Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes

December 12, 2025
2nd Circuit: Insurers Have No Duty To Defend, Indemnify ‘Ghost Guns’ Suits

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of insurers in their lawsuit disputing coverage for underlying actions arising from their firearm manufacturer insured’s alleged sales of “ghost gun” parts and kits brought by New York state and two cities against their firearm manufacturer insured, holding that the underlying claims fail to allege an “accident” to trigger coverage.
December 11, 2025
Judge: Insurer Has Duty To Defend Cosmetics Company Against Consumer Fraud Suits

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California held that a commercial general liability insurer has a duty to defend its cosmetic company insured against three underlying putative class action lawsuits alleging that the insured deceptively sold beauty products by failing to disclose the dangerous risks and side effects of lash enhancement serums’ “key ingredient,” further concluding that the policy’s unfair competition exclusion does not bar coverage.
December 11, 2025
Insurers Say No Coverage Owed For Suit Arising From Hyperbaric Chamber Death

FLINT, Mich. — Insurers ask a federal court in Michigan to declare that they have no duty to defend or indemnify their insured and its employees against an underlying negligence lawsuit arising from the death of a minor who was receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment at the insured’s facility.
December 11, 2025
Hard Rock Hotel Collapse Coverage Dispute Dismissed After Settlement Reached

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana issued an order dismissing a property owner’s breach of contract lawsuit against builders risk insurers seeking additional insured coverage for its $89,877,694 in losses arising from the aftermath of the partial collapse of a Hard Rock Hotel project in New Orleans after being informed the parties reached a settlement.
December 10, 2025
Majority Reverses No Coverage Ruling In Suit Arising From Spinal Cord Injury

NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel majority on Dec. 9 reversed a lower federal court’s order that granted a homeowners insurer’s motion for judgment as a matter of law in its declaratory judgment lawsuit arising from a spinal cord injury that occurred at its insureds’ home, ruling there was a legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a jury to determine that the spinal injury did not arise out of the use of a controlled substance and, therefore, the policy’s controlled substance exclusion does not bar coverage.
December 10, 2025
Judge Rules In Favor Of D&O Insurer In Dispute Over $7.5M Fraudulent Wire Transfer

GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge in Maryland granted summary judgment in favor of a directors and officers liability insurer in a nonprofit insured’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking coverage for $7.5 million in wire transfers that were coerced by fraud, ruling that there was no extended reporting period active when the insured submitted the claim.
December 10, 2025
No Coverage Owed For Sexual Assault Suit, New Hampshire Supreme Court Affirms

CONCORD, N.H. —The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer in an assignee’s negligence and breach of contract lawsuit arising from an underlying sexual assault action brought against the insured, ruling the assignee has failed to establish that there is any genuine dispute of material fact or that she is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
December 09, 2025
Panel Affirms Ruling In Insurers’ Favor In Bad Faith Suit Over Factory Work Death

CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 8 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of insurers in a plastics manufacturer’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking indemnification for the settlement of an underlying lawsuit brought by the family of the insured’s factory employee who was killed on the job, holding that the policies bar coverage for the underlying claim that the insured violated Ohio’s employer intentional tort statute.
December 09, 2025
Liability Provisions In FAIR Plan Order Exceeded Statutory Limits, Panel Rules

LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel ruled that the state’s insurance commissioner lacked statutory authority to require the California FAIR Plan Association to offer liability coverages, holding that state law limits the FAIR Plan to first-party property risks, and directed the lower court to vacate its prior denial of the FAIR Plan Association’s writ of mandate and enter a new order granting the petition.
December 09, 2025
5th Circuit Says State Law Bars Arbitration Of Hurricane Policy Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 8, applying a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling on certified questions of law regarding the arbitrability of insurance disputes, affirmed a lower court’s denial of domestic insurers’ motion to compel arbitration of a Louisiana town’s claims for damages, breach of contract and bad faith after finding that the participation of foreign insurers in the policy does not require the court to apply the New York Convention.
December 09, 2025
Judge Dismisses 2 Claims In Coronavirus Coverage Suit, Allows Insureds To Amend

DURHAM, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina granted a commercial property insurer’s motion to dismiss claims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair and deceptive trade practices brought by four Durham, N.C., restaurants seeking coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the lockdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic but allowed the insureds to file an amended complaint to include additional factual allegations related to the insurer’s renewed denial of claims following the North State Deli, LLC v. Cincinnati Insurance Co. decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court.
December 09, 2025
It All Started With Cajun Conti: A Look Back At Key COVID-19 Coverage Rulings

Coronavirus coverage lawsuits were “wrongly decided by the courts” for “many reasons” said attorney John W. Houghtaling II of Gauthier Murphy & Houghtaling LLC, who filed the very first coronavirus coverage complaint in the Louisiana Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans and other lawsuits for hospitality companies across the country that lost more than $3 billion in what he believed were covered losses.
December 08, 2025
COMMENTARY: D&O Liability & Coverage: 2025 Trends, Developments & Decisions

By Scott M. Seaman and Pedro E. Hernandez
December 08, 2025
Federal Judge Refuses To Dismiss Breach Of Contract Suit Against Cyber Risk Insurer

ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida on Dec. 5 denied a cyber and data risk insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s breach of contract and declaratory judgment lawsuit arising from a 2024 data breach that caused interruption to its financial technology business, holding that the insured’s allegations are sufficient to survive the insurer’s motion to dismiss.
December 08, 2025
Suit Seeking Coverage For Stolen Machine Components Will Stay In Federal Court

DALLAS — A lawsuit filed by insureds seeking coverage for losses incurred as a result of a burglary will remain in Texas federal court because complete diversity of citizenship exists as the insurer’s claims adjuster, a nondiverse defendant, must be dismissed, a Texas federal judge said after finding that the insureds failed to state a plausible claim against the adjuster.
December 08, 2025
Federal Judge Refuses To Remand Insured’s Suit Over Earthquake Damage

OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge in Oklahoma denied an insured’s motion to remand her lawsuit against her homeowners insurer and agent over property damage that was caused by a series of earthquakes, ruling that the insurer conclusively demonstrated that the insured is unable to allege a negligent procurement claim against the agent and that the insurer timely removed the lawsuit to federal court.
December 05, 2025
Father Of Minor Accused Of N.C. Shooting Rampage Seeks To Dismiss Insurer’s Suit

RALEIGH, N.C.— The father of an unemancipated minor accused of going on shooting rampage that killed several people in a Raleigh neighborhood asked a North Carolina federal court on Dec. 4 to dismiss his homeowners insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend and indemnify against the underlying action, arguing that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over him because the insurer failed to effect timely service of its complaint.
December 05, 2025
1st Circuit Tosses Appeal Of Judgment For Insurer In Yacht Fire Damage Dispute

BOSTON — After the parties filed a joint stipulation of voluntary dismissal, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal of a ruling granting in part summary judgment to a yacht insurer in a fire coverage dispute in which the insurer sought to void the policy for purported material misrepresentations in the policy application.
December 03, 2025
Judge Grants Arbitration, Stays Wiretap Class Action Against Toyota, Progressive

SHERMAN, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Dec. 2 granted Toyota Motor North America Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration and stay a class action alleging that Toyota, Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. and a provider of data analytics services in the automotive industry violated the Federal Wiretap Act and are responsible for injuries they inflicted on tens of thousands of class members because of their unauthorized collection and dissemination of private information from Toyota vehicles.
December 03, 2025
Insurance Department’s Confirmation Of Excess Loss Payments Assessment Affirmed

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas appeals panel affirmed the state insurance department’s order confirming the assessment of excess loss payments that a member insurer must pay the state’s insurer of last resort for Hurricane Harvey damage, rejecting the member insurer’s argument that the members’ percentage of participation should be the catastrophe year and not the year of assessment.
December 03, 2025
School Board: Each Shot Fired Constitutes Separate Occurrence Under Policy

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A school board insured sued its general liability insurer for breach of contract in a Florida court seeking $17,411,192 in coverage for its defense and settlement of multiple underlying actions arising from the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 people, alleging that each shot fired constituted a separate occurrence under the policy.
December 03, 2025
Federal Judge: Insurer Has Duty To Defend Sexual Abuse Suit Against Fencing Coach

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ruling on dueling motions for summary judgment, a federal judge in Tennessee held that a negligence claim in an underlying sexual abuse lawsuit against a fencing coach “gives rise as a matter of law” to an insurer’s duty to defend its insureds against all claims in the underlying action.
December 03, 2025
Financial Interest Exclusion Bars Professional Liability Coverage For Fraud Suits

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted a professional liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend and indemnify its insured and real estate agents in underlying fraud lawsuits, holding that the financial interest exclusion bars coverage for all 13 underlying actions.
December 02, 2025
Judge: No Professional Liability Coverage Owed For Untimely Claim Against Attorney

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois granted a lawyers professional liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying lawsuit seeking $753,611.59 against its attorney insured, ruling that the underlying claim was untimely and the policy’s Automatic Extended Reporting Period and Optional Extended Reporting Period provide no refuge.