General

Insurance Lawyer And Federal Court

November 23, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insurance lawyers in Dallas can tell you that an insurance company that has been sued would prefer to litigate in Federal Court rather than State Court. Here is a case to keep in mind when trying to stay in out of Federal Court.

This case is out of the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, McAllen Division. The style is, Bil-Sonic Trading Co., Inc. v. America First Insurance Company, et al, and the opinion was issued in 2013.

In this case, Bil-Sonic sued three defendants in State Court and the defendants had the court removed to Federal Court claiming the suit against was one defendant, Mason, was a fraudulent joiner solely for the purpose of defeating diversity jurisdiction. Bil-Sonic filed papers attempting to have the case removed back to State Court.

Reasons For An Insurance Lawyer

November 21, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas / Fort Worth insurance lawyers need to know how to properly plead a lawsuit and here is a case worth reading.

The case is styled Radenbaugh v. State Farm Lloyds. It is a 2013, opinion from the U.S. District Court, Northern District, Fort Worth Division.

The case tells us Radenbaugh initiated this action in State District Court by the filing of a complaint asserting five causes of action against State Farm–breach of contract, violations of the Texas Insurance Code, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, bad faith, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (“DTPA”). State Farm removed the case to this Federal Court. The Federal Court ordered that the pleading be amended to comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Court of Civil Procedure and Rule 9, if applicable.

Forced Placed Policies

October 15, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas insurance attorneys who deal with homeowners claims are usually going to have some familiarity with forced-placed insurance policies.

Most people will not ever have to deal with forced placed policies, but if you do, it can be a nightmare.

Forced place insurance is an insurance policy taken out by a lender or creditor when a customer does not carry insurance on an asset. The charges for this insurance are passed on to the customer.

Insurance Law Attorney

October 10, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Residents of the Dallas Fort Worth area and everywhere need to make sure they hire an experienced Insurance Law Attorney when they are dealing with a dispute involving an insurance company.

The San Antonio Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case styled, Clark and Nancy Sadler v. Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Companies. Here is some of the relevant information.

Clark and Nancy Sadler appealed a no-evidence summary judgment granted in favor of Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Companies (“Farm Bureau”) on the Sadlers’ Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) claim.

Insurance Law And Negligence

September 28, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Grand Prairie insurance lawyers need to understand how negligence works in an insurance case.

Negligence in the insurance context as in other situations, consists of three elements. These are:

1) a legal duty owed by one person to another;

First Party Insurance

September 24, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Mineral Wells insurance lawyers need to know the difference between first party claims and third party claims and how that relates to bad faith insurance claims.

The Texas common law duty of good faith and fair dealing extends protection to the insured, whether the insured obtained the insurance coverage directly or coverage was obtained some other way for the insured. The 1987, Texas Supreme Court, in the case, Arnold v. National County Mutual Fire Insurance Co. recognized a common law duty of good faith and fair dealing owed to an insured, which arises from the “special relationship” established by the insurance contract. In the 1988 case, Aranda v. Insurance Company of North America, the Texas Supreme Court extended this duty of good faith and fair dealing to a worker insured under a workers’ compensation policy purchased by his employer.

An injured third party claimant lacks standing to sue the negligent driver’s liability insurance company for breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. We know this from the 1994 Texas Supreme Court case, Allstate Insurance Company v. Watson.

Insurance And Tort Reform

September 10, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas area attorneys will keep up with changes in the law. This is true regarding tort reform that effects any part of insurance.

The consumer group, Texas Watch, published an article titled, “Ten Years Later: How House Bill 4 Has Harmed Texans.” Here is what the article tells us.

Riding an electoral wave that saw the election of Rick Perry to his first full term as governor, a large class of freshman members in the House, and speaker, Tom Craddick, the corporate immunity lobby tilled fertile ground during the 78th Legislature in 2003. This lobby and their functionaries in the Legislature rammed through HB 4 in 2003, an omnibus package of restrictions that were sweeping in scope and unprecedented in their destructive effect on the rights and lives of everyday Texans.

Attorney Fees In Insurance Cases

September 1, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas insurance lawyers and for that matter, almost all attorneys are going to be able to discuss with a client the various rules and statutes that allow for recovery of attorney fees in cases.

The Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Chapter 38, is the first rule most attorneys will learn about regarding recovery of attorney fees.

Section 38.001 tells us that a person may recover reasonable attorney’s fees from an individual or corporation, in addition to the amount of a valid claim and costs, if the claim is for:

Insurance Payments And Coverage

August 22, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Parker County attorneys probably know the law about this case even if they have not read the case. The case is an opinion from the Houston Court of Appeals, First District. The style of the case is, Texas Farm Bureau Underwriters and Texas Farm Bureau Insurance v. Douglas Rasmussen and Kathy Rasmussen.

The Rasmussens owned a rental house located in Texas. Beginning in 2006, the Rasmussens insured the house with Texas Farm Bureau. To encourage a shift in their insurance provider, the insurance agent, Bolton, told the Rasmussens that he would take care of the Rasmussens’ insurance needs, provide more personalized service, and notify them of any changes to their policies.

The Rasmussens renewed the policy that covered the rental home in June 2007. They paid the premium for the term of June 1, 2007 to June 1, 2008. They did not pay the premium when it was again due in June 2008. In January 2009, the fire occurred. The Rasmussens submitted an insurance claim, but the Texas Farm Bureau denied it.

What To Do Before Suing On An Insurance Claim

August 3, 2013 | Mark S. Humphreys

Dallas insurance lawyers know the pre-suit requirements of filing a lawsuit against an insurance company.

This essentially means giving the insurance company or agent, at least a sixty day written notice detailing what the complaint is and what you expect them to do about it. This notice must tell the person the specific complaint, the amount of the actual damages and expenses, including attorney fees, incurred in asserting the claim. This is codified in the Texas Insurance Code, Section 541.154(a) and (b).

An exception to the notice requirement would be (1) waiting the 60 days would allow the limitations period to expire, and (2) when the claim is asserted as a counterclaim. This is codified in Section 541.154(c).