTON D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 18 denied an insurer’s petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that an insurer has a duty to defend the insured for an underlying chemical exposure suit.
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November 18, 2024
Insured’s Snow-Damage Suit Remanded To State Court Based On Lack Of Diversity
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California federal judge remanded an insured’s suit to California state court after determining that complete diversity of citizenship does not exist based on the insured’s naming of an insurance agency as a defendant in a second amended complaint, which alleges breach of contract, bad faith and negligence claims based on the property insurer’s denial of coverage for the partial collapse of an insured building’s roof.
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November 13, 2024
Amicus Bid Is Contested In 6th Circuit Appeal Of Collateral Estoppel Ruling
CINCINNATI — A request for permission to file an amicus curiae brief in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has drawn a reinsurer’s opposition in the appeal of a ruling that collateral estoppel applies to a defense costs dispute concerning asbestos lawsuits and prior arbitration.
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November 12, 2024
Kentucky Panel Reverses Workers’ Comp Ruling In Asbestos Coverage Dispute
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed a decision by the Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Board and instructed the board to remand the dispute to an administrative law judge to determine which of two insurers should provide coverage to a workers’ compensation claimant who developed mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure while working at a Kentucky high school that contained asbestos.
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November 12, 2024
Pollution Liability Insurer Objects To Report, Says Suit Should Be Transferred
LAFAYETTE, La. — An insurer contends that a Louisiana federal magistrate’s report and recommendation should not be adopted because the magistrate judge incorrectly determined that a suit filed by insureds, who seeks coverage for an underlying contamination suit, should be transferred to Oklahoma federal court where a similar suit filed by the insurer is pending.
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November 12, 2024
Judge Denies Insurer’s Request To Transfer Silica Coverage Suit
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied an insurer’s motion to transfer an insured’s suit seeking coverage for underlying bodily injury suits arising out of silica dust exposure to Minnesota federal court where a similar suit filed by the insurer is pending because the insured’s California federal suit was filed prior to the insurer’s Minnesota suit.
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November 11, 2024
Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Chemical Exposure Suit, Judge Says
PORTLAND, Ore. — A commercial general liability insurer has no duty to defend or to contribute to the defense of its insured named in an underlying chemical exposure suit because the policies’ pollution exclusion bars coverage for the underlying suit, an Oregon federal judge said.
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November 06, 2024
7th Circuit Hears Argument On Arbitration Preclusion Dispute In Reinsurers’ Appeal
CHICAGO — In Nov. 5 oral argument before a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel concerning where disputes over the preclusive effect of prior arbitration are decided, reinsurers acknowledged that the reversal they seek would create a circuit split, while an insurer cited Smith v. Spizzirri in urging the court to vacate the challenged dismissal to arbitration in favor of a stay during arbitration.
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November 05, 2024
Validity Of Kaiser’s Bankruptcy Plan Debated On Remand From Supreme Court
RICHMOND, Va. — Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that the primary insurer of Chapter 11 asbestos debtors Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc. and Hanson Permanente Cement Inc. has standing to object to the debtors’ reorganization plan, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should uphold the insurer’s merits arguments and reverse confirmation of the plan, the insurer says in its Nov. 4 supplemental reply brief on remand from the high court.