Texas homeowners have just experienced the worst loss state wide that has ever been experienced. Homeowners will be reeling from the damage and hopefully the insurance companies treat all their customers fairly. Unfortunately, there will be many customers who end up having their claim denied for one reason or another.…
Do homeowner insurance policies cover a collapse of the home? It sounds like a simple question but as is illustrated in a 2020, opinion from the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, it is not as simple as it looks. The opinion is styled, Beatrice Stewart v. Metropolitan Lloyds Insurance…
Here is a homeowners claim from the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division, that is interesting. The case is styled, Valerie Smith v. State Farm Lloyds. This is a summary judgment opinion wherein State Farm asserts that it is entitled to summary judgment because it notified Smith two months before…
Home owners claims are a frequent source of litigation. Here is a case from the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, that has a little different twist to it. The case is styled, Allen Ripley, et al v. State Farm Lloyds. Ripley’s home was damaged by a hail storm…
Insurance lawyers need to know the various ways other insurance lawyers have attempted to pursue an insurance company and the ways that work and the ways that do not or have not worked. Here is a different approach that failed to work. This is an opinion from the Northern District…
What is a First Party claim versus a Third Party claim? A “first party” policy typically involves insurance that provides policy benefits directly to the insured or beneficiary in the event of a loss. The Texas Insurance Code, Section 541.051(2) defines “first party claim” as a claim “by an insured…
Spring is coming soon and exclusions in homeowner policies for “surface and ground water damage” will be an issue an insurance lawyer must be able to discuss with client. Here is a November 2019, opinion from the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, that “kinda” addresses this issue. The opinion…
Here is a homeowners claim that has a different twist to it. The case is from the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division, and is styled, Kenneth Stokley v. Allstate Texas Lloyds. In this case the Plaintiff, Stokley filed a Motion to Compel Appraisal and Allstate is trying to…
Insurance lawyers got good news about a month earlier, on April 8, 2019. The case they got good news out of was from the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. The style of the opinion was River Of Life Assembly Of God v. Church Mutual Insurance Company and Jim Turner…
The Southern District of Texas, Houston Division was presented with an issue that is not seen very often in insurance cases except cases involving uninsured motorist benefits. The case is styled Lamar Donald, Sr. and Diane Cottrell Donald v Metropolitan Lloyds Insurance Company of Texas. Lloyds filed a Motion to…