Most insurance lawyers can tell a new client that the fact an insurance company refuses to pay a claim it should have paid does not make the insurance company liable for a bad faith insurance claim. The 1998, Texas Supreme Court case, Provident American Inc. v. Castanden, helps explain this.…
Lawyers handling “bad faith” insurance cases need to understand how bad faith is treated by Texas common law. This blog spends a lot of space dealing with the Texas Insurance Code and how violations of those statutes is bad faith insurance. Under Texas law, there is also a common law…
Most Parker County attorneys who handle insurance claims know that there is not a claim for “negligent claim handling,” that the claim that probably exists has to fall under one of those listed in the Texas Insurance Code. A 1991, San Antonio Court of Appeals case styled, United Services Automobile…
Insurance lawyers will tell you that insurance companies can expose themselves to risk by not settling liability claims that they should settle. This relates to what is called the “Stowers Doctrine.” But exposing themselves to risk and and suffering the risk are two different things. The 1960, Amarillo Court of…
Knowing what is not “bad faith” insurance is as important as knowing what is bad faith insurance so that a client can be properly advised. A 1994, Texas Supreme Court opinion helps to understand what is not bad faith. The style of the case is, Allstate v. Watson. Here is…
Insurance attorneys in Grand Prairie know that making the adjuster part of a lawsuit increase the chances that the case will not removed to Federal Court. The United States District Court, McAllen Division issued and opinion in January 2014, wherein the Court remanded a case the insurance company had removed…
Dallas County insurance attorneys know to make an adjuster part of a lawsuit whenever it is possible to do so. One reason is to make sure the case is fought in Federal Court rather than State Court. The United States District Court, McAllen Division, issued an opinion recently in the…
Texas insurance attorneys already know that bad faith claims in Texas only apply to 1st party claims, not 3rd party claims. The 1994, Texas Supreme Court case styled, Allstate Insurance Company v. Watson, explains how Bad Faith claims apply to 1st party claims. Here is the relevant information from that…
Dallas insurance lawyers know the ways insurance agents can be held liable for the misrepresentations they make to insureds. A 1994, El Paso Court of Appeals case is good to review. It is styled Hart v. Berko. Here is some of the relevant information. This is a suit brought under…
Fort Worth insurance lawyers need to have an understanding how the courts look at mental anguish damages as compensation for insurance code violations. The 1995, Texas Supreme Court case, State Farm Life Ins. Co. v. Beaston case is a reference point. Here is some of the relevant information from that…