What is “bad faith” in the context of insurance? There is a lot of material on this subject. Here is a little to know about. In the 1997, Texas Supreme Court opinion styled, Universe Life Ins. Co. v. Giles, adopted the standard that an insurer breaches its duty of good…
As discussed before, litigating cases in Federal Court is what an insurance company prefers to do. Ans as discussed before, there are ways to keep this from happening in the right circumstances. The United States 5th Circuit issued an opinion issued an opinion in 1998, that is worth knowing about…
All insurance lawyers understand that there are time limits within which an insurance company must accept and pay the claim or else deny the claim. And it is also understood that the insured making the claim has an absolute duty to cooperate with the claims investigation. But what about a…
Understanding how insurance policies are interpreted by the courts is one of the more important aims of an insurance law attorney. Here is some more information to be kept in mind. An insurance policy is a contract, generally governed by the same rules of construction as all other contracts. This…
Knowing how to interpret an insurance policy is vital for insurance attorneys attempting to help clients with insurance disputes. Knowing how to do this, is to know how courts interpret insurance policies. One issue frequently faced by courts is the source of meaning to be given to words. At least…
Allegations of fraud against an insurance company must be specific when a case is in Federal Court. This is illustrated in a recent case from the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division. The case is styled, Maria Quintero v. Allstate Vehicle And Property Insurance Company. The claim against Allstate…
Insurance lawyers know to look at the Texas Insurance Code, starting at Section 1952.101, to see the requirement that insurance companies are required by the Texas Department of Insurance and by statute to provide underinsured (UIM) coverage in their automobile polices. One of the steps an insurance lawyer is suppose…
Here is an insurance case that was appealed to the Fort Worth Court of Appeals. The case is styled, Joseph Lambert and Susan Lambert v. State Farm Lloyds and Tevin Senne. The appeal involved a few issues but the one focused on here deals with the Texas Prompt Payment of…
When insurance lawyers file a lawsuit that ends up in federal court, they have to make sure that the pleadings in the complaint will satisfy federal court pleading guidelines or they will end up being kicked out of court. This is illustrated in a case from the Southern District of…
Insurance disputes involving smaller claims can properly be handled in a State or County courts if the insurance lawyer knows how to keep the case from being removed to Federal court. This is illustrated in the 2019, opinion styled, Michael Ihekoronye v. United Property & Casualty Insurance Company. Plaintiff, Michael…