Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Arson And Insurance

August 7, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Anyone living in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Millsap, Brock, Cool, Springtown, or other areas in Parker County, or the State of Texas know what arson means. The question to be wondered about is, what happens if your home burns as the result of an arson fire?

The Waco Court of Appeals issued an opinion in 1998, in the case styled, State Farm Fire and Casualty Insurance Company v. Sandra Sue Vandiver.

In this case Vandiver had sued State Farm seeking to recover damages which resulted from the destruction of her home by a fire. The trial court made many ruling in favor of Vandiver, the result of which, she won her case. One of these ruling was a directed verdict against State Farm on its arson defense. State Farm appealed and this court reversed the verdict and set the case for a new trial. Here is some relevant information.

Forced Placed Insurance

August 6, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

This will happen to insureds in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Irving, Fort Worth, Dallas, and other places through out Texas. You have a piece of property, such as a home, commercial building, a car, or something else of value. The entity that holds a lien on that piece of property will insist that there be insurance covering that piece of property. If you do not provide coverage, the lien holder will buy “force place insurance.” In other words, they will buy coverage for the property in order to protect their own financial interest in the property then they will usually charge back the costs of this insurance to the person who is financing the property.

So the question becomes – What kind of protection does this “forced placed insurance” provide?

The United States District Court, Southern District, McAllen Division, issued an opinion on a case recently that dealt with this issue. The style of the case is, Antonio Trevino v. Evanston Insurance Company, et al. Here is some background and facts.

Exemplary Damages In Auto Policies

August 4, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

A 1989 case decided by the Court of Appeals, El Paso, would be of interest to those in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, Crowley, Grapevine, Duncanville, Lake Worth, and other places in Texas who have a claim for exemplary damages.

The style of the case is, Emigdia C. Manriquez, Individually and on Behalf of all Statutory Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Jorge Ramon Manriquez, Deceased v. Mid-Century Insurance Company of Texas. Here is some background.

Manriquez and her group, are the widow and surviving parents of a pedestrian killed when struck by an unlicensed minor, Gregory Daniel Alkofer. A lawsuit resulted from this event.

Homeowners Claims

August 2, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Homeowners in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mesquite, Garland, Irving, and other places all through Texas scored a minor victory recently. This according to a Houston Chronicle article published this July. Much of the article is included here.

It appears homeowners insured by the two insurer’s of last resort will receive additional payments for their Hurricane Ike claims.

The two insurer’s are The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and Texas Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan. These two insurers sell insurance coverage to those who can’t find it in the private market. They have agreed to settle cases brought by state regulators over delayed payments and disputes over damaged roofs and other claims that resulted after the 2008 Hurricane Ike storm hit the Texas Gulf Coast.

Homeowners Claim Denial

July 31, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is an example for insured’s in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Millsap, Brock, Peaster, Cool, Springtown, and other parts of Parker County and Texas to pay attention to.

As has been mentioned before on this blog, insurance companies will almost always attempt to have a case moved from State Court to Federal Court. One reason is that Federal Courts seem to look for reasons to throw cases out of court or to strike down pleading by the plaintiff. This is a reason to always get an experienced Insurance Law Attorney when dealing with an insurance company. The attorneys for the insured in the following case are good attorneys but still the Federal Court ruled in favor of the insurance company in striking down some of the pleading of the plaintiff.

Here is some background.

Insurance And Appraisal

July 30, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Appraisals are a reality in most insurance policies, regardless if you live in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mansfield, or anywhere else in the state of Texas.

The United States District Court, Southern District, Houston Division, issued an opinion on July 1, 2011, in the case styled, EDM Office Services, Inc. v. Hartford Lloyds Insurance Company, et al.

This was a lawsuit to recover insurance proceeds and damages under the Texas Insurance Code and common law. Hartford was demanding an appraisal pursuant to the insurance policy and EDM was saying that Hartford had not complied with the conditions precedent identified in the insurance policy for appraisal because it had not conducted a reasonable investigation of the claim as required by Texas Insurance Code, Section 541.060(a)(7). Plus, EDM argued that even if Hartford was entitled to the appraisal, that Hartford had waived its right to the appraisal.

Accidental Death Benefits

July 28, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Accidental deaths would be common in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Keller, Saginaw, Grapevine, and any other place in Texas. It is simply one of those things that is going to happen.

A lot of people have insurance policy’s that provide coverage in the event of an accidental death. These policies are known as “accidental death” policies. The United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, issued an opinion on June 29, 2011, in the case styled, Cheryl Likens v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company. This case made a summary judgment ruling regarding an accidental death policy that people who have these types of policies should understand. Here is some background.

Wesley Vincent fell at his home in February 2008, and suffered injuries to his cervical spine. He died as a result of that injury four days later. The discharge summary from the hospital listed his cause of death as “anoxic brain injury secondary to cardiopulmonary arrest.”

Insurance And Attorney Fees

July 26, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Policy holders in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Crowley, Burleson, Rendon, Lake Worth, Benbrook, Hulen, and other areas of Texas probably get worried about attorney fees if they find themselves in a position where they need to fight with an insurance company. Some experienced Insurance Law Attorneys will work on a contingency fee basis rather than forcing someone to pay large retainer fees that scare away most people.

The ultimate questions would be: If I win, can I recover my attorney fees? The answer to that question in most all insurance claim lawsuits is “yes.” The District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, issued an opinion on June 28, 2011, that addresses this question. The style of the case is Berkley Regional Insurance Company, as Subrogee of Venus Rouhani and as Assignee/Subrogee of the Tower of Town Lake Condominium Association v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company. Here is some background.

In this case, Venus Rouhani is a third party who obtained a judgment against the Towers, the insured under an insurance contract with Philadelphia. Therefore, under Texas law, Rouhani was entitled to enforce the terms of the Philadelphia insurance contract. The court had, in earlier proceedings, held that Berkley obtained Rouhani’s rights under a judgment, either through contractual assignment or statutory subrogation,at which point Berkley became entitled to enforce the contract terms at issue in this case.

Fire Loss

July 24, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Whether you live in Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Mineral Wells, Millsap, Brock, Peaster, Springtown, Poolville, Cool, or anywhere else in Parker County, a fire loss to your home can be a devastating loss. It is compounded when your insurance company refuses to pay for the loss. It is compounded further when they accuse you of arson.

The Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion in a case in 1998, styled “State Farm Fire & Casualty Company v. James and Cynthia Simmons.” The legal issue presented to the court was whether there was sufficient evidence to support a jury finding that State Farm breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing and whether there was some evidence to support a punitive damages award. We will go over the good faith and fair dealing only point due to technicalities surrounding the punitive damages award.

Background information:

Insurance Company Demanding More Documents

July 23, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Dallas, Irving, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Lewisville, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, or anywhere else in the metroplex area would just get mad and frustrated with an insurance company treating them wrong, by continuing to ask for paperwork and documents that they don’t really need to evaluate and settle a claim. Usually the insurance company is just trying to wear you out. Here is a case where they did not get away with it.

In 2004, the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case styled, Minnesota Life Insurance Company v. Elia L. Vasquez. Elia sued Minnesota Life for knowing violations of the Texas Insurance Code and for mental anguish associated with those violations. We will deal with the knowing violations part of the opinion. Here are some of the allegations and facts.

Elia alleged that Minnesota Life unreasonably delayed payment of the proceeds of an accidental death policy that insured the life of her deceased husband. Minnesota Life contended that the cause of death was not clearly accidental and the delay was caused by its need to obtain additional medical records. The hospital from which the records were sought was unresponsive and did not turn over the requested documents to Minnesota Life for five months. Upon receipt of these records, Minnesota Life paid Elia’s claim.