Grand Prairie attorneys and those in Dallas, Richardson, Mesquite, Garland, Carrollton, and other places in Dallas County should keep themselves informed about law in other areas of the country. Knowledge of how other states handle their cases gives insight and argument concerning how Texas courts should handle similar cases.
Here is a short brief on a Louisiana insurance case.
The style of the case is Katie Realty, Ltd. v. Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Weatherford lawyers and those in Mineral Wells, Aledo, Hudson Oaks, Springtown, Willow Park, Brock, Millsap, and other places in Parker County would respect the job performed in this case.
This is a 1984, Houston Court of Appeals [1 Dist.] opinion. The style of the case is, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Francis. Here are some facts:
This is a suit to establish insurance coverage and to collect from State Farm the damages recovered by Francis in a trial against an alleged non-named insured.
Fort Worth lawyers and those in Saginaw, Lake Worth, Benbrook, Keller, Wylie, and other places in Tarrant County would need to keep up with news related to Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance benefits.
The Orlando Sentinel ran a story on Ocotber 1, 2012, that briefly discussed PIP in Florida. The article tells us that a group of chiropractors, massage therapists and acupuncturists have sued the state over a new personal injury protection law that lawmakers heralded as key to reducing auto insurance rates in Florida.
The lawsuit says that the new PIP law, passed this spring, “imposes sweeping changes and significant restrictions on both health care providers and consumers.”
Fort Worth insurance law attorneys need to know how underinsured motorist claims are handled by the courts.
The Austin Court of Appeals issued an opinion in September, 2012, that deals with this issue. The style of the case is In re American National County Mutual Insurance Company. Here is some relevant information from the case.
The lawsuit underlying this case arises from an automobile accident that occurred in 2009, between Cole and another driver, Estelline Bullock. Cole sued Bullock and eventually settled her claims for the limits of Bullock’s insurance policy, $100,000. Cole then made a claim under the uninsured/underinsured provision (“UIM”) of her own policy with American National. After rejecting American National’s offer to settle her UIM claim for $5,000, Cole sued American National for breach of contract, alleging that American National failed to pay her covered UIM claim. Cole also brought extra-contractual claims for common-law bad faith and insurance code violations. American National filed a traditional motion for summary judgment and in the alternative, a motion for severance and abatement. Specifically, American National requested that the trial court sever Cole’s extra-contractual claims, place those claims into a separate cause, and abate that cause pending final resolution of Cole’s claim for breach of contract. The trial court denied the motions and this mandamus proceeding followed.
Grand Prairie insurance attorneys need to know how courts are handling the cases related to first party insurance claims.
The San Antonio Court of Appeals issued an opinion in September, 2012, wherein the insured person did not hire an attorney. Instead he handled the case himself. The results are predictable.
The style of the case is, Clark v. Bristol West Insurance Services of Texas, Inc. Here is some of the case information:
Weatherford lawyers handling insurance claims need to have an understanding of about “good faith and fair dealing” as it relates to an insurance company’s duty it owes one of its insureds.
This is an area of law that a lot of attorneys do not know a lot about. Insurance law cases are not as well known as cases related to criminal law, family law, personal injury, bankruptcy, probate and business matters. There are a lot of statutes related to insurance, most of which are found in the Texas Insurance Code. But there is relevant law related to Insurance Law that is also found in the Texas Criminal Code, and the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, the Texas Transportation Code, and the Texas Labor Code, to name a few.
The State Bar of Texas, Insurance Law Section, recently published information related to the duty an insurance company owes to one of its insureds. This article dealt with the duty of “good faith and fair dealing” that is owed by the company to its customers.
Fort Worth insurance lawyers and those in Lake Worth, Saginaw, North Richland Hills, and other parts of Tarrant County need to know the rules governing how an insurance company is suppose to pay a claim.
The Insurance Law Section of the State Bar of Texas published an article that is informative on this subject. It tells us how to calculate the 18 percent statutory damages available under the Prompt Payment of Claims Statute.
The 18 percent penalty is found in the Texas Insurance Code, Section 541.060. The sections 542.051 through 542.061, establish the procedures for determining when first party claims are to be paid. Timetables are set out. These timetables will vary with the facts of the case. The remedies available against insurance companies for violations of the statute provide as follows:
Fort Worth Insurance Law attorneys need to know the responsibilities of agents in order to know when an agent has violated duties it owes to its insureds.
A 1992, opinion issued by the Amarillo Court of Appeals is noteworthy for the guidance its gives on this matter. The style of the case is, Horn v. Hedgecoke Insurance Agency. Here is some of the relevant information.
This appeal presents the novel question whether an insurance agency, through which an insurance policy was issued naming a mortgagee to whom a loss was payable and who paid the premium, has a duty of reasonably informing the mortgagee of the expiration and non-renewal of the policy by the named insured.
Parker County Attorneys who handle insurance cases need to know case law that will help clients. So, what does case law tell an attorney about agent responsibilities about keeping customers informed as to when a policy is fixing to expire?
In 1985, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case styled, Woodie Kitching et ux. v. Pete O. Zamora. Here is what this case tells us.
This is an appeal that arises from a negligence lawsuit brought by Woodie and Sandra Kitching against their flood insurance agent, Pete O. Zamora. At issue is whether an insurance agent can be held liable for failing to keep a customer informed about the expiration date of the customer’s insurance policy. The trial court rendered judgment for the Kitchings. This Court upheld that judgment.
Weatherford attorneys who handle insurance claims need to be aware of laws related to flood insurance. Here are a couple of cases that are good to know.
The first case is styled, Wright v. Allstate Insurance Company. It is a Federal Court opinion that was issued in 2007, by the 5th Circuit.
The insured homeowner sued Write Your Own insurer for fraud and negligent misrepresentation arising out of Tropical Storm Allison flood damage. Allstate had rejected Wright’s claim because of failure to cooperate and failure to file an adequate proof of loss. The district court found that Wright had failed to prove all of his damages were caused by flooding. In a prior appeal, the 5th Circuit had ruled that state law claims were pre-empted. Wright sought to amend the complaint to assert federal common law extra-contractual claims for fraud and misrepresentation.
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