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Mealey's Catastrophic Loss

  • May 09, 2025

    2nd Circuit Abrogates Precedent On Reverse-Preemption In $12.5M Hurricane Ida Row

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 8 abrogated its own precedent holding that an international convention regarding arbitration of foreign disputes is “not self-executing” and can be reverse-preempted by state law and reversed the denials of motions to compel arbitration of surplus line policy disputes for more than $12.5 million in damages caused to Louisiana properties by Hurricane Ida.

  • May 08, 2025

    Florida Panel Reverses Judgment In Insureds’ Favor In ‘Prompt Notice’ Dispute

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals court panel held April 16 that a lower court’s partial summary judgment ruling that a homeowners insurer waived its lack of “prompt notice” defense as a matter of law “was erroneous both procedurally and on the merits,” reversing and remanding for a new trial so the insurer can present the defense in a coverage dispute with its insureds.

  • May 08, 2025

    Federal Judge: No Coverage Owed For Insureds’ Untimely Additional Flood Damage Claim

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida held that insureds’ failure to submit a  proof of loss for their additional flood damages before their Standard Flood Insurance Policy’s 60-day deadline relieves their Write-Your-Own insurer of its duty to pay the additional claim, granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in the insureds’ breach of contract lawsuit.

  • May 05, 2025

    Coverage Suit Arising From Nashville Bombing Tossed After Parties’ Stipulation

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two days after parties filed a stipulation of dismissal, a federal Tennessee court dismissed an insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that no coverage is owed in excess of the $4.3 million that it already paid to repair a condominium building that incurred significant damage in the 2020 Christmas Day bombing in Nashville.

  • May 05, 2025

    Louisiana Panel Upholds Judgment On Jury Verdict In Hurricane Ida Coverage Row

    GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana state appeals court affirmed a lower court’s rulings entering judgment on a jury verdict awarding $23,534.62 to homeowners and denying a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) in a dispute with the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (LIGA) over coverage for damages caused by Hurricane Ida, finding that because the jury’s decision to not award the total amount of damages claimed by the homeowners “is supported by the evidence,” the lower court did not abuse its discretion in denying a new trial.

  • May 02, 2025

    Judgment For Guaranty Association Affirmed In Florida Law Hurricane Coverage Row

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — A Florida appellate court affirmed a lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment for the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) and dismissing a suit as time-barred in a dispute over coverage for a condominium association’s purported damage caused by Hurricane Irma, finding that the lower court correctly applied the appropriate Florida statute to determine that the suit was time-barred because it was filed after the applicable five-year statute of limitations.

  • May 02, 2025

    5th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurer In Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 1 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a condominium association insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking additional proceeds for its flood damage caused by Hurricane Ida, finding the insured’s proof of loss failed to comply with the “sworn to” requirement of its Standard Flood Insurance Policies (SFIPs).

  • May 01, 2025

    Federal Judge Rules For Insurer In Coverage Dispute Over Hurricane Ida Damage

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana on April 30 granted an insurer’s unopposed motion for summary judgment in an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for Hurricane Ida damage, accepting the insurer’s undisputed evidence that the insured did not have a valid insurance policy that covered the residence on the alleged date of loss.

  • April 30, 2025

    Residents Sue State-Mandated Insurer ‘Of Last Resort’ Over Los Angeles Wildfires

    LOS ANGELES — California residents sued the California Fair Plan Association (CFPA) and its largest members in a state court seeking damages for the defendants’ alleged bad faith breach of their property insurance policies following the Los Angeles wildfires in January.

  • April 30, 2025

    Parties Seek Discovery In Australia In Reinsurance Breach Of Contract Suit

    NEW YORK — The defendants in a breach of contract lawsuit ask a New York federal court to issue letters rogatory to obtain otherwise unobtainable information from an industrial machinery manufacturer and two of its employees in an Australian court as part of a gold mining equipment dispute over whether the defendants are direct insurers or reinsurers of the plaintiff.

  • April 29, 2025

    Insurer Asks 5th Circuit To Reconsider Ruling In Bad Faith Suit Over Hurricane Laura

    NEW ORLEANS — An insurer on April 28 asked the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider the part of its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of a church insured in a bad faith lawsuit arising from Hurricane Laura damage, challenging the appellate court’s findings as to jurisdiction, appraisal and policy valuation and bad faith.

  • April 29, 2025

    Alaska Federal Judge Grants Insurer’s Motion To Dismiss COVID-19 Coverage Suit

    ANCHORAGE, Ala. — Following the Alaska Supreme Court’s answers to two certified questions in a coronavirus coverage dispute, a federal judge in Alaska on April 28 entered judgment in favor of an insurer after granting its motion to dismiss an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for loss of business income under the Communicable Disease Suspension of Operations provision in the insurance policy.

  • April 25, 2025

    Texas High Court Grants Agreed Motion To Dismiss Insurer’s Petition For Review

    AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on April 25 granted a commercial property insurer and its insured’s agreed motion to dismiss the insurer’s petition seeking review of a lower court’s partial summary judgment order in a coronavirus coverage dispute, according to its orders pronounced.

  • April 25, 2025

    Judge Tosses Insured’s Untimely Coverage Suit Arising From Hurricane Idalia Damage

    TAMPA, Fla.— A federal judge in Florida granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss without prejudice its insured’s breach of contract lawsuit arising from property damage caused by Hurricane Idalia, concluding that the lawsuit is time-barred.

  • April 25, 2025

    Residents: County’s Empty Reservoirs, Energized Powerlines Caused Palisades Fire

    LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County residents sued Los Angeles acting through the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) for inverse condemnation, telling a California Superior Court that the Palisades Fire was caused by LADWP's empty reservoirs and energized powerlines.

  • April 22, 2025

    Homeowners Accuse Insurers Of ‘Nefarious Conspiracy’ In Suit Arising From Wildfires

    LOS ANGELES — California homeowners affected by the Los Angeles wildfires sued insurers in a California court for violations of the state’s Cartwright Act and unfair competition law (UCL), alleging that the insurers participated in a “nefarious conspiracy to eliminate competition between them, and to intentionally and systematically force Plaintiffs to obtain fire insurance from the state’s insurer of last resort.”

  • April 22, 2025

    Citing No Diversity, Judge Remands Hurricane Ida Coverage Dispute To State Court

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge granted a homeowner’s motion to remand to state court a Hurricane Ida coverage dispute after the Louisiana Guaranty Association (LIGA) was added as a defendant, finding that due to the absence of complete diversity, “remand to state court is appropriate.”

  • April 21, 2025

    Judge Declines To Reopen Hurricane Damage Dispute Pending Arbitrability Appeal

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge denied a state parish’s motion to reopen and reconsider a prior order compelling arbitration of the parish’s claims for unpaid hurricane damages against domestic and foreign insurers based on the Louisiana Supreme Court’s ruling on the impact of state law on insurance arbitration and said the parish may refile after the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issues a ruling on the issue.

  • April 21, 2025

    Iowa Panel: Coverage For Derecho Damage Voided By Material Misrepresentations

    DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa appeals court panel held that a landscaping company’s insurance coverage for damage caused by an August 2020 derecho was voided by the insured’s material misrepresentations, affirming a lower court.

  • April 21, 2025

    Insured Seeks Coverage For More Than $50M In Losses Caused By Coronavirus

    GREENSBORO, N.C. — A limited partnership that owns and operates shopping centers containing outlet stores sued its primary and excess insurers for declaratory relief and breach of contract in a North Carolina court, alleging that the lawsuit is “necessitated” by the insurers’ failure and refusal to indemnify it for “tens of millions of dollars in losses” caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

  • April 18, 2025

    Suquamish Tribe Opposes Insurers’ High Court Petition In Tribal Jurisdiction Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Suquamish Tribe in Washington filed an opposition to insurers’ petition for writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to determine “whether a tribal court can exercise jurisdiction over nonmembers of the tribe based on off-reservation conduct,” asking the high court to not disturb the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ opinion that affirmed a federal court’s finding that a tribal court has subject matter jurisdiction over a COVID-19 coverage suit involving tribal properties on tribal land.

  • April 17, 2025

    Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims In Hurricane Damage Suit Dismissed

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge dismissed an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith suit stemming from a dispute over coverage for property damages sustained during a hurricane to a rental property because the insured failed to show that the damages are covered under a property insurance policy.

  • April 17, 2025

    Panel: Plaintiff Lacks Standing To Sue Lender-Placed Insurer In Hurricane Irma Suit

    MIAMI — A Florida appeals panel on April 16 affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a plaintiff’s third-party beneficiary breach of contract lawsuit against a lender-placed insurer, agreeing with the lower court that the plaintiff lacked standing to sue the insurer because there was no clear or manifest intent of the contracting parties that the policy primarily and directly benefit the plaintiff.

  • April 16, 2025

    5th Circuit Remands Attorney Fees Issue In Hurricane Laura Coverage Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals remanded two questions regarding attorney fees to a lower federal court and otherwise affirmed the judgment in favor of the church insured in a bad faith lawsuit arising from Hurricane Laura damage.

  • April 15, 2025

    Bad Faith Suit: CFPA Systematically Failed To Investigate, Pay Wildfire Claims

    LOS ANGELES — Plaintiffs sued California Fair Plan Association (CFPA) and its “largest” members for breach of contract and bad faith in a California court, seeking compensation for their losses incurred by the January Los Angeles wildfires and to hold CFPA “accountable for its decade-long, systematic failure to properly investigate and pay wildfire claims.”