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Mealey's Insurance

  • October 19, 2018

    Bankruptcy Judge Sets Deadlines In Rapid-American Insurance Coverage Row

    NEW YORK — The parties in an adversary proceeding filed in the Chapter 11 case of Rapid-American Corp. over insurance coverage for asbestos personal injury claims have until January to iron out their discovery disputes, according to a New York federal bankruptcy judge’s Sept. 27 scheduling order (Rapid-American Corporation, et al. v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, et al., No. 15-01095, S.D. N.Y. Bkcy.).

  • October 19, 2018

    No Duty To Indemnify Construction Defects Case, Insurer Contends

    LOS ANGELES — In an Oct. 11 complaint filed in a California federal court, an insurer argues that it has no duty to defend or indemnify a contractor and subcontractor because a total pollution exclusion and a professional liability exclusion bar coverage for an underlying construction defects case (Houston Casualty Co. v. Rosebud Ventures LLC, et al., No. 18-8777, C.D. Calif.).

  • October 19, 2018

    Texas Federal Judge Orders Insurer To Pay Post-Judgment Interest

    WICHITA FALLS, Texas — A Texas federal judge on Oct. 18 ordered an excess insurer to pay more than $157,000 in post-judgment interest to class plaintiffs who successfully litigated their claim that the insurer owes coverage for the negligent conduct of an insured caused by the manufacture and distribution of a vitamin E supplement (Victoria Klein, et al. v. Federal Insurance Co., et al., No. 03-102, N.D. Texas, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179104).

  • October 17, 2018

    Pennsylvania High Court Denies Review Of Expenses Under Reinsurance Certificates

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Oct. 15 declined to review a lower court’s ruling that reinsurance facultative certificates covered defense expenses in excess of a liability cap and that insurers were entitled to interest on certain proofs of loss for asbestos claims issued before 2013 (Century Indemnity Co. v. OneBeacon Insurance Co., No. 68 EM 2018, Pa. Sup., 2018 Pa. LEXIS 5398).

  • October 17, 2018

    10th Circuit Says Air Exclusion Is Ambiguous, Coverage Owed To Insured

    DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 reversed and remanded a district court’s ruling in favor of an insurer after determining that an indoor air exclusion is ambiguous and should be construed in favor of the insured hotel seeking coverage for underlying carbon monoxide poisoning claims (Siloam Springs Hotel LLC v. Century Surety Company, No. 17-6208, 10th Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 29013).

  • October 16, 2018

    Insured Seeks Coverage For Sugar Contaminated By Excess Chlorine In Water

    BOISE, Idaho — An insured claims in an Oct. 15 complaint filed in Idaho federal court that its insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith by denying coverage for the contamination of the insured’s sugar caused by an excess of chlorine contained in the water used to liquefy the sugar for the insured’s customers (The Amalgamated Sugar Co. LLC v. The Cincinnati Insurance Co., No. 18-448, D. Idaho).

  • October 16, 2018

    Issue Of Fact Exists On Insured’s Notice Of Environmental Claims

    LAFAYETTE, Ind. — An Indiana federal magistrate judge on Oct. 5 denied an insured’s motion for summary judgment on the duty to defend and indemnify in an environmental liability coverage suit after determining that an issue of fact exists as to whether the insured’s notice of the underlying environmental liability claims was timely pursuant to the policies at issue (Landis+Gyr, et al. v. Zurich American Insurance Co., No. 16-82, N.D. Ind., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173197).

  • October 15, 2018

    Panel Says Transfer Order In Water Damage Suit Cannot Be Reviewed On Appeal

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a rehearing, the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 12 determined that it lacks jurisdiction to consider whether a suit was properly transferred, but affirmed its original ruling that an insurer has no duty to cover water and mold damages in an insureds’ beach house because the insureds left the home for more than 72 hours and failed to turn off the water supply to the home as required by the policy (Vasilli Katopothis, et al. v. Windsor-Mount Joy Mutual Insurance Co., et. al., No. 16-7132, D.C. Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 28739).

  • October 12, 2018

    Insureds Cannot Recover Emotional Distress Damages, Federal Magistrate Judge Says

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Insureds are not entitled to recover emotional distress damages as a result of an insurer’s alleged bad faith handling of their claim for water damages because the insureds suffered no physical injury that would entitle them to such damages under New Mexico law, a New Mexico federal judge said Oct. 10 (Hector Fava, et al. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Corp., No. 17-456, D. N.M., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175153).

  • October 11, 2018

    Claims Trimmed In Insurance Bad Faith Suit Over Sinkhole Coverage

    TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey on Oct. 9 ruled that insureds in a homeowners insurance dispute failed to show that their insurer acted in bad faith in denying their claim for coverage because the insurer relied on information provided by two engineers showing that property damage to the home was not covered under the insurance policy (Natalie Orban, et al. v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co., No. 16-3050, D. N.J., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173212).

  • October 10, 2018

    Subcontractor’s Faulty Work Is Not Covered By CGL Policy, Ohio High Court Says

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Oct. 9 that a commercial general liability insurer has no duty to defend a contractor against a university’s lawsuit because subcontractor faulty workmanship is not fortuitous and does not meet the definition of an “occurrence” (Ohio Northern University v. Charles Construction Services Inc. v. The Cincinnati Insurance Co., No. 2017-0514, Ohio Sup., 2018 Ohio LEXIS 2375).

  • October 10, 2018

    Insurer’s Contribution Claim Survives; Contractual Indemnity Claim Is Dismissed

    DENVER — An insurer’s contractual indemnity claim against a contractor survived dismissal; however, a Colorado federal judge held Sept. 27 that the insurer’s contribution claim is barred under a settlement release regarding damages from a collapse (Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Co., et al. v. RStart LLC, No. 18-00478 c/w 18-00564, D. Colo., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166429).

  • October 9, 2018

    Insured Files Complaint, Says Excess Insurer Owes Coverage For Asbestos Claims

    ERIE, Pa. — An excess insurer should be ordered to defend an insured in underlying asbestos bodily injury suits because the underlying primary policies are exhausted, an insured claims in an Oct. 3 complaint filed in Pennsylvania federal court (Zurn Industries LLC v. Allstate Insurance Co. et al., No. 18-299, W.D. Pa.).

  • October 8, 2018

    No Coverage Owed For Combustible Explosion At Oil Refinery, Judge Says

    LONDON, Ky. — No coverage is owed to an insured for an explosion at an oil refinery because the policy at issue clearly excludes coverage for combustible explosions, a Kentucky federal judge said Oct. 4 in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment (Continental Refining Co. LLC v. The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co., No. 17-74, E.D. Ky., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171772).

  • October 8, 2018

    Judge: Defense Owed For Mold, Water Damages From Insured’s Faulty Installation

    MIAMI — An insurer has a duty to defend mold and water damages caused by an insured’s negligent installation of windows, a Florida federal judge held Oct. 5, adopting a magistrate’s recommendation to deny summary judgment to the insurer (National Builders Insurance Co. v. RQ Building Products Inc., et al., No. 17-61474, S.D. Fla., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172705).

  • October 8, 2018

    2nd Circuit: No Insurance For Damage Caused By Collapse, Cracking

    NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 5 affirmed that an insured home’s foundation damage was not covered because the policy excludes coverage for a collapse that was caused by cracking based upon the use of faulty materials (Geung-Ho Kim, et al. v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Insurance Co., No. 17-2304, 2nd Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 28300).

  • October 8, 2018

    Bad Faith Claim Against Insurer’s Parent Company Cannot Survive, Judge Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — An insured’s bad faith claim cannot be sustained against the parent company of a homeowners insurer because the insured failed to prove that the parent company acted in bad faith in the handling of her claim for water damages, a California federal judge said Oct. 3 (Tam Vu v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., et al., No. 18-3594, N.D. Calif., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171347).

  • October 5, 2018

    Judge Denies Remand Of Defective Drywall Suit, Finds Insurer Improperly Joined

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana on Oct. 3 denied a couple’s motion to remand their lawsuit seeking damages for Chinese-made drywall that was installed in their home following Hurricane Katrina, finding that they improperly joined their insurer as a defendant (Cedric Richmond, et al. v. National Gypsum Services Co., No. 17-7453, E.D. La., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170814).

  • October 3, 2018

    Judge: Some Defective Construction Is Covered Under Insurance Policies

    GREENVILLE, S.C. — Because some damages arising out of construction defects are covered by commercial general liability insurance policies and because insurers did not effectively reserve their right to contest coverage, a South Carolina federal judge on Sept. 28 granted summary judgment to a condominium association (Stoneledge at Lake Keowee Owners Association Inc. v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., et al., No. 14-01906, D. S.C., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167792).

  • October 2, 2018

    Insurer Is Entitled To Reimbursement For Excess Settlement Payment

    JACKSON, Miss. — An insurer is entitled to reimbursement of almost $300,000 from another insurer because the insurer seeking contribution paid more than its allocated share to settle an underlying silica exposure lawsuit after the other insurer refused to contribute anything more than the remainder of one of its policy limits, a Mississippi federal judge said Sept. 29 (Union Insurance Co. v. The Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut, et al., No. 09-283, S.D. Miss., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168645).