Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Filing A Lawsuit Against An Insurance Company

April 12, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

When a couple in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, or Weatherford, has to sue an insurance company, is there anything that they have to do first? The Texas legislature has enacted laws and the Supreme Court of Texas enforces these laws telling us what to do. The quick answer is; see an experienced Insurance Law Attorney. The longer answer follows.

Texas Insurance Code, Section 541.154(a) and (b), tells us that as a prerequisite to filing a suit seeking damages, the plaintiff must give written notice to the other person at least sixty days before filing suit. The notice must tell the other person the specific complaint, and the amount of actual damages and expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred in asserting the claim. The best way for this to work is that once a person realizes that there is, or is going to be a problem, to write down everything that is happening. Try to remember back to all that has happened and write it down and gather any documents, such as letters, e-mails, faxes, the policy, etc., and get it organized to present to an attorney. Doing this while it is freshest in your memory is better than putting it off.

Texas Insurance Code, Section 541.154(c), tells us that notice is not required if the lawsuit must be filed sooner than the sixty day notice to avoid limitations, or if the claim is asserted as a counterclaim.

In Texas – Potential Recovery – Mental Anguish – Additional Damages – Attorney’s Fees

April 11, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

You live in Grand Prairie, Texas, or Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Weatherford, or anywhere else in Texas and your insurance company does you wrong. What are the remedies against the insurance company?

A prior blog at this site discusses the policy damages that can be recovered under an insurance policy. The policy damages being the actual benefits provided by the policy that the insurance company should have paid or the actual policy benefits themselves. We will discuss three other recoveries here; mental anguish damages, “treble damages” and attorney’s fees.

To be able to recover mental anguish damages when an insurance company violates the Texas Insurance Code, the policyholder must show that the insurance company acted “knowingly.” This is stated in the Texas Supreme Court case, State Farm Life Insurance Company v. Beaston, a 1995 case.

Texas Insurance – Actual Damages – Policy Benefits

April 10, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

For the Grand Prairie resident or the resident in Arlington, Weatherford, Fort Worth, or Dallas, the concern is – What do I get paid if the insurance company does me wrong.

There are several types of damages to be recovered, depending on the wrong committed by the insurance company. This article will deal with “actual damages” and the recovery of policy benefits.

It makes sense that the most common actual damages are the policy benefits themselves. As a matter of law, at least in certain cases, the amount of policy benefits wrongfully withheld is an element of damages caused by the insurance companies wrongful conduct in the matter. This was stated in the Texas Supreme Court case, Vail v. Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. This was a 1988 court decision where the Court rejected Texas Farm Bureau’s arguement that damages for an unfair settlement practice had to be something more than the amounts due under the policy. The Supreme Court said that damages for a wrongful refusal to pay are at least equal to the policy benefits, as a matter of law. The Court in its reasoning stated:

Texas Insurance And Hospital Liens

April 9, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

What happens if you get treated at a hospital in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Weatherford, or anywhere else in Texas and the treatment was the result of an accident that someone else caused? Guess what the lawyers answer is! It depends!

The Texas Property Code, Section 55.002, states in part that “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 attributed to the negligence of another person.” Okay! What does this mean? This is answered by Section 55.003(a), where its states in part, the lien attaches to:

(2) a judgment of a court in this state … brought by the injured individual … to recover damages arising from an injury for which the injured individual is admitted to the hospital or receives emergency medical services; and

What Can Be Recovered When You Are Wronged By A Texas Insurance Company

April 8, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

If you get treated wrongly by your insurance company and you live in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Weatherford, Fort Worth, or Dallas, the first thing you should do is find an Insurance Law Attorney. He will tell you some of the following:

A plaintiff who prevails against an insurance company may obtain:

a) actual damages b) additional damages if the insurance company acted knowingly c) court costs d) attorney’s fees e) other monies depending on the wrongful act This article will deal just with one potential recovery, that being, the actual damages.

Business Owners Insurance In Texas

April 7, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

What if you are a business owner in Arlington, Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Fort Worth, Dallas, or somewhere else in Texas, and your business is shut down for a while? How does your commercial policy help you with lost income?

This was the question in the case, Catlin Syndicate Limited v. Imperial Palace of Mississippi, Inc; Imperial Palace of Mississippi, LLC. This case was decided by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. The date of its decision is March 15, 2010.

Catlin Syndicate Limited (Catlin) is an insurer. They insured the casino operator Imperial Palace of Mississippi (Imperial). As the result of damage caused by hurricane Katrina, Imperial suffered a business interruption. Imperial was shut down for several months. When Imperial reopened it made much greater revenue than before the hurricane because many of the nearby casinos remained closed, and people had fewer gambling choices. Catlin agreed to pay Imperial’s claim but there was a dispute as to how the business interruption loss should be calculated.

In Texas – Who Do You Sue?

April 6, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

You live in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas, Weatherford, or anywhere else in Texas and you get treated wrong with your insurance policy – Who do you sue? The answer is not very hard.

First of all …. seek the advice of an experienced Insurance Law Attorney. Then …

The Texas Insurance Code, Section 541.151, provides that a person who has sustained damages caused by another’s engaging in unfair or deceptive insurance practices may sue the person engaging in those acts or practices. Texas Insurance Code Statute, 541.002(2) defines “person” to mean “an individual, corporation, association, partnership, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, Lloyd’s plan, fraternal benefit society, or any other legal entity engaged in the business of insurance, including an agent, broker, adjuster or life insurance counselor.”

Who Can Sue? … A “Person” Or A “Consumer”

April 5, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

Is a Grand Prairie resident who purchases an auto policy a person or a consumer for purposes of Texas law? What about residents of Arlington, Fort Worth, Weatherford, or Dallas? Why does it matter?

The Texas Insurance Code allows “persons” to bring claims against insurance companies and their agents. The Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) gives this power to “consumers”. The DTPA, Section 17.45(4) defines consumer as one who seeks or acquires goods or services.

Someone suing under the Insurance Code does not have to prove he is a consumer. This is told to us in the 1987, Texas Supreme Court case, Aetna Casualty & Sur. Co. v. Marshall.

It’s Not Your Policy – Can You Still Sue?

April 4, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

A Grand Prairie man is in a wreck and the other guy’s insurance company tells him to get his car fixed and where to go. Same facts, but the guy is from Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Weatherford, or somewhere else in Texas. The insurance company later denies the claim for benefits. What does this mean?

It is rare for a person to be able to make a claim for benefits or sue an insurance company that is not his own insurance company. The exceptions have been pointed out in other posts and deal with situations where the person who does not have the policy was an intended beneficiary of the policy. An easy to understand example is a life insurance policy.

The general rule, or law in Texas is that a third party cannot use the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) or the Insurance Code for sueing an insurance company or one of it’s representatives or agents. But there is Texas case law that allows the third party claimant to sue when the insurance company makes misrepresentations that result in harm to the third party claimant.

Excess Insurance Case Law In Texas

April 3, 2010 | Mark S. Humphreys

If a resident of Grand Prairie or Arlington or other cities such as Dallas, Fort Worth, Weatherford, and others in Texas has a policy of insurance with a limit and another policy that covers claims that go over the limit of the first insurance policy, what happens if the primary policy does not cooperate in settling the case? The Texas Supreme Court answered this question in a 1992 case.

The style of this case is long, American Centennial Insurance Company and First State Insurance v. Canal Insurance Company, Talbert, Biessel, Stone & Lyman, Giessel, Stone, Barker & Lyman, Henry P. Giessel and Richard S. Joseph. Canal Insurance Company (Canal) was the primary insurance company with coverage of $100,000. American Centennial Insurance Company (American) had coverage from $1 million to $4 million and First State Insurance (First State) had insurance from $100,000 for $1 million and were the excess insurance companies. In this case, the insured company was General Rent-A-Car International, Inc., who was sued for injuries and death allegedly resulting from a blowout of a defective tire on one its rental cars.

In the lawsuit against General, there was a $3.7 million settlement based on the claim itself and the alleged mishandling by trial counsel in the litigation. Trial counsel are the other parties named in the style of the lawsuit.