The insured’s claims for breach of contract and bad faith remained while his claims for deceptive practices and punitive damages were dismissed. Fishberg v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135043 (S.D. N. Y. July 20, 2021).     The insured rented a apartment. He was insured under a Renter’s Policy issued by State Farm. The policy covered direct physical loss cased by windstorm or hail. The policy also…

    The magistrate recommended that the policy issued to the club’s groundskeeper  containing a Pollution Exclusion provided no coverage for a gasoline leak. Glocester County Club v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149666 (D. R.I. Aug. 5, 2021).      The groundskeeper, Mr. Simonelli, was in charge of maintaining Glocester County Club’s (GCC) greens. He applied for a policy from Scottsdale and described the operations as “Pesticide/Herbicide for golf greens.” GCC was…

    The court largely denied one insurer’s motion to dismiss subrogation and contribution claims raised by another insurer. Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Aspen Spec. Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148739 (D. Nev. Aug. 6, 2021).     Both Zurich and Aspen issued policies to Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino for an incident that occurred at the hotel’s nightclub. Two guests sued Cosmopolitan when they were attacked by employees. Cosmopolitan tendered to Aspen. Aspen…

    After suffering business losses due to a hurricane, the insured’s Civil Authority claim survived the insurer’s motion to dismiss. Pathology Lab. v. Mt. Hawley Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145129 (W.D. La. Aug. 3, 2021).      Hurricane Laura devastated Lake Charles, Louisiana causing severe damage to the insured property as well as other properties within a mile of the insured property. All seven electrical transmission line corridors feeding Lake Charles were…

    The trial court’s finding of no occurrence and no property damage due to faulty workmanship was reversed by the appellate court. No. 5 Walworth v. Engerman Contracting, Inc., 2021 Wis. App. LEXIS 401 (Wis. Ct. App, July 30, 2021).      Engerman was the general contractor on a construction project at a residence. Engerman was hired to build a poll complex. Engerman subcontracted the project to Downes Swimming Pool Co., Inc. Downes purchased…

    The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment which held that the insurer had no duty to defend a data breach suit filed against the insured. Landry’s, Inc. v. Ins. Co. of the State of Pennsylvania, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 21688 (5th Cir July 21, 2021).      Landry’s operated retail properties like restaurants, hotels, and casinos. Pamentech processed Visa and MasterCard payments to those properties. When Paymentech discovered credit-card…

    The federal district court granted preliminary approval of the class action settlement reached on behalf of insureds who suffered property damage due to the 2018 Kilauea eruption on the Big Island. Aquilina v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152614 (D. Haw. Aug. 13, 2021).      After destruction of their homes due to lava flow, plaintiffs sued various insurers and agents as a putative class action. Plaintiffs claimed they…