http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline Insurance Pleadings Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2020 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%201%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - The Georgia Court of Appeals should reverse a trial court's ruling in favor of a homeowners insurer because the insured never received a policy booklet that included a jewelry exclusion used by the insurer to limit the insured's recovery following a home burglary, the insured argues in a Jan. 13 appellant brief (Ethel L. Munson v. The Charter Oak Fire Insurance Co., No. A20A0906, Ga. App.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%202%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DOVER, Del. - Payment reductions in cases where a spinal surgery provider performs multiple injections in one procedure properly account for the fact that providers do not repeat some preoperative and post-operative care when two or more injections occur, an insurer tells the Delaware Supreme Court in a Jan 17 opening brief (Spine Care Delaware LLC v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., et al., No. 469,2019, Del. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%203%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A commercial landlord insured recently asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a lower federal court's ruling that coverage is barred for actors' underlying lawsuit alleging that they contracted the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the course of filming sexual activity at the insured's premises, arguing that commercial tenants are absent from the list of persons whose conduct causing sexual acts are excluded under the policy (Atain Specialty Insurance Company Inc. v. Armory Studios LLC, et al., Nos. 19-15745 and 19-15820, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%204%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SANTA ANA, Calif. - An appellant recently asked a California appeals court to reverse a lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a general liability insurer in his direct action lawsuit asserting that the insurer wrongfully denied coverage for property damage caused by a retaining wall that was constructed by the insured, arguing that, at minimum, there are triable issues of material fact regarding whether his losses are covered under the policies (Thomas Guastello v. AIG Specialty Insurance Co., No. G057714, Calif. App., 4th Dist., Div. 3). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%205%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' RICHMOND, Va. - A panel of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral arguments on March 17 in a case in which a family farm and its insurer dispute the coverage owed for a fire that destroyed a building the farm owned. At issue is whether the building was technically vacant at the time of the fire based on the policy language (Bierman Family Farm LLC, et al. v. United Farm Family Insurance Company, Nos. 18-2240, 18-2279, 4th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%206%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - An insurer in Jan. 15 brief asks a New York federal court for summary judgment on its claims against a reinsurer for breach of its obligation to post $1.6 million in collateral under a reinsurance agreement and to declare that the reinsurer remains required to post that collateral (AmTrust North America Inc. v. Signify Insurance Ltd., et al., No 18-3779, S.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%207%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WILMINGTON, Del. - The U.S. government argues in a Jan. 15 appellant brief that a Delaware federal court should reverse a bankruptcy court's order granting an objection raised by the Chapter 7 trustee for an insurer and its subsidiaries over a claim made by the Internal Revenue Service and remand so that the entire IRS claim will be given administrative priority (In re Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc., et al.; United States of America v. Don A. Beskrone, Chapter 7 Trustee, 19-2034, D. Del.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%208%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BROOKLYN, N.Y. - A federal flood insurer recently replied to a pro se insured's opposition argument that called its motion to dismiss a Superstorm Sandy coverage dispute "moot," contending that the policies "plainly contradict and refute any right to relief" asserted by the insured (Mohammed Keita v. American Security Insurance Company, et al., No. 17-00879, E.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%209%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - An insured sued its homeowners insurer and its affiliate for breach of contract, bad faith and unfair business practices in a California court on Jan. 17, alleging that they "devised a scheme and plan" that relinquished adjustment of his wildfire claim to "Hired Consultants" who denied or lowballed the claim under the defendants' "directive, consent and approval" (Kambiz Aramnia v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Company, et al., No. 20VECV00077, Calif. Super., Los Angeles Co.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-9%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%2010%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A commercial general liability insurer on Jan. 9 filed suit in a federal court in Arkansas, seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify against an underlying jury verdict that found that its insured was negligent and committed breach of contract by manufacturing defective chicken that was supplied to the New York City School District (NYCSD) (Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Ozark Mountain Poultry Inc., et al., No. 20-05014, W.D. Ark.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%201%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A builders risk insurer recently asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a lower federal court's finding that a faulty workmanship exclusion does not preclude coverage for an insured's repair costs, arguing that the claimed loss was caused solely by the insured's and its subcontractor's faulty workmanship and construction (Engineered Structures, Inc. v. Travelers Property Casualty Company, No. 18-35588, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%202%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ST. LOUIS - A school district insured recently asked the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a lower federal court's finding that a math teacher's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge and subsequent lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation constitute a single claim that was "first made" against a school district insured during a 2015 policy period and that there is no coverage because the insured did not timely report the claim (Pine Bluff School District v. ACE American Insurance Company, No. 19-2594, 8th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%203%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - A woman severely injured in an alcohol-involved vehicle crash on Oct. 1, 2019, asked the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to rule that a district court erred by not recognizing insurance claims a nightclub assigned to her and by not trebling the value of her claim claims under the state's consumer protection law (Capitol Specialty Insurance Corporation v. Kailee M. Higgins, et al., No. 19-1496, 1st Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%204%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Whether a deaf woman's case alleged intentional discrimination outside insurable limits or unintentional discrimination will come before the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 3 (Brooklyn Center for Psychotherapy Inc. v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co., No. 19-2266, 2nd Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%205%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - An insurer says in a Jan. 10 reply brief to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a district court should have compelled arbitration in Hong Kong to resolve a claim for bad faith in failing to settle a lawsuit seeking damages for injuries that occurred during a cruise ship excursion (Lynn McCullough, et al. v. AIG Insurance Hong Kong Ltd., No. 19-12100, 11th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%206%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Reinsurers in Jan. 21 opposition briefs argue that a Puerto Rico federal judge should deny an insolvent insurer's liquidator motion to alter a decision sending a $150 million hurricane loss case to arbitration because there was no manifest error with the ruling (Integrand Assurance Co. v. Everest Reinsurance Co., et al., No. 19-01111, D. Puerto Rico). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%207%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A reinsurer argues in a Jan. 3 reply that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should reverse an order denying its motion to intervene in a dispute over a $3.2 million judgment and remand to allow the reinsurer to proceed with its claims against another reinsurer, which is the judgment creditor (Odyssey Reinsurance Co. v. Richard Keith Nagby, et al. v. Knight Insurance Company Ltd., Nos. 19-55346, 19-55347, 19-55423, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%208%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A debtor in a Sept. 27 memorandum of law requests that a New York federal bankruptcy court recognize a run-off insurer's administration proceeding as a foreign main proceeding to stay U.S. creditors from pursuing actions against the insurer and to ensure administration of its affairs (In re: Stronghold Insurance Company Ltd., Chapter 15, No. 19-13096, S.D. N.Y. Bkcy.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%209%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OAKLAND, Calif. - An operator of vineyards and winemaking operations in California on Jan. 3 sued London insurers for breach of contract and bad faith in a California federal court, alleging that they wrongfully refused to pay for smoke exposure damage to its finished wines caused by the October 2017 wildfires in Sonoma and Napa County, Calif., and seeking $12 million for its loss (Vintage Wine Estates, Inc. v. Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance PLC, et al., No. 20-00101, N.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-8%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%2010%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - No coverage is owed for underlying claims filed against an insured following a gas pipeline explosion because the policies' professional liability exclusions and pollution exclusions bar coverage for the underlying claims, two insurers assert in a complaint filed Oct. 10 in Alabama federal court (Ohio Security Insurance Co., et al. v. Superior Land Designs, et al., No. 19-1656, N.D. Ala.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%201%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A commercial general liability insurer on Nov. 25 filed its response in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal to an insured's appeal of a lower court's finding that the insurer has no duty to defend against an underlying lawsuit seeking to recover damages purportedly caused by a data breach of the insured's credit card processing system (Landry's Inc. v. The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, No. 19-20430, 5th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%202%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' RICHMOND, Va. - The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Jan. 28 over whether a $1,382,653 judgment stemming from an attorney's margin and day trading of trust funds falls within his policy insuring professional services (Alps Property & Casualty Insurance Co., et al v. Ivan L. Higgerson Sr., et al., No. 18-2245, 4th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%203%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - An insured recently filed a brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals contending that a district court erred when it held that an insurer did not owe coverage for underlying litigation pertaining to violations of several provisions of the California Labor Code (U.S. Telepacific Corp. v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Company, No. 19-55828, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%204%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' AUSTIN, Texas - An insured recently asked the Texas Supreme Court to reverse a lower court's ruling in favor of its commercial property insurer on its claims for bad faith and under Texas' Prompt Payment of Claims Act (PPCA) arising from wind and hail property damage (Steven Biasatti, et al. v. GuideOne National Insurance Company, et al., No. 18-0911, Texas Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%205%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) company recently asked the Florida Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court's finding that a personal injury protection (PIP) policy's express language "clearly and unambiguously" elected to limit reimbursement payments for medical expenses to the schedule of maximum charges that is detailed in the state's PIP statute (MRI Associates of Tampa Inc. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, No. SC18-1390, Fla. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%206%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - An insolvent surety "offers little authority" to show that a continuing agreement of indemnification (CAI) did not imply a duty to inform homebuilders of claims made against surety bonds, the homebuilders argue in a June 28 reply brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, asking that entry of summary judgment to the surety be reversed (Western Insurance Co. in liquidation v. Frontier Homes LLC, et al., No. 19-55101, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%207%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - Arbitrators intended their second award to be final and, thus, an Illinois federal court should confirm that award and not the interim award under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), an insurer argues in a Jan. 3 reply brief in its dispute with a reinsurer over billings for asbestos claims (Allstate Insurance Co. v. Amerisure Mutual Insurance Co., No. 19-4341; Amerisure Mutual Insurance Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co., No. 19-7080, N.D. Ill.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%208%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' JASPER, Ala. - The city of Jasper and employees on Dec. 19 moved for judgment on the pleadings in two Alabama federal court cases, which also name their insurer, over allegations by former jail inmates of sexual misconduct in a jail because the city's civil service board is "not legally cognizable nor endowed with the ability to sue or be sued" (Whitley Goodson v. J.C. Poe, Jr., et al., No. 19-1399, Charity Tessener v. J.C. Poe, Jr., et al., No. 19-01314, N.D. Ala.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%209%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FRESNO, Calif. - A disability insurer acted in bad faith and breached its contract in terminating a claimant's long-term disability (LTD) benefits because the insurer's termination was not reasonable and not based on reliable medical evidence, the claimant alleges in an Oct. 15 complaint filed in California federal court (Jennifer Sims v. Life Insurance Company of North America, No. 19-1460, E.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=19-7%20Mealey%27s%20Ins.%20Pleadings%2010%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PANAMA CITY, Fla.- An insured on Oct. 29 sued its federal flood insurer in a federal court, alleging that the insurer breached a Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) when it denied coverage for the insured's flood damage caused by Hurricane Matthew (Harper's Retreat, LLC v. Wright National Flood Insurance Company, No. 19-00424, N.D. Fla.).