Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

House Fires And Insurance And Arson

August 30, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

A house fire in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Garland, Mesquite, Richardson, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Irving, or anywhere else in the North Texas area is a real nightmare for those involved. It is even worse when the insurance company accuses you of arson and denies the claim.

There are many things an experienced Insurance Law Attorney can do to help someone who is accused by the insurance company of having committed arson own their own house in order to recover the insurance proceeds.

One first needs to understand that arson is a criminal offense. The crime of arson is defined in the Texas Penal Code, Section 28.02. According to this section of the Penal Code:

Suspicion Of Arson

August 28, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Arson happens in places like Fort Worth, Dallas, Garland, Irving, Mesquite, Richardson, Plano, Duncanville, De Soto, and all other places in Texas at one time or another. But to be accused of arson and have your insurance claim denied because you are suspected by the insurance company is something else. Is there a typical case or situation where this comes about? The answer is no. Every situation has to be scrutinized based on the facts of that particular situation.

The Texarkana Court of Appeals issued an opinion in a 1990 case that discusses the way these arson cases are evaluated. The style of the case is, The St. Paul Guardian Insurance Company v. Teri Lynn Luker and Paul Kimbel Luker. In the case, a jury found in favor of the Lukers and compensated the Lukers for contractual damages of $27,000 and tort damages of $50,000 and mental anguish of $15,000. The court reversed all but the contractual damages of $27,000.

Here are some of the facts of this case.

When Can An Insurance Company Declare A Policy Void?

August 27, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

If you live in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Saginaw, Haslet, Newark, Rhome, Benbrook, Lake Worth, Crowley, Mansfield, or anywhere else in North Texas, there is a chance you have a life insurance policy. Naturally you would expect that the policy would pay the intended beneficary. Well, that is not always the case, particularly if the insurance company can show misrepresentations in the policy application. Whenever they try to do this, it is vital that an experienced Insurance Law Attorney be contacted.

The Texas Supreme Court took on this issue in a case decided in 1980, styled, Mattie Emmaline Mayes v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. Here are some of the facts in the case.

On May 6, 1976, Albert Mayes signed and delivered to an agent, Part 1 of two applications for life insurance. Mays had not disclosed to Mutual Life that certain answers in his application which were correct when made had become false by the time the policies were delivered. The two policies were identical except for the amount of coverage.

Misrepresentation In Insurance Application By Applicant

August 25, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Life insurance policy holders in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Peaster, Brock, Millsap, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Springtown, and other places in Parker County would be interested in this case.

The case was decided by the Texas Supreme Court in 1978. The case is styled, James D. Robinson v. The Reliable Life Insurance Company. The insured beneficiary in this case lost at the trial court level and the first appeals court level and in the Supreme Court.

The question on appeal was whether an insurance company, in order to avoid liability of a policy of life insurance for the reason of false representations in the insurance application, must establish both that (1) the misrepresentation was material to the risk and that (2) the condition about which the misrepresentation was made contributed to the death of the insured.

Insurance Proceeds And Fraud

August 23, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

For someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills, Roanoke, Keller, and other places in North Texas, it is likely to happen. A spouse intentionally burns the house down. Well, what happens to the insurance money? Here is a case that provides some guidance.

The case was decided in 1999, by the Texas Supreme Court. It is styled, Texas Farmers Insurance Company v. Daisy Murphy. The question posed to the court was whether an innocent spouse can recover insurance proceeds when the other co-insured spouse has intentionally destroyed the covered community property.

Here is some background.

Deceptive Trade Practices And Homeowners Policy

August 21, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is something that insured people in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mansfield, and other places in Texas might be curious about. What happens if you have an insurance policy on your house. Next, the house burns down and a claim is made and denied. Next, the homeowner dies! Can the heirs pursue a claim against the insurance company for violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act or violations of the Texas Insurance Code?

The Fourth Court of Appeals District of Texas issued an opinion on July 27, 2011, that addressed this question. The style of the case is, Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. v. Shannan Rogers and Cristen Bazan, as legal heirs of Cynthia Bazan, deceased. This case was tried to a jury in the 198th Judicial District Court, Kerr County, Texas, which returned a verdict favorable to the heirs. This appeals court reversed. Here is some background.

In 2008, Cynthia Bazan purchased a house and was required to purchase insurance by the mortgage company. She applied for a policy with Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau initially refused coverage based on a wood-burning stove having inadequate protection. This was remedied and a policy was issued. Later, a fire completely destroyed Bazan’s house and all the contents. Bazan made a claim and Farm Bureau began an investigation which included a background check of Bazan and a “cause and origin” investigation of the fire. Farm Bureau obtained Bazan’s criminal record. Farm Bureau’s fire investigator listed the cause of the fire as “undetermined.”

How Long Does An Insurance Company Have To Pay A Claim

August 20, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Anyone in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Aledo, or anywhere else in Texas may ask the question which is the title of this post. The answer is not as easy as one would hope it to be.

The Texas Insurance Code has a subchapter titled “Prompt Payment of Claims.” This subchapter consists of eleven sections. To answer the question of how long an insurance company has to pay a claim, the section has to be read with the applicable policy and then apply both to the facts of the case.

A 1998, Fourteenth District Court of Appeals case styled, John A Daugherty, Jr. v. American Motorists Insurance Company, deals with the question. The case was decided by the trial judge in favor of the insurance company and then the decision was upheld by this appeals court. Here is the story.

Insurance Payment Delays

August 18, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

If you have insurance in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Dallas, Irving, Mesquite, Garland, or anywhere else in Texas, you would like to think that when you make a claim against your insurance company, that they are going to pay your claim and they are going to pay it promptly. The following is a case where they, first refused to pay then later decided to pay, but by that time it was a late payment.

This is a 1996, Texarkana Court of Appeals case styled, Southland Lloyd’s Insurance Co. and James D. Webb, III v. Charles W. Tomberlain, individually and d/b/a Charles Tomberlain Insurance Agency and Charles M. Tomberlain. The case is somewhat complicated and deals with other issues besides the prompt payment of the claim but the facts are kinda interesting to follow and the law regarding prompt payment is discussed enough to educate.

Southland and Webb were appealing a judgment entered in a lawsuit by Charles M. Tomberlain for delayed payment of an insurance claim. The court reversed the judgment and remanded for a new trial due to errors regarding the jury charge, exclusion of expert testimony, and the granting of a directed verdict.

Blamed For Arson

August 16, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Arsons happen in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Millsap, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Brock, Peaster, Springtown, and all over Parker County and Texas. But that does not mean the person who owned the property committed the arson. And when the insurance company does an investigation and finds the property owner is having financial problems that does not mean the property owner burned the property either. After all the vast majority of people have financial problems.

Here is a case that deals with arson and the insurance company attempt to blame the arson on the homeowners. The case opinion was issued in 2000, by the Dallas Court of Appeals. The case is styled, Texas Farmers Insurance Company v. Cloteal L. Cameron, et al.

The jury found against Farmers for violations of the Texas Insurance Code, bad faith, violation of the Prompt Payment of Claims Act, mental anguish, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, knowing and intentional conduct, and attorney fees. This appeals court reversed the finding regarding the mental anguish claim and part of the attorney fees claim and the calculation of interest on the claim.

Insurable Interest

August 14, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insured’s in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Hudson Oaks, Springtown, Willow Park, Brock, Millsap, Peaster, and other places in Parker County might wonder, what does “insurable interest” mean. Here is a case that talks about it.

The opinion in this case was issued in 2000, by the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals. The style of the case is, Colonial County Mutual Insurance Company v. Hector Valdez. Here is some background.

Colonial County Mutual Insurance Company (Colonial) appealed a judgment against them by Valdez, wherein Valdez was awarded damages. This court affirmed the judgment with some reformation. Early on, Colonial had filed a declaratory judgment action asking the court to rule there was no coverage in the case due to Valdez not having an “insurable interest.” Factually here is what happened.