On July 30, 2020, the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (JPML) heard oral argument on the potential consolidation of all federal cases involving business interruption coverage relating to coronavirus and shut-down orders. A decision will be rendered in the near future.
Meanwhile, many cases are on hold, waiting for a determination
The federal district court remanded to state court a loss of rent claim because the amount in controversy requirement was not met. Geragos & Geragos Fine Arts Bldg., LLC v. Travelers Indemn. Co., 2020 U.S Dist. LEXIS 127427 (C.D. Cal. July 20, 2020).
Geragos suffered loss of rental income due
The court found that the insurer had no duty to defend claims against the insured for faulty workmanship. HT Services, LLC v. Western Heritage Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123664 (D. Colo. July 10, 2020).
Western Heritage Insurance Company issued three concurrent general liability policies to HT Services, LLC.
The federal district court granted, in part, the insured's motion for summary judgment seeking coverage for a collapse of a church's ceiling. Derbyshire Baptist Church v. Church Mut. Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Distl LEXIS 113346 (E.D. Va. June 29, 2020).
A large portion of the sanctuary ceiling of the insured's
The Michigan Supreme Court held that under a CGL policy, an "accident" may include unintentional subcontractor work that damages the insured's work product. Skanska USA Building Inc. v. M.A.P. Mechanical Contractors, Inc., et al., 2020 Mich. LEXIS 1194 (Mich. June 29, 2020).
Skanska USA Building Inc. was the construction manager
The court determined that the sinking of the insured's floor caused by termites and rot deterioration did not meet the homeowners policy's definition of collapse. Stewart v. Metro. Lloyds Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111527 (S.D. Tex. June 24, 2020).
Beatrice Stewart, the homeowner, heard a loud bang one
The Iowa Supreme Court reversed the trial court and held that alleged acts of gross negligence may constitute an occurrence. T.H.E. Insurance Co. v. Glen, 2020 Iowa LEXIS 64 (Iowa June 5, 2020).
Stephen Booher was a seasonal employee at Adventureland Amusement Park. He had been recently employed as a loading
The federal district court, district of Hawaii, stayed the coverage action to allow the underlying state court action to proceed, United States Fire Ins. Co. v. Prieto, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106676 (D. Haw. June 18, 2020).
In the underlying action, Aerica Cates sued defendant Prieto and the State of
The California Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the insurer regarding a claim for fire loss. Mosley v. Pacific Sec. Ins, Co., 2020 Cal. App LEXIS (Cal. Ct. App, May 26, 2020).
The Mosleys rented their property to Pedro Lopez. Six months later, the
Although there were concurrent state and federal proceedings regarding the insureds' claims for damage caused by Kilauea Volcano, the federal district court refused to dismiss or stay the federal action. Aqulina v Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's Syndicate #2003, 465 F. Supp. 3d 1066 (D. Haw. 2020).
Plaintiffs held homeowner's policies from