Bad Faith Insurance

Deceptive Trade Practices And Homeowners Policy

August 21, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is something that insured people in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mansfield, and other places in Texas might be curious about. What happens if you have an insurance policy on your house. Next, the house burns down and a claim is made and denied. Next, the homeowner dies! Can the heirs pursue a claim against the insurance company for violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act or violations of the Texas Insurance Code?

The Fourth Court of Appeals District of Texas issued an opinion on July 27, 2011, that addressed this question. The style of the case is, Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. v. Shannan Rogers and Cristen Bazan, as legal heirs of Cynthia Bazan, deceased. This case was tried to a jury in the 198th Judicial District Court, Kerr County, Texas, which returned a verdict favorable to the heirs. This appeals court reversed. Here is some background.

In 2008, Cynthia Bazan purchased a house and was required to purchase insurance by the mortgage company. She applied for a policy with Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau initially refused coverage based on a wood-burning stove having inadequate protection. This was remedied and a policy was issued. Later, a fire completely destroyed Bazan’s house and all the contents. Bazan made a claim and Farm Bureau began an investigation which included a background check of Bazan and a “cause and origin” investigation of the fire. Farm Bureau obtained Bazan’s criminal record. Farm Bureau’s fire investigator listed the cause of the fire as “undetermined.”

Insurable Interest

August 14, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Insured’s in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Azle, Hudson Oaks, Springtown, Willow Park, Brock, Millsap, Peaster, and other places in Parker County might wonder, what does “insurable interest” mean. Here is a case that talks about it.

The opinion in this case was issued in 2000, by the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals. The style of the case is, Colonial County Mutual Insurance Company v. Hector Valdez. Here is some background.

Colonial County Mutual Insurance Company (Colonial) appealed a judgment against them by Valdez, wherein Valdez was awarded damages. This court affirmed the judgment with some reformation. Early on, Colonial had filed a declaratory judgment action asking the court to rule there was no coverage in the case due to Valdez not having an “insurable interest.” Factually here is what happened.

Fire Insurance Claims

August 13, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

No one in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Arlington, Aledo, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Dallas, Irving, Garland, Mesquite, or any other place in Texas likes the though that they will be involved in a fire claim. But for some people it happens. So, what should you expect from the insurance company if it does happen? Here is one example of what can happen when a fire claim is made.

This case was decided in 1991, by the Corpus Christ Court of Appeals. The style of the case is, Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford Connecticut v. David Davila and Donna Davila. David and Donna sued Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford Connecticut (Hartford) for bad faith after a denial of insurance benefits following a fire loss. A jury found in David and Donna’s favor and Hartford appealed. This court modified the judgment in favor of David and Donna. Here is some background.

The Davilla’s house burned in November, 1985. The police were at the house at the time the fire was discovered. Hartford conducted an investigation and denied the claim.

Accused Of Arson By Insurance Company

August 9, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Arson cases are the same in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Irving, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mesquite, Garland, Mansfield, Duncanville, Lancaster, De Soto, or anywhere else in Texas. Fires happen by accident and by arson. When a fire occurs the insurance company is going to investigate for reasons of denying coverage for the claim or to find reasons to lower the amount of money they may have to pay on the claim.

In 1992, the San Antonio Court of Appeals, issued an opinion in a case styled, State Farm Lloyds, Inc. v. Robert Polasek and Shirley Polasek.

In this case, arson and bad faith were asserted against State Farm. The Polasek’s prevailed at trial and State Farm appealed. The jury had awarded $40,000 in property damage and $500,000 as exemplary damages against State Farm. The court sustained the verdict for the property damage but overruled the finding of bad faith that allowed the award of exemplary damages. Here is some background.

Homeowners Claim Denial

July 31, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is an example for insured’s in Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Aledo, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Millsap, Brock, Peaster, Cool, Springtown, and other parts of Parker County and Texas to pay attention to.

As has been mentioned before on this blog, insurance companies will almost always attempt to have a case moved from State Court to Federal Court. One reason is that Federal Courts seem to look for reasons to throw cases out of court or to strike down pleading by the plaintiff. This is a reason to always get an experienced Insurance Law Attorney when dealing with an insurance company. The attorneys for the insured in the following case are good attorneys but still the Federal Court ruled in favor of the insurance company in striking down some of the pleading of the plaintiff.

Here is some background.

Fire Loss

July 24, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Whether you live in Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Mineral Wells, Millsap, Brock, Peaster, Springtown, Poolville, Cool, or anywhere else in Parker County, a fire loss to your home can be a devastating loss. It is compounded when your insurance company refuses to pay for the loss. It is compounded further when they accuse you of arson.

The Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion in a case in 1998, styled “State Farm Fire & Casualty Company v. James and Cynthia Simmons.” The legal issue presented to the court was whether there was sufficient evidence to support a jury finding that State Farm breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing and whether there was some evidence to support a punitive damages award. We will go over the good faith and fair dealing only point due to technicalities surrounding the punitive damages award.

Background information:

Insurance Scams?

July 14, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Residents of Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Fort Worth, Dallas, Garland, Mesquite, Richardson, Carrollton, and other places in Dallas County and Texas should be concerned about insurance scams. They drive up the cost of insurance and nobody likes the thought of someone profiting from illegal actions. Most of the time when you think of this, what comes to mind is staged car wrecks, intentional fires to collect insurance money, and other similar actions. What you do not normally think of is, the insurance company being who is doing the scamming.

Here is a story worth reading.

The Houston Chronicle published an article on May 13, 2011, written by Patrick Danner. The title of the article is, “USAA sued anew over medical payouts in crashes Plaintiffs say insurer’s reviews are ‘shams’; firm defends pratices.”

Insurance Law Solutions

May 19, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Solutions are what someone in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Cockrell Hill, Irving, Mesquite, Richardson, Garland, Duncanville, and other places want when it comes to a situation where they are being taken advantage of by an insurance company.

One of the first things an experienced Insurance Law Attorney has to decide when taking on an insurance case is – Who can be sued.

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. The statute itself 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 incurance, including an agent, broker, adjuster or life insurance counselor.

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:

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.