Mealey's Insurance Pleadings
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February 22, 2024
Property Owner Sues Guaranty Association, Says Insolvent Insurer Didn’t Cover Loss
SANFORD, Fla. — A property owner on Feb. 16 filed a complaint in a Florida state court against the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), asserting that it has been statutorily “activated” to pay outstanding claims for a now-insolvent property insurer that was previously ordered into liquidation.
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February 21, 2024
Parties Seek Dismissal Of Federal Coverage Dispute Over Arbitration Proceeding
BOSTON — An insured and a private company management liability insurer asked a Massachusetts federal court on Feb. 15 to dismiss with prejudice their dispute over whether the insurer has a duty to defend its insured in an underlying arbitration proceeding alleging that it violated its fiduciary duty and breached an operating agreement.
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February 20, 2024
Marine Transportation Company, Insurer Settle Environmental Liability Coverage Suit
TACOMA, Wash. — An insured marine transportation company seeking coverage for environmental liabilities and defense costs incurred as a result of contamination allegedly caused by the insured’s operations settled its breach of contract and bad faith suit with its insurer, according to a notice of settlement filed by the parties in Washington federal court.
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February 15, 2024
Bid For Reconsideration On Third-Party Implied Indemnity Claim Is Disputed
JACKSON, Miss. — Domino’s Pizza LLC and related entities are seeking reconsideration of a ruling that a third-party claim for implied indemnity survives dismissal in a dispute involving a franchisee and commutation of reinsurance, and in an opposition brief, third-party plaintiffs tell a Mississippi federal court that this case differs from two the Domino’s entities cited.
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February 13, 2024
Subcontractor Dismisses Certain Claims In Worker Injury Coverage Dispute
NEW YORK — A subcontractor on Feb. 12 voluntarily dismissed with prejudice its claims against a property owner and a construction manager in the subcontractor’s lawsuit filed in a New York federal court seeking coverage for claims brought by two of its workers.
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February 12, 2024
Insureds File Suit, Seek Coverage For Costs Incurred To Remediate Riverbank
SAN FRANCISCO — Insureds filed suit against their umbrella liability insurer in California federal court, alleging that the insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith by relying on the policy’s pollution exclusion to deny coverage for costs incurred in remediating a riverbank.
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February 12, 2024
Insured Seeks Rehearing, Certification Of Questions In Opioid Coverage Dispute
SAN FRANCISCO — A prescription drug distributor insured on Feb. 9 asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling that there is no coverage owed for underlying lawsuits prompted by the opioid epidemic because the underlying claims “describe exclusively deliberate conduct,” arguing that a panel rehearing or rehearing en banc is warranted so the panel can certify two “undecided, critical questions of California law” to the California Supreme Court.
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February 12, 2024
Condo Association Says It Settled Hurricane Coverage Row With Guaranty Association
SANFORD, Fla. — A condominium association notified a Florida state court of its settlement with the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), the receiver for the now-insolvent commercial property insurer that the condo association sued seeking coverage for damage caused by Hurricane Irma.
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February 09, 2024
Insurer Petitions 9th Circuit For Panel Rehearing Of Pollution Exclusion Ruling
SAN FRANCISCO — A district court’s ruling that a pollution exclusion bars coverage for an underlying toxic exposure suit stemming from the cleanup of wildfire debris should be affirmed because a panel majority of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals failed to consider two applicable California appellate decisions before concluding that the insurer’s pollution exclusion does not apply to toxic dust, an insurer argues in its petition for panel rehearing.
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February 09, 2024
LTD Benefits Owed For Post-COVID-19 Syndrome, Claimant Says In Complaint
NEW YORK — A former regional sales manager filed suit in New York federal court, seeking a ruling that he is entitled to long-term disability (LTD) benefits for post-COVID-19 syndrome under a disability plan sponsored by his employer because the plan administrator’s denial of benefits was contrary to the weight of the medical and vocational evidence.
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February 08, 2024
Homeowners Tell 9th Circuit Insurer Wrongly Denied Coverage To Subcontractor
SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington incorrectly found that an insurer did not breach its duty to defend an insured subcontractor against homeowners’ construction defect claims, the homeowners tell the Ninth Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, calling the insurer’s alleged breach of the duty to defend “unreasonable, frivolous, and unfounded.”
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February 08, 2024
Disability Plan Says Lower Court Erred In Entering Judgment For Claimant
PHILADELPHIA — A district court’s judgment in favor of a disability claimant should be reversed because substantial evidence shows that the claimant did not meet her burden of proving that she was disabled from performing the duties of her own occupation following three ankle surgeries, the disability plan says in its appellant brief filed in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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February 07, 2024
Disability Claimant Says Insurer Fails To Show Policy Rider Is Clear, Unambiguous
SAN FRANCISCO — A disability insurer fails to show that a rider included in its disability income policy is not ambiguous and should be enforced, a disability claimant says, maintaining in his appellant reply brief filed in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a district court incorrectly interpreted the policy’s monthly benefit rider.
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February 06, 2024
Disability Insurer Breached Fiduciary Duty In Terminating Benefits, Claimant Says
DENVER — A disability insurer breached its fiduciary duty in terminating a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits because the insurer mischaracterized the claimant’s medical condition and failed to follow the plan’s guidelines and procedures in handling the claim, a disability claimant alleges in a complaint filed Feb. 5 in Colorado federal court.
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February 06, 2024
Disability Insurer Improperly Terminated Benefits, Claimant Alleges In Complaint
DENVER — A disability claimant alleges in a Feb. 5 complaint filed in Colorado federal court that a disability insurer acted improperly, arbitrarily and capriciously in terminating her long-term disability (LTD) benefits based on a finding that she was not disabled from performing the duties of any occupation.
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February 02, 2024
Insured Seeks Coverage For Claims It Violated BIPA By Using Biometric Time Clocks
CHICAGO — An insured filed a breach of contract lawsuit in an Illinois federal court, seeking a declaration as to coverage for an underlying putative class lawsuit alleging that it violated the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA) by using biometric time clocks to track employee working hours.
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January 31, 2024
Service Is Key Issue In Suit Against Reinsurer For Settlement Reimbursement
OMAHA, Neb. — Whether a Brazil-based reinsurer was properly served has become a key issue in a suit seeking reimbursement for a settlement reached with Montana regarding alleged asbestos exposure, with an insurer telling the Nebraska federal court in a reply brief that precedent supports its bid for default judgment.
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January 31, 2024
4th Circuit Hears $524M Guaranty Case Involving Reinsurance Agreement
RICHMOND, Va. — In oral argument before a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel, the issuer of a guaranty contended that a judgment against him enforcing an arbitration award for $524 million plus interest should be overturned, and a Puerto Rico-based insurer countered that the terms of the agreements in question and res judicata both support affirmation.
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January 31, 2024
Bermuda Entities Spar In 2nd Circuit Over Bid To Revive Arbitrator Bias Row
NEW YORK — Arguing in part that “[s]ubject matter jurisdiction could not be clearer,” a Bermuda-based reinsurer urged the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reject a bid to revive a case involving an arbitrator and two reinsurance contracts with a Bermuda-based insurer.
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January 31, 2024
Insurer Amends Complaint In Coverage Dispute Over State’s Suit Against Puppyland
TACOMA, Wash. — A commercial insurer amended its complaint seeking dismissal of the insureds’ counterclaims in its federal lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that its policy does not cover Washington’s unfair trade practices claims against Puppyland stores, reiterating its argument that it has no duty to defend or indemnify because the underlying claims arise out of conditions that are not covered or are specifically barred from coverage.
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January 30, 2024
Insurer Files Subrogation Suit Seeking $3M For Manufacturer’s Contamination Losses
PITTSBURGH — An insurer filed a subrogation suit on behalf of its sports nutrition snack manufacturer insured in a Pennsylvania court, seeking more than $3 million for the insured’s losses arising from its use of contaminated collagen in its manufacturing process.
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January 30, 2024
Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Chemical Explosion, Insurer Says
HOUSTON — No coverage is owed to an insured for underlying lawsuits stemming from an explosion following the release of toxic chemicals at an oil refinery because the insured failed to provide timely notice of the incident and the policy’s pollution exclusion precludes coverage, an excess liability insurer says in a complaint filed in Texas federal court.
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January 29, 2024
Judge Stays Deadlines Pending Mediation Of Directors And Officers Coverage Dispute
FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida granted a joint motion filed by primary and excess directors and officers liability insurers and a global medical device company insured to stay deadlines pending their mediation to resolve the insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for defense and settlement costs arising from an underlying False Claims Act lawsuit.
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January 29, 2024
Burger King Franchisee Seeks Coverage For Suit Alleging BIPA Violations
CHICAGO — A franchisee of the Burger King chain sued its umbrella insurer in Illinois federal court for breach of contract, seeking a declaration that the insurer has a duty to defend it against an underlying putative class lawsuit alleging that it violated the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act (BIPA).
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January 26, 2024
Washington High Court To Decide Whether Condo’s Water Damage Is Covered By Policy
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington Supreme Court heard arguments from an all-risk insurer seeking the reversal of an appeals court ruling that reversed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in the insurer’s favor in a coverage dispute stemming from condensation damage to a condominium’s roof, along with arguments from the condominium company that the reversal should be upheld.