Mealey's Catastrophic Loss
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February 23, 2023
New Jersey Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Dry Cleaners’ COVID-19 Coverage Suit
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appeals court panel on Feb. 22 affirmed dismissal of a dry cleaner insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for its alleged business interruption losses arising from the governmental orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, finding that the lower court properly found that the virus policy exclusion and a “loss of use or loss of market” exclusion barred coverage.
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February 22, 2023
Umpire, Insureds’ Appraiser ‘Exceeded Their Powers,’ Hawaii Panel Says In Reversal
HONOLULU — A Hawaii appeals court held that insureds’ appraiser and an umpire “exceeded their powers” by determining what amounts an insurer owed to the insureds rather than appraising the value of the insureds’ wildfire loss, reversing the lower court’s orders that granted the insureds’ motion to confirm appraisal and denied the insurer’s motion to vacate the appraisal awards and remanding for further proceedings.
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February 21, 2023
Chocolate Company Appeals Ruling In Coverage Suit Arising From Superstorm Sandy
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A chocolate company insured filed a notice of appeal challenging a New York federal court’s take-nothing judgment and denial of its renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and motion for a new trial in a Superstorm Sandy coverage dispute.
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February 16, 2023
N.J. Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Rita’s Water Ice Owners’ Coronavirus Coverage Suit
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s grant of an insurer’s motion to dismiss a declaratory judgment lawsuit brought by the owner of three Rita’s Water Ice businesses, finding that the insureds did not incur any damage that rendered their premises inoperable.
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February 16, 2023
Virus Exclusion Bars Coverage For Retailers’ COVID-19 Losses, 9th Circuit Affirms
PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 15 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of a property insurer in retailers’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for their losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that the virus exclusion bars coverage because the insureds have failed to assert “that the efficient cause of their losses was anything other than the spread of COVID-19.”
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February 15, 2023
Late Motion To Exclude Expert Allowed But Fails In Insurance Coverage Spat
DALLAS — An insurer in a storm damage coverage suit was allowed to file a late motion but lost its bid to exclude a property owner’s expert when a Texas federal judge found his testimony reliable and helpful; the judge also denied most of its motion for summary judgment.
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February 13, 2023
Florida Majority: Public Adjusting Firm’s President Not ‘Disinterested’ Appraiser
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A majority of the Florida Supreme Court held that the president of an insured’s public adjusting firm cannot subsequently serve as the insured’s “disinterested” appraiser under the language of an insurance policy, finding that the appraiser cannot be “disinterested” if his firm is to be compensated with a contingency fee for its public adjuster services.
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February 13, 2023
Texas High Court Refuses To Disturb Ruling In Agent’s Favor In Harvey Coverage Suit
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Feb. 10 denied an insureds’ motion to reconsider its refusal to review an appeals court’s ruling in favor of an insurance agent in the insureds’ negligence lawsuit seeking to recover their losses caused by Hurricane Harvey.
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February 10, 2023
Dismissal Of Madison Square Garden’s Claims In COVID-19 Coverage Suit Affirmed
NEW YORK — A New York appeals court on Feb. 9 affirmed a lower court’s partial dismissal of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. and related entities’ coverage lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that the insureds failed to assert physical damage or loss to trigger coverage.
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February 09, 2023
Guaranty Association Intervention Denied In Hurricane Coverage Suit
LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge denied the Louisiana Guaranty Association’s (LIGA) motion to intervene as a statutory obliger in a bad faith insurance coverage suit filed against a homeowners insurer over purported hurricane damages, finding that though LIGA claims that it is an intervenor of right because a Florida court found the defendant insurer insolvent, LIGA fails to explain its interest in the current suit.
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February 09, 2023
Judge Dismisses Hurricane Coverage Suit, Cites Notice Of Stay And Liquidation
MCALLEN, Texas — A Texas federal judge dismissed a hurricane coverage suit filed by a homeowner against a now-insolvent insurer, finding that pursuant to the consent order appointing the Florida Department of Insurance as the insurer’s receiver and accompanying notice of automatic stay, the federal court should abstain from exercising jurisdiction.
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February 08, 2023
Insurance Row Over Tribe’s COVID-19 Losses Stays In Tribal Court, Judge Rules
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over an insurance company in a dispute over the tribe’s claims for business interruption losses at its casino caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a federal judge in California held in awarding summary judgment to two tribal judges in the insurer’s federal declaratory judgment suit.
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February 08, 2023
Judge: Insurer Required To ‘Immediately’ Defend Against Bobcat Wildfire Suits
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California held that the potential for coverage for underlying lawsuits arising from the Bobcat Wildfire “is clear” and requires the insurer to defend the plaintiffs “immediately” and start reimbursing their underlying defense fees and costs, granting the plaintiffs’ motion for judgment on the pleadings in their breach of contract lawsuit against the insurer.
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February 08, 2023
Judge: Church Did Not Stop All Operations; Civil Authority Coverage Not Triggered
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California judge held that a church insured did not stop all operations and, therefore, is not owed coverage under its insurance policy’s civil authority provision for its lost donations and income arising from the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent civil authority orders, granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit.
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February 07, 2023
Federal Judge Stays All Proceedings In Eagles’ COVID-19 Suit Against Insurer
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Feb. 6 issued a one-page order staying all proceedings in a lawsuit brought by the owner and operator of the Philadelphia Eagles football organization seeking a declaration as to coverage for its alleged losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
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February 07, 2023
9th Circuit Certifies Virus Exclusion Question To California Supreme Court
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 6 certified to the California Supreme Court the question of whether an insurance policy’s virus exclusion is unenforceable in a coverage lawsuit brought by owners, operators and managers of two Napa Valley, Calif., restaurants in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
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February 06, 2023
Florida Panel Reverses Ruling Against Insurer In Hailstorm Appraisal Dispute
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals panel reversed a lower court’s partial final judgment against an insurer in an appraisal dispute over hailstorm damage, agreeing with the insurer that the lower court did not provide adequate due process by failing to consider or adjudicate its defenses.
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February 03, 2023
10th Circuit Refuses To Rehear Aspen Restaurant’s Coronavirus Coverage Suit
DENVER —The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 2 denied an Aspen, Colo., restaurant owner insured’s petition for rehearing en banc of its coronavirus coverage dispute, standing by its ruling that coverage was not triggered because there was never any direct physical loss or damage to the restaurant.
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February 01, 2023
No Coverage Owed For Manufacturing/Tech Company’s COVID-19 Losses, Panel Affirms
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 31 affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of a manufacturing and technology company’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, construing the pertinent policy language in accordance with recent Connecticut Supreme Court precedent.
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February 01, 2023
No Coverage Owed For Coronavirus Losses Under Pollution Liability Policy
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal on Jan. 31 affirmed a district court’s ruling that no coverage is owed to insureds for business interruption losses sustained as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, agreeing with the lower court’s determination that the virus does not qualify as a pollution condition under the premises pollution liability policy.
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February 01, 2023
5th Circuit Affirms No Coverage For Insured’s Business Interruption Losses
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of a commercial property insurer in an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from the coronavirus pandemic, finding that the insured failed to satisfy its burden of demonstrating that its policy covers its claims related to the pandemic.
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January 31, 2023
Texas Federal Jury Finds Insurer Acted In Good Faith, Complied With Policy
SHERMAN, Texas — A Texas federal jury returned a verdict for an insurance company, finding no evidence that the insurer failed to comply with its policy or that it engaged in unfair practices, days after the judge presiding over the trial ruled on motions to exclude the insureds’ expert witnesses.
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January 31, 2023
Connecticut High Court: No Coverage For Shoe Retailer’s Losses Arising From Pandemic
HARTFORD, Conn. — The Connecticut Supreme Court held that a shoe retailer insured’s business losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic “plainly and unambiguously are not covered by” the insured’s package or marine insurance policies, affirming a summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer.
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January 31, 2023
Property Insurers Owe No Coverage For COVID-19 Losses, Connecticut High Court Says
HARTFORD, Conn. — Affirming a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of property insurers on alternative grounds, the Connecticut Supreme Court held that the insurers have no duty to provide coverage for health care facility owner insureds’ alleged business losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic because the insureds did not incur “any direct physical loss of covered property.”
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January 30, 2023
Pollution Exclusion Does Not Apply Because There Was No Release, Insured Argues
SAN FRANCISCO — A district court erred in entering judgment for an insurer in a dispute over coverage for an underlying toxic exposure lawsuit filed against an insured arising from the cleanup of a fire that destroyed a city in California because there was no release of a pollutant, as required by the policy’s pollution exclusion, and because the policy’s pollution exclusion is ambiguous, the insured maintains in its appellant brief filed in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.