Texas Insurance Code, Section 542A, is being used regularly now by insurance companies to prevent Plaintiffs from defeating diversity jurisdiction. This Insurance Code Section was discussed by a court in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, in a case styled, Robert Ewell v. Centauri Specialty Insurance Company, et al.…
The vast majority of insurance cases are Ordered by a Court to participate in a mediation. There is good reason for this. Most cases, if they do not settle before mediation, will settle at mediation. The settlement brings an end to the litigation between the parties and saves court time…
Like it or not, an insured suing his insurance company has a much better chance of getting a favorable or more favorable result in State Court versus Federal Court. And, the insurance companies know this. As a result, an insurance company is always seeking to have a case heard /…
Lawyers handling hail damage claims have to prove the claim. This is illustrated in a Southern District of Texas case styled, Faustina Ortiz v. United States Liability Insurance Group, et al. Ortiz owns a restaurant in Conroe, Texas. He had a policy of insurance with United that provided coverage for…
Insurance lawyers always want to remove cases filed by insured’s to the Federal Courts. In most instances they are successful in these efforts. Here is a situation where the insurance lawyers were too late in getting the case removed to Federal Court. This case is from the Southern District of…
Here is an opinion issued by a Magistrate Judge from the Western District, Austin Division, which says that the insurer was too late in accepting responsibility for the acts of its agent, the adjuster, when the company accepted responsibility the day before removal was filed. The case is styled, Robbins…
Lawyers handling insurance claims run into situations where damages that have occurred to property have to be segregated. This happens most often in the context of hail and wind damage to property. The U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, issued an opinion that does a good job…
Here is a situation where the insured won at the trial level of the case but ended up losing on appeal. The case is from the Amarillo Court of Appeals and is styled, State Farm Lloyds v. Robert MacKeen and Rebecca MacKeen. The facts in the case are not particularly…
Lawyers who handle National Flood Insurance Program claims, otherwise known as the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (NFIA) need to understand the difference between NFIA claims and other insurance claims. One of the big differences is the shortened statute of limitations that applies to NFIA claims. This is illustrated…
The Texas Insurance Code, Section 542A, became the law in Texas in September 2017. The cases involving this law are working their way through the Court system. This law was recently discussed in a U.S. Southern District, Houston Division opinion styled, Greatland Investment, Inc., a/b/a Southwest Plaza v. Mt. Hawley…