Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Insurance Bad Faith

December 12, 2024
Washington Federal Judge Refuses To Enter Summary Judgment On Bad Faith Claim

SEATTLE — An insured condominium association is not entitled to summary judgment on a bad faith claim in a dispute over coverage for hidden water damage, a Washington federal judge said after determining that questions of fact exist on the issue of when the insured discovered the damage.
December 11, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurer In Dispute Over Hail, Wind Damage

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 10 affirmed a Texas federal court’s ruling that an insured’s extracontractual claims against a homeowners insurer cannot proceed because no coverage is owed for hail and wind damage to the insured’s roof based on the insured’s failure to satisfy the policy’s residence premises requirement.
December 09, 2024
Majority Renders $4.5M In Attorney Fees To Insureds In Hurricane Katrina Suit

JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi Supreme Court majority affirmed a jury's $10,457,858.89 damages award against an insurer in a Hurricane Katrina coverage dispute and reversed the lower court’s denial of the insured’s estate’s posttrial motion for attorney fees and rendered $4,500,000 in attorney fees to the estate plus postjudgment interest, finding that the court’s decision to force the estate to use nearly half of its award to pay attorney fees fails to adequately compensate them for bringing this bad faith action against the insurer.
December 09, 2024
Alleging Price-Fixing, Doctors Sue MultiPlan, Insurers In Federal Court

CHICAGO — Alleging that they were paid only about 8% of what they billed for out-of-network services because of “a buyers’ cartel dating back to at least 2015,” medical practices that refer to themselves as doctors sued MultiPlan Corp., Aetna Inc., The Cigna Group, UnitedHealth Group Inc., Elevance Health Inc. and other entities in Illinois federal court, asserting numerous claims including some under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
December 03, 2024
Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Amber Heard’s Counterclaims In Defamation Coverage Suit

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of Amber Heard’s breach of contract and bad faith counterclaims in the insurer’s declaratory judgment lawsuit alleging that it has no duty to defend or indemnify her for a defamation judgment awarded to Johnny Depp.
December 03, 2024
No Coverage Owed For Bacteria, Mold In Insureds’ Home, Federal Judge Says

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A homeowners insurer did not breach its contract or act in bad faith in refusing to provide coverage for bacteria, mold and contamination allegedly caused by hurricane damage because the policy clearly excludes coverage for contaminants and pollutants, a Louisiana federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
December 02, 2024
Insured Says Property Insurer Acted In Bad Faith In Handling Water Damage Claim

SEATTLE — An insured condominium owners association filed suit in Washington federal court, alleging that its property insurer acted in bad faith by failing to investigate and make a coverage decision regarding the association’s claim for hidden water damage discovered in condominium buildings maintained by the association.
December 02, 2024
Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims To Proceed Against Property Insurer

BILLINGS, Mont. — A Montana federal judge denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss breach of contract and bad faith claims alleged against the insurer after determining that it is not clear if the insurer was a party to a property insurance policy issued to the insured.
December 02, 2024
Status Conference Scheduled In Hurricane Coverage Dispute With Insolvent Insurer

LAFAYETTE, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge issued an order scheduling a follow-up status conference in a homeowner’s suit against his now-insolvent insurer for its purported failure to cover damages caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta.
December 02, 2024
Bad Faith Claim To Proceed Against Insurer In Connecticut State Court

WATERBURY, Conn. — A Connecticut state judge denied an auto insurer’s motion to strike an insured’s bad faith claim and request for punitive damages and attorney fees after determining that the insured’s complaint alleges sufficient factual allegations in support of the bad faith claim.
December 02, 2024
Construction Company Alleges Bad Faith Cross-Claim Against CGL Insurer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —A construction company insured answered a commercial general liability insurer’s first amended complaint and filed cross-claims for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and seeks equitable contribution as assignee of an excess insurer that funded its $2,250,000 settlement of an underlying construction defects lawsuit.
November 27, 2024
Insureds Seek Vacatur Of Order Compelling Arbitration Of $7M Hurricane Claim

NEW ORLEANS — Citing new Louisiana Supreme Court precedent on the arbitrability of insurance claims, two New Orleans property owners filed a motion in Louisiana federal court to vacate an order compelling arbitration of their claims for $7 million in damages caused by Hurricane Ida and for bad faith against a group of foreign and domestic insurers, which was previously upheld by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
November 26, 2024
Assignee Entitled To Move For Discovery On Insured’s Cooperation With Auto Insurer

LAS VEGAS — A Nevada federal judge determined that an insured’s assignee is entitled to move for additional discovery to determine if the insured cooperated with her auto insurer in its investigation of an auto accident because the information would be helpful in the claimant’s attempt to oppose the auto insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
November 26, 2024
Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims Stemming From Hurricane Damage Will Proceed

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana federal judge determined that insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith claims against their property insurer arising out of the insureds’ claim for hurricane damages can proceed because the claims in the insureds’ amended complaint are not unripe.
November 26, 2024
Auto Insurer Did Not Breach Contract, Act In Bad Faith In Handling Vandalism Claim

WILMINGTON, Del. — An insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims against an auto insurer cannot proceed because the insured failed to provide evidence that the insurer breached its contract or acted unreasonably in handling his claim for vandalism damages to his auto.
November 26, 2024
Judge Grants Motion To Strike Misrepresentation Defense In Hailstorm Coverage Row

DENVER — A Colorado federal judge on Nov. 25 granted a homeowner’s motion to strike her insurer’s affirmative defense related to voiding her policy for purported misrepresentation in the homeowner’s bad faith suit against the insurer for alleged failure to cover hail damage, finding that the defense fails to meet the pleading requirements for particularity under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
November 22, 2024
COMMENTARY: 2024 Key Insurance Decisions, Trends & Developments & A Look Ahead To 2025

By Scott M. Seaman, Pedro E. Hernandez and Lisa M. Roccanova
November 22, 2024
Insured Failed To Comply With Policy’s Notice, Warranty Provisions, Judge Says

SAN DIEGO — No coverage is owed to a hospital company insured under a pollution liability policy for remediation of mold discovered in the insured’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems because the insured failed to comply with the policy’s warranty and notice provisions, both of which are conditions precedent to coverage, a California federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment and denying the insured’s motion for summary judgment.
November 21, 2024
Radioactive Materials Exclusion Clearly Bars Coverage, Insurers Maintain

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should affirm a district court’s finding that no coverage is owed by insurers pursuant to the policies’ radioactive materials exclusion for an underlying suit seeking damages for bodily injuries caused by exposure to electromagnetic (EMF) radiation from the insured’s electric transformers because the radioactive materials exclusion clearly bars coverage, the insurers say in their Nov. 20 appellee brief.
November 18, 2024
Insured’s Snow-Damage Suit Remanded To State Court Based On Lack Of Diversity

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California federal judge remanded an insured’s suit to California state court after determining that complete diversity of citizenship does not exist based on the insured’s naming of an insurance agency as a defendant in a second amended complaint, which alleges breach of contract, bad faith and negligence claims based on the property insurer’s denial of coverage for the partial collapse of an insured building’s roof.
November 18, 2024
Judge Dismisses 1 Insurer From Bad Faith Suit Arising From Construction Defects

DENVER — Following the parties’ joint stipulation of dismissal, a federal judge in Colorado dismissed with prejudice one insurer from a plaintiff insurers breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking recovery of the defense and settlement costs that it paid on behalf of its general contractor insured in an underlying construction defects lawsuit.
November 18, 2024
Third-Party Claimant’s Statutory Bad Faith Claim To Proceed, Judge Says

ORLANDO, Fla. — A third-party claimant’s statutory bad faith claim against an auto insurer can proceed because the claimant properly filed a civil remedy notice (CRN) as required under Florida law and the auto insurer failed to cure the CRN when it refused to pay the excess judgment entered against its insured, a Florida federal judge said in denying the auto insurer’s motion to dismiss the claim.
November 18, 2024
Issues Of Fact Exist On Whether Auto Insurer’s Conduct Was Bad Faith

DAYTON, Ohio — An Ohio appellate court reversed and remanded a trial court’s ruling in favor of an auto insurer on an insured’s bad faith claim after determining that issues of fact exist as to whether the insurer lacked good faith in handling the insured’s claim for uninsured motorist damages.
November 15, 2024
Majority Affirms Ruling In Last Resort Insurer’s Favor In Hurricane Coverage Suit

BATON ROUGE, La. — A majority of a First Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal panel held that a lower court properly interpreted the state Legislature's amendment of Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 22:1892(H) by Act 290 to be a procedural change that applied retroactively and, as a result, eliminated any class action for damages, including bad faith penalties, brought against the state’s insurer of last resort.
November 15, 2024
Insurer Acted In Bad Faith By Reserving Right To Deny Coverage, Insured Alleges

RALEIGH, N.C. — An insured filed suit in North Carolina federal court, claiming that its insurer acted in bad faith by issuing a reservation of rights letter after defending the insured in an underlying suit for more than a year.