Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Insurance Law And Deceptive Trade Practices Act

April 16, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insured people in places like Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mansfield, Burleson, Crowley, Joshua, Keene, Alvarado, and other places in Texas would know very little about Texas Insurance Law or the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The two are connected and maybe this article will help to make that clear.

A large part of this information is taken from a lawyer resource called, Texas Practice Guide – Insurance Litigation.

The Texas Insurance Code, Section 541.151(2) cross-references and prohibits conduct defined in the Texas Business & Commerce Code, Section 17.46(b). This 17.46 is part of what is commonly called the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). the DTPA applies to all types of consumer transactions, not just insurance, so many of the provisions are not directly relevant. The most relevant provisions prohibit:

Title Insurance Policies And Boundary Lines

April 14, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Everybody in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Parker County, Tarrant County, Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, Cleburne, Mineral Wells, or any other place in Texas has a property line associated with his property. Title to land (property lines) is part of the coverage in a title insurance policy. As a result, the following case should be of some interest to all property owners.

The case deals with an opinion handed down by the Court of Appeals, Fort Worth. It was delivered on March 24, 2011. The style of the case is Jimmy D. Hand v. Old Republic Title Insurance Company. Here is some background.

Hand’s neighbor, Glen Jones, sued Hand over a rock wall that Hand built along the border separating their properties. Specifically, Jones claims that the rock wall “fails to follow the true boundary line and encroaches upon the boundary of his property.” Jones sued for trespass to try title and adverse possession.

Mortgage Accidental Death Policy

April 12, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Mortgage holders in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Arlington, Aledo, Azle, Fort Worth, Dallas, Irving, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Pantego, and other places in Texas would find an interest in the case discussed below.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, issued an opinion on March 18, 2011, styled, Brenda LeMeilleur v. Monumental Life Insurance Company: Trustees of the National Homeowners Group Insurance Trust, c/o Countrywide Insurance Services, Incorporated. This case is an appeal from the district court where a ruling was handed down in favor of the insurance company. That ruling was affirmed by this appeals court.

Here are some facts:

Uninsured / Underinsured Coverage And Limitations

April 10, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone with uninsured and underinsured coverage in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Irving, Pantego, Dalworthington Gardens, or anywhere else in Texas would probably have a hard time understanding when it becomes too late to file a claim for benefits under these coverages. Maybe this will help.

A Texas Supreme Court case decided in 1974, is still good law and a reference point for answering this question. The case is styled, “Raul C. Franco et us. v. Allstate Insurance Company.

In this case, Franco and his wife sought to recover from Allstate Insurance Company, under the uninsured motorist provision of their insurance policy, for the death of their daughter and personal injuries to Franco, arising out of an accident alleged to have been caused by the negligence of an uninsured motorist. Their suit was filed approximately three years after the date of the accident and death. The question is whether the two or four year statute of limitations is applicable to either or both of the claims asserted.

Insurance Companies Cheating

April 9, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Do people in Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Springtown, Peaster, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Mineral Wells, Poolville, Whitt, or any other place in Texas remember several years ago when Farmers Insurance quit writing homeowners insurance policies in Texas? Remember the uproar and complaints by homeowners to the insurance company and to elected representatives? Do you remember why this was happening?

Here is what this writer has heard mixed with what was on the TV and radio news and in the papers. Farmers was alleging too many lawsuits and too many mold claims were causing costs to rise far beyond what they should and as a result they were forced to raise rates. However, this rate increase was put in place without approval by the state regulatory boards and agencies who oversee these matters. This battle, some could say a public relations battle, went on for months.

The truth was there, but for some reason it was never made real clear and to catch on to what was going on, someone would have to be paying very close attention. Here are a couple of things that were clear:

A Bad Faith Insurance Claim

April 7, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is one for the insured in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas, Mansfield, Lancaster, De Soto, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Pantego, or any other city and town in Texas.

What happens when you are in an accident that is your fault, the other person, who is injured makes a claim against your insurance company for an amount of money that is within your policy limits, the insurance company refuses to pay, the injured person sues you and gets a judgment in excess of your policy limits; Are you liable for the amount of money above what the insurance policy pays?

Answer: It depends! Don’t you just hate it.

Title Insurance Policy Rights

April 5, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Title insurance policy holders in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Weatherford, Garland, Mesquite, Richardson, Irving, Grapevine, Colleyville, and other places in Texas know very little about the laws dealing with title insurance policies.

The United States Court of Apeals for the Firth Circuit issued an opinion on March 23, 2011, that dealt with title insurance policies and one of the laws that deal with those policies. The style of the case is, Emma Benavides, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Chicago Title Insurance Co.

The primary reason this case was in the court of appeals was because the district court had refused to allow the case to go forward as a class action lawsuit. The court spends a good amount of time discussing the class action laws but that is not the purpose of this article. The basis of the lawsuit is what is kinda interesting.

Insurance And Hospital Liens

April 3, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is one for people in Weatherford, Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, Aledo, Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, Irving, and anywhere else in Texas to know. It regards insurance settlements and hospital liens.

This is an opnion issued on March 17, 2011, by the Texas Court of Appeals, First District, Houston. The style of the case is, Memorial Hermann Hospital System v. Progressive County Mutual Insurance Company.

In this case, Progressive settled a claim brought against one of its insureds arising out of injuries in a car accident. Memorial filed a hospital lien for the cost of medical treatment to the injured person half an hour before Progressive issued the settlement check. Under the Texas Hospital Lien Law, a hospital “has a lien on a cause of action or claim of an individual who receives hospital services for injuries caused by an accident that is attibuted to the negligence of another person.” Texas Property Coce, Section 55.002. To secure the lien, Section 55.005 requires the hospital file notice with the county clerk before payments to the entitled party. The statute also declares that the county clerk “shall index the record in the name of the injured individual.”

Title Insurance Policies

April 2, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Dallas, Fort Worth, or anywhere else in the metroplex area who has a title insurance policy may be interested in the following case.

The Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals, Houston, issued an opinion on March 17, 2011, where a lawsuit was filed concerning issues that dealt with title policies.

The style of the case is, Windsor Village, Ltd. and Jackob Elbaz v. Stewart Title Insurance Company. This is an appeal from the 113th District Court, Harris County, Texas.

Insurance And Business Owners

March 31, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Business owners in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Cedar Hill, Irving, De Soto, Duncanville, Mesquite, Garland, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Richardson, and other places in Texas might be interested in the following case if they find themselves in a position where they are buying or selling a business.

The style of the case is, Ford Bacon & Davis, L.L.C. v. Travelers Insurance Co., et al. This case was decided on March 14, 2011, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This is a case where one company purchased the assets of another company.

A 1996 Asset Purchase Agreement (the agreement) was between Ford, Bacon & Davis, L.L.C. (FBD LLC) and Ford, Bacon & Davis, Inc. (FBC Inc.) The agreement explicity excluded coverage relevant to this lawsuit, which is “asbestos related lawsuits.”