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Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

  • November 25, 2025

    11th Circuit Affirms Bad Faith Verdict Entered In Favor Of Auto Insurer

    ATLANTA — A district court did not abuse its discretion by not allowing an insured to introduce a jury verdict in her favor in the liability trial to the jury in a bad faith trial because the insured previously agreed that the verdict in the liability trial was irrelevant to the bad faith claim, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in affirming the jury’s verdict in favor of the auto insurer on the insured’s bad faith claim.

  • November 25, 2025

    Fact Issues Exist On Cause Of Water Damage, California Panel Says In Reversing

    LOS ANGELES — The Second District California Court of Appeal reversed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer on breach of contract and bad faith claims in a dispute over coverage for water damage in the insured’s home after determining that questions of fact exist over whether a windstorm or wear and tear caused a hole in the home’s roof that resulted in water entering the home.

  • November 24, 2025

    N.Y. Appellate Court Affirms Order Requiring Production Of Reinsurance Agreement

    NEW YORK — The First Department New York Supreme Court Appellate Division unanimously affirmed a prior order requiring an insurer to produce copies of its reinsurance agreements in the Archdiocese of New York’s coverage dispute arising from nearly 1,700 underlying sexual abuse lawsuits, holding that the state’s discovery rule governing insurance agreements extends to reinsurance contracts and that recent legislative amendments do not limit disclosure.

  • November 24, 2025

    Employee Accused Of Sharing Captive Insurance Trade Info Files Fraud Counterclaim

    PHOENIX — An ex-employee of an insurance brokerage firm filed an answer and counterclaim in response to the firm’s verified amended complaint alleging that he misappropriated trade secrets and breached his contract by transferring captive insurance client information to a competitor, asserting a claim for fraud and that the firm induced his continued employment through fictitious equity unit awards while concealing a forthcoming corporate acquisition that would render them worthless.

  • November 21, 2025

    W.Va. Court Reverses Summary Judgment Rulings For Subcontractors’ Insurers

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Finding that a trial court misconstrued Soaring Eagle Development Co., LLC v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America to preclude a general contractor’s breach of contract, bad faith and unfair trade practices claims against subcontractors’ insurers, the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals in consolidated appeals reversed the trial court’s rulings granting summary judgment to the general contractor.

  • November 21, 2025

    Bifurcation Warranted To Prevent Prejudice To Homeowners Insurer, Judge Says

    LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Kentucky federal judge granted a homeowners insurer’s motion to bifurcate bad faith claims from a breach of contract claim after determining that bifurcation will prevent an insurer from being prejudiced if the claims are tried together.

  • November 19, 2025

    Farmer Alleges Crop Insurer Wrongly Terminated Policy, Causing $396K In Losses

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A farmer filed an amended complaint in an Alabama federal court, alleging that a crop insurance provider wrongfully terminated her 2022 crop year policy and unduly reported her to a federal ineligibility database; the crop insurer seeks dismissal of the suit on the grounds that the dispute is subject to mandatory arbitration under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA).

  • November 18, 2025

    Contamination Exclusion Bars Coverage For COVID-19 Losses, 9th Circuit Affirms

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 17 affirmed a district court’s ruling that an all-risk policy’s contamination exclusion bars coverage for losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic, rejecting the insureds’ argument that the district court erred in finding that a California appellate panel’s ruling in a similar case is applicable to the instant dispute.

  • November 18, 2025

    W.Va. Federal Judge Mostly Denies Dismissal In Suit Over LTD Benefits

    HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia federal judge declined to dismiss a bad faith claim against a long-term disability (LTD) insurer and ruled that four out of five allegations as to violation of the West Virginia Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA) survive.

  • November 17, 2025

    Calif. Federal Case Closed After CGL Insurer, Construction Company Seek Dismissal

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The same day a commercial general liability insurer and a construction company insured filed a stipulation to dismiss all claims, counterclaims and a cross-claim in a coverage dispute arising from alleged construction defects in a concrete slab the insured poured for a new building, a federal court in California terminated the entire action.

  • November 17, 2025

    Fact Issues Exist As To Whether Delay Of UIM Payment Was Reasonable

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge denied an insured’s motion for summary judgment on a bad faith claim alleged against her auto insurer because questions of fact exist as to whether the insurer’s delay in paying the insured’s underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits claim was reasonable.

  • November 17, 2025

    Bad Faith Claim Against Property Insurer Can Proceed, Federal Magistrate Judge Says

    TULSA, Okla. — A bad faith claim alleged against a property insurer can proceed because the bad faith claim is subject to Oklahoma’s two-year statute of limitations rather than the insurance policy’s one-year suit limitation provision, an Oklahoma federal magistrate judge said in partially denying the insurer’s motion to dismiss.

  • November 17, 2025

    Ohio Panel Says Trial Court Properly Found Appraisal Not Warranted Under Policy

    MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — A trial court did not err in denying an insured’s motion to compel appraisal and granting a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and bad faith claims because matters of law and coverage cannot be determined through appraisal, the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals said in affirming the lower court’s rulings.

  • November 14, 2025

    Trial Court Properly Found Auto Insurer Did Not Act In Bad Faith, Panel Says

    FRANKFORT, Ky. — An auto insurer did not act in bad faith in handling a claim on behalf of its insured because the insurer promptly made offers to settle claims against its insured and clarified the scope of a release when questioned by the claimants, a Kentucky Court of Appeals panel said in affirming a trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer.

  • November 13, 2025

    Federal Judge Refuses To Remand Bad Faith Suit Over Hurricane Ida Coverage Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana denied an insured’s motion to remand its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit against its insurer, holding that the court has diversity jurisdiction over the lawsuit arising from Hurricane Ida damage.

  • November 12, 2025

    Insured’s Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims Properly Dismissed, Panel Says

    PHILADELPHIA — A trial court did not err in dismissing an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims against a homeowners insurer and its agent because the insured cannot establish justifiable reliance on an oral contract that the insured claims existed between the parties, a panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court said in affirming.

  • November 10, 2025

    COMMENTARY: Uh-EUO: How Examinations Under Oath Impact Claims

    By Rachel E. Hudgins, Kevin V. Small and Charlotte E. Leszinske

  • November 12, 2025

    Subcontractor, Insurer Settle Dispute Over Defense Of Action Over Microtunneling

    SEATTLE — A subcontractor and its insurer filed a notice of settlement in a case brought by the subcontractor alleging that the insurer failed to defend it against a counterclaim in an underlying suit arising out of the subcontractor’s microtunneling work for a water project in Seattle.

  • November 10, 2025

    Broker Claims Ex-Employee Disclosed Captive Insurance Trade Secrets To New Firm

    PHOENIX — An insurance brokerage firm filed a verified amended complaint in an Arizona federal court alleging that a former employee misappropriated trade secrets and breached a contract by transferring captive insurance client information to his new employer in violation of an agreement barring disclosure of confidential data and solicitation of former clients.

  • November 10, 2025

    S.D. High Court Affirms Auto Coverage Dispute Ruling Involving Social Media Search

    PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling denying judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) to an auto insurer and granting an insured’s request for attorney fees in a dispute over underinsured motorist benefits (UIM) after a jury returned a verdict in favor of the insured, finding that the lower court did not err in denying JMOL because a jury could have found that the insurer did not act reasonably in denying the UIM claim in part because the claim review did not go beyond examining documents supplied by the insured and a review of his social media accounts.

  • November 10, 2025

    Putative Damages Dismissed Against Subcontractor’s Insurer; Other Claims Proceed

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California found a construction company did not sufficiently plead punitive damages in its third amended complaint (TAC) against its subcontractor’s insurer for damages the company alleges were caused by using the subcontractor’s drawings for the project, but allowed the construction company’s other claims against the insurer to proceed.

  • November 07, 2025

    Bad Faith Verdict Against Auto Insurer Was Supported By Evidence, Panel Says

    ATLANTA — A district court did not err in denying an auto insurer’s posttrial motion on a bad faith verdict entered against the auto insurer because the evidence at trial was sufficient to support the jury’s finding that the insurer acted in bad faith in handling a claim asserted against the insureds, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said.

  • November 07, 2025

    Insured Appeals $348,000 Award In Asbestos Indemnity Coverage Case

    NEW ORLEANS — An insurance company filed a notice indicating that it would appeal a decision finding it liable for the defense of an asbestos suit in a case in which a federal judge in Louisiana awarded $348,000 for breach of contract but finding that its arguments were not frivolous.

  • November 06, 2025

    Judge: Insured’s Failure To Toll Statute Of Limitations Is Fatal To Claims

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from hail and wind damage to the roofs of its 27-building condominium complex, holding that the insured’s failure to toll the statute of limitations is fatal to its claims.

  • November 05, 2025

    Insured’s Appeal In Flood Damage Dispute Dismissed For Want Of Prosecution

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed an insured’s appeal of a Louisiana federal court’s ruling that her claims for flood damage caused by Hurricane Delta and a separate flood event are time-barred under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) and must be dismissed with prejudice, noting that the insured failed to timely pay the fee on appeal.