An insurer took its coverage fight to the Eleventh Circuit, only to find there was nothing left to fight about.
Mt. Hawley Insurance Company had spent months arguing it owed no defense to its insured, H&M Builders, LLC. On August 11, 2026, a federal appeals court dismissed the appeal outright - not on the merits, but because the dispute had already dissolved.
The case began at a construction site, where a worker was electrocuted while installing rebar. H&M was a subcontractor on the project, and Mt. Hawley had issued it a commercial general liability policy in effect the day of the incident.
The worker's estate, through the personal representative, sued H&M and other entities for wrongful death in Florida state court, alleging that a failure to maintain the worksite caused his death.
Mt. Hawley defended H&M but reserved its right to contest that duty. It then asked a federal court to declare, under the Declaratory Judgment Act, that it owed no duty to defend or indemnify. The trial court ruled first on the defense question and sided with H&M, finding Mt. Hawley had a duty to defend.
Mt. Hawley appealed immediately - an interlocutory appeal, meaning an appeal taken before a case is fully resolved. Then timing undid it. After Mt. Hawley filed its opening brief but before H&M answered, the parties settled the state suit. The state court dismissed it. The trial court dismissed the indemnity claim as moot and entered final judgment against Mt. Hawley.
The appeals court gave three separate reasons it lacked jurisdiction. With the state suit gone, no live controversy remained - both sides agreed the settlement "put an end to any go-forward defense obligation" Mt. Hawley owed. The trial court's order also had no "injunctive qualities," so it was never appealable early. And a final judgment now existed, meaning any appeal belonged to that judgment.
The parties tried to keep the case alive over possible defense costs or attorney fees. The court refused, noting that "parties may not stipulate to federal jurisdiction."
The lesson for insurers and coverage counsel is practical: a duty-to-defend appeal can vanish the moment the underlying suit settles, and a partial defense-duty ruling is not automatically appealable - it needs injunctive teeth first.
