Mealey's Insurance
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August 16, 2022
Insured Homeowners Association Says Coverage Owed For Hidden Damage
SEATTLE — A homeowners association alleges in an Aug. 5 complaint filed in Washington federal court that its insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith in denying coverage for hidden water damage in its condominium buildings.
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August 16, 2022
Insurer Says Single Occurrence Limit Must Be Applied To Underlying Asbestos Claims
PITTSBURGH — A single occurrence limit should be applied to underlying asbestos claims filed against an insured because Pennsylvania courts have consistently found that claims for bodily injury caused by exposure to an asbestos-containing product constitute a single occurrence, an insurer says in its Aug. 4 motion for summary judgment filed in Pennsylvania federal court.
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August 16, 2022
No Coverage Owed For Surface Or Flood Water Damage, Judge Says
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A homeowners insurer did not breach its contract or act in bad faith in denying an insured’s claim for water damage sustained in his home following a tropical storm because the policy’s exclusion for surface or flood water clearly bars coverage, a South Carolina federal judge said Aug. 8 in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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August 15, 2022
New Hampshire High Court Affirms Claim Deadline In Insolvent Insurer Liquidation
CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Aug. 12 affirmed a superior court’s approval of a claim amendment deadline in an insolvent insurer’s liquidation proceeding, finding that the superior court “acted within its discretion” in approving the claim amendment deadline because of the lengthy time the insurer has been in liquidation and because the insurer is not able ‘“to pay all policyholder claimants in full, and it will be unable to issue final disbursements to policyholder claimants until a claim amendment deadline is approved.”
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August 15, 2022
Mold Remediation Company’s Suit Against Homeowners Insurer Properly Dismissed
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A trial court properly dismissed a mold remediation company’s breach of contract suit against a homeowners insurer because the assignment of the insured’s rights under the insurance policy was not valid under Florida law, the Fourth District Florida Court of Appeal said Aug. 10.
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August 12, 2022
Parties In Reinsurance Row Note Stipulation, Seek Stay Pending Mediation Attempt
LOS ANGELES — Parties in a suit alleging breach of reinsurance contracts over billings for claims related to asbestos and other issues have negotiated a stipulation that “substantially narrows the range of disputes” and want the court to maintain its stay of all proceedings until Oct. 10 so they can attempt mediation, they told a California court in an Aug. 10 joint status report.
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August 12, 2022
4th Circuit Rejects Golden Corral Franchisor’s Appeal In Coronavirus Coverage Suit
RICHMOND, Va. — Finding “no reversible error,” the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 11 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of an insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and dismissal of Golden Corral Corp. and Golden Corral Franchising Systems’ bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for their financial losses arising from the suspension of their restaurant operations in response to the government orders prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
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August 08, 2022
Environmental Insurer Owes Defense To Insured Against Underlying Explosion Suits
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on Aug. 2 determined that an environmental premises insurer has a duty to defend its insured against bodily injury lawsuits arising out of an explosion caused when liquid waste in an insured trailer came into contact with an open flame because the liquid waste qualifies as a contaminant under the policy at issue.
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August 08, 2022
Pollution Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage For Underlying Chemical Exposure Suit
CHICAGO — A pollution exclusion does not bar coverage for an underlying chemical exposure lawsuit because the exclusion is ambiguous as to whether toxic emissions qualify as traditional environmental pollution and because the exclusion includes an exception providing coverage for sudden and accidental discharges, an Illinois federal judge said Aug. 3 in denying an insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and in granting the insureds’ motion for judgment on the pleadings.
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August 08, 2022
Judge Extends Stay Of CGL Insurers’ Suit Disputing Coverage For Surfside Collapse
BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland on Aug. 5 extended the stay of two commercial general liability insurers’ lawsuit disputing coverage for underlying lawsuits brought by victims of the June 24 partial collapse of a Surfside, Fla., condominium high-rise after the insurers reported that they “have been working diligently to finalize formal settlement documentation” and anticipate being able to file a notice of dismissal within 10 days.
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August 05, 2022
Judge Administratively Closes Mold, Water Damage Suit After Settlement Reached
DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas on July 19 administratively closed a coverage dispute stemming from The Travelers Lloyds Insurance Co.’s denial of coverage to a subcontractor for moisture and mold damages to a temporary building the subcontractor built for the U.S. government, noting that a mediator had advised the judge that the parties had agreed to settle their claims.
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August 05, 2022
Judge Grants Summary Judgment After Stay Lifted In Suit Against Insolvent Insurer
NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge on Aug. 3 granted summary judgment to a shipyard’s insurer in a wrongful death asbestos suit against numerous defendants, including the insurer and an insolvent insurer, finding the absence of “a triable issue” regarding the decedent’s presence at a shipyard when it was insured by the defendant insurer.
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August 04, 2022
Insurer’s Motion For Reconsideration Denied In Chemical Exposure Coverage Suit
ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York federal judge on Aug. 1 denied an insurer’s motion for reconsideration, rejecting the insurer’s argument that an underlying bodily injury lawsuit arising out of the exposure to ethylene oxide fumes does not allege an occurrence under the applicable policy.
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August 02, 2022
No Coverage Owed For Underlying Environmental Lawsuit, Federal Judge Says
CLEVELAND — A commercial general liability insurer has no duty to defend its insured against an underlying environmental contamination suit because the policies at issue bar coverage for property damage claims that were in progress before the start date of coverage, an Ohio federal judge said July 25 in denying the insured’s motion for summary judgment and in granting the insurer’s motion.
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August 01, 2022
Coronavirus Is Not A Pollution Condition, Insurer Tells 4th Circuit
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A district court properly found that no coverage is owed to insureds for business interruption losses sustained as a result of the coronavirus because the virus does not qualify as a pollution condition under the premises pollution liability policy, the insurer maintains in a July 27 appellee brief filed in the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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August 01, 2022
Bacteria Exclusion Precludes Coverage For Injury Caused By Contact With Raw Sewage
BOSTON — An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify its insureds for an underlying bodily injury suit stemming from contact with raw sewage because the suit clearly falls within the policy’s bacteria exclusion, a Massachusetts federal judge said July 29 in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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July 28, 2022
Coverage Owed By Insurer For Contamination Claims, Other Insurer Contends
SEATTLE — An insurer has a duty to provide coverage to its insured for environmental contamination claims and to reimburse one of the insured’s other insurers for costs paid toward the environmental contamination claims, the other insurer claims in a July 26 complaint filed in Washington federal court.
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July 27, 2022
4th Circuit Delays Dismissal Bid To Consider Insurer’s Plan Confirmation Appeal
RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 26 said it will hold off on considering a motion by Chapter 11 debtors Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc. and Hanson Permanente Cement Inc. to dismiss an appeal by their primary asbestos insurer of the confirmation of the debtors’ plan of reorganization “pending review of the appeal on the merits.”
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July 27, 2022
CGL Policy’s Business Description Does Not Include Contractor’s Work Performed
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky on July 26 ruled that because a subcontractor’s application of an anti-microbial solution that led to water leaks in CPVC sprinkler pipes and fittings did not constitute “painting” under the subcontractor’s commercial general liability policy, the subcontractor’s actions do not fall within the necessary business description included in the policy and “any resulting claim is not covered under the policy,” awarding two insurance defendants summary judgment.
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July 27, 2022
Federal Judge Issues Latest Dismissal Order In Asbestos Liability Suit
NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge on July 22 issued an order granting a joint motion to dismiss Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., an alleged insurer of a defendant in an asbestos liability suit and the latest party to be dismissed after the stay of insolvency of another insurer was lifted.