Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith

The U.S. Fifth Circuit affirms Barrasso Usdin’s trial victory, finding that insurer did not waive its right to deny coverage under policy’s notice provision.

Louisiana Supreme Court Enforces Insurance Policy’s Designated Premises Provision

Barrasso trial team successfully defends multi-million attack by excess insurer in insurance dispute.

Barrasso Usdin wins dismissal of putative class action in Virginia coverage dispute.

The firm represents an excess liability insurer that issued a $50 million excess policy in connection with sprawling litigation arising out of the discovery of a sinkhole formation and its ensuing impact on the surrounding area.

Barrasso Usdin obtained a nuisance value settlement for its client, Colony Insurance Co., just weeks before trial through a magistrate-conducted mediation.  

Our firm has obtained favorable rulings from the U.S. Fifth Circuit and the LA Supreme Court in ongoing Preferred Provider Organization (“PPO”) litigation in Louisiana where medical providers have sought hundreds of millions of dollars from employers and their insurers. 

The Firm represented Homesite Indemnity Company in a Missouri state court class action lawsuit challenging coverage and the claim adjustment process. 

Barrasso Usdin defended Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in coverage litigation concerning Liberty Mutual's alleged duty to defend and indemnify an underlying wrongful-death and injury litigation arising out of a FEMA trailer explosion.

In a high-profile coverage dispute arising from the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Firm obtained summary dismissal of bad faith claims asserted by Cameron International Corporation (“Cameron”) against Liberty Insurance Underwriters, Inc. (“LIU”). 

The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the firm’s client, a CGL insurer, finding that the policies’ professional liability exclusions precluded any duty to defend the insured architecture firm (Wisznia Co.) in a lawsuit brought by Jefferson Parish alleging that the firm designed and prepared a defective set of plans for the Jefferson Parish Performing Arts Center. 

The firm represented several insurers, including Allstate, Chubb, Liberty Mutual and Safeco, in federal multidistrict litigation and Louisiana state cases involving allegedly defective Chinese drywall.

A win by the Firm was featured in Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance Bad Faith. 

The Firm won a victory in the Louisiana Supreme Court, saving the client, a commercial general liability insurer, a substantial amount. 

The Firm successfully represented a large property and casualty insurer in an insurance coverage dispute with three other insurance companies concerning liability for nearly $9 million paid to settle underlying lawsuits alleging personal injuries caused by a 2006 FEMA trailer explosion. 

The Firm won summary judgment for a major commercial property insurer and its insured, an anti-theft alarm manufacturer.

Barrasso Usdin obtained a second victory related to the issue of whether claims for hearing loss, due to long-term occupational exposure to noise, constitute disease or accident for purposes of coverage under a Compensation/Employer’s Liability (“WC/EL”) policy. 

Barrasso usdin won summary judgment for a major commercial property insurer dismissing a publicly-traded insured’s alleged multi-million dollar property damage and bad faith claims. 

In the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Steve Usdin secured summary judgment for a major insurer.

Following an adverse judgment in favor of plaintiff on auto and personal injury claims in Louisiana state court, Liberty Mutual retained the firm on emergency referral. 

Barrasso Usdin, co-counsel for Allstate, defeated class certification in a suit against Allstate Insurance Company before Judge Richard Haik in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.