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March 06, 2026
OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge in Oklahoma granted insureds’ motion to remand their coverage lawsuit against their insurer and agent arising from hail and windstorm damage to their home, holding that the insurer has failed to satisfy the high burden required to establish that the agent was fraudulently joined and noting that the court has already found remand appropriate in cases that are “remarkably similar.”
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March 04, 2026
LAS VEGAS — A Nevada federal magistrate judge ordered the parties to appear for a settlement conference after a federal judge granted in part and denied in part cross-motions for summary judgment in insureds’ suit seeking coverage for expenses in defending another suit regarding fraud-based claims.
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March 03, 2026
SALT LAKE CITY — Distinguishing Colt v. Mass. Mut. Life Ins. Co. because of the concessions the insurer in that case made, a Utah federal judge ruled against a former anesthesiologist who argued that he was entitled to lifetime benefits under cost of living adjustment (COLA) riders per the terms of his disability income coverage.
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March 02, 2026
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas federal judge dismissed with prejudice a crop insurance lawsuit in which a pair of farmers sought confirmation of an arbitration award against an insurer; a day prior, the parties filed a joint stipulation in dismiss the request for confirmation, as well as the farmers’ claims for breach of contract and insurance bad faith.
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February 25, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 24 denied an insured’s petition to reconsider its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit, standing by its ruling that the insured failed to provide evidence suggesting that hail occurred within the relevant policy period and, as a result, did not establish a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether covered damage occurred.
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February 25, 2026
HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas granted an insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment as to the insured’s claim that it violated Texas Insurance Code Chapter 541 when it underpaid a claim for property damage that was caused by Hurricane Beryl, concluding that there is no “reasonably clear” evidence that the insurer acted in bad faith.
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February 25, 2026
DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas, in partially denying an insurance carrier’s motion for summary judgment, ruled that breach of contract and Texas insurance law claims that a homeowner brought against his insurer regarding coverage of damages after a pipe burst will survive but that a common-law bad faith claim will be dismissed.
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February 24, 2026
PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge denied a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by an insurance brokerage firm in a trade secrets dispute, ruling that although the firm showed a likelihood of success on its breach of contract claim, it failed to establish the existence of a legally protectable trade secret or imminent irreparable harm.
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February 23, 2026
SHERMAN, Texas — A federal magistrate judge recommended granting a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and extracontractual claims and denying the insureds’ motion to vacate an appraisal award after determining that the insureds failed to meet their burden of proving that the appraisal award was premised on a mistake of fact and that the insureds’ claims are foreclosed by the insurer’s timely payment of the appraisal award.
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February 20, 2026
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma federal judge denied a group of insurers’ motion to compel arbitration of a dispute over an insured’s claim for storm damage to a commercial property under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention), opining that Oklahoma state law reverse-preempts the convention and bars arbitration of this type of insurance dispute.
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February 20, 2026
BOISE, Idaho — The parties to a coverage dispute over fire damage after a construction worker discarded oil-soaked rags reached a settlement after a federal judge in Idaho granted the insurer’s motions to dismiss bad faith counterclaims filed by the construction company and seller of the property because they did not allege sufficient facts to support the counterclaims.
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February 20, 2026
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A farm owner’s bad faith claim against an insurer cannot proceed because the insurer reasonably relied on an engineer’s report when it partially denied coverage for damage to two poultry houses based on the policy’s wear and tear exclusion, weight of snow and ice exclusion and improper workmanship exclusion, an Alabama federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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February 20, 2026
AUSTIN, Texas — A homeowners insurer’s failure to promptly and adequately pay its insureds for the full value of their claim for damages to their home caused by a hail and windstorm was arbitrary and capricious, the insureds maintain in a complaint filed in Texas federal court.
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February 19, 2026
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An insured’s claim for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing must be dismissed as it is duplicative of the insured’s breach of contract claim, a New York federal judge said after also determining that the insured’s request for extracontractual damages cannot proceed.
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February 19, 2026
PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge agreed to certify a class action alleging that an insurer underpaid insureds by failing to stack uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage for policyholders who had multivehicle policies and rejected efforts by the insurer to exclude expert testimony on class certification.
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February 18, 2026
LAS VEGAS — After being advised that plaintiffs are seeking administrative remedies in a bad faith breach of contract dispute involving an insolvent insurer regarding coverage for an auto accident that resulted in deaths and injuries, a Nevada federal judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a stay.
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February 18, 2026
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A New Mexico federal magistrate judge denied an auto insurer’s motion to bifurcate an insured’s claim seeking underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits from the insured’s extracontractual claims after determining that the extracontractual claims are not contingent on the success of the UIM benefits claim.
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February 17, 2026
SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge granted in part, denied in part and reserved ruling in part on a series of cross-motions in limine in a private jet insurance coverage dispute, excluding evidence of reinsurance and loss reserves, bifurcating punitive damages, limiting expert and regulatory evidence and reserving authentication and hearsay objections to competing insurance proposals for determination at trial.
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February 13, 2026
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge on Feb. 12 declined to compel production of “batting average” information and communications concerning state or federal investigations but ordered the administrator of a group long-term disability (LTD) policy to provide some of the information a claimant seeks regarding incentives for insurance adjusters and reviewing physicians, the administrator’s review policies and procedures and its use of a third-party medical review company.
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February 13, 2026
TULSA, Okla. — Breach of contract and bad faith claims will proceed against a homeowners insurer in federal court, an Oklahoma federal judge said after determining that the insureds’ suit was properly removed to federal court because complete diversity of citizenship exists as the insureds’ claims against the insurer’s agent fail.
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February 13, 2026
LAS VEGAS — Claims alleging breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing brought by the assignee of an insured against an auto insurer can proceed because a question of fact exists as to when the insured knew or should have known that he was injured, a Nevada federal judge said in partially denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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February 11, 2026
PHOENIX — An insured’s bad faith claim against an auto insurer can proceed, an Arizona federal judge said, after determining that a question of fact exists as to whether the insurer’s refusal to pay its policy limit until after an arbitration award was entered in favor of the insured constitutes bad faith.
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February 11, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 10 affirmed a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of an insurer in Louisiana insureds’ breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit arising from Hurricane Ida damage, rejecting the insureds’ argument that the lower court reversibly erred in excluding both evidence of the insureds’ appraisal award amount and the appraiser’s position regarding the value of their damages.
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February 11, 2026
GREENVILLE, Miss. — Extracontractual claims alleged against a homeowners insurer in a coverage dispute over water damage to the insureds’ home cannot proceed because the insureds failed to provide sufficient facts to support their claim for bad faith and failed to show that the insurer owed a duty of care independent of the insurance contract to support their claim for negligence, a Mississippi federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion to dismiss.
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February 10, 2026
CINCINNATI — Arguing in part that the claimant’s “proven ability to work coupled with the improvement documented by her own treating providers” was sufficient to show that she was not totally disabled under the terms of the long-term disability (LTD) plan, appellants urged the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm denial of benefits for a project director who stopped working because of symptoms she attributed to long COVID.