General

Examination Under Oath Compliance

May 1, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Most insureds living in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Pantego, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Keller, Colleyville, Saginaw, and other places in Texas would not be sure what it means to submit to an “examination under oath” (EUO).

An EUO is where a person is asked questions, usually by an attorney or insurance investigator, after the person has taken an oath to tell the truth, and the testimony is taken by a certified court reporter.

The United States District Court, Southern District, Houston Division, issued an opinion on April 11, 2011, where part of the case dealt with the requirements of an EUO. The style of the case is, Rossco Holdings, Inc. v. Lexington Insurance Company.

Insurance Company Doing Wrong

April 24, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

From Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Pantego, Dalworthington Gardens, Mansfield, Crowley, to all over Texas, people who have their insurance with State Farm Insurance should find this interesting.

The Houston Chronicle ran a story on April 11, 2011, by writer Terrence Stutz. The title of the article is, “State Farm Is Told To Pay $350 Million.”

The article tells us that State District Judge Tim Sulak found that state Commissioner Mike Geeslin acted properly when he ordered State Farm Lloyd’s to reimburse an estimated 1.2 million customers for overcharges as well as penalty interest going back to 2003. The amount owed is nearly $350 million.

Title Insurance Policies And Boundary Lines

April 14, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Everybody in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Parker County, Tarrant County, Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, Cleburne, Mineral Wells, or any other place in Texas has a property line associated with his property. Title to land (property lines) is part of the coverage in a title insurance policy. As a result, the following case should be of some interest to all property owners.

The case deals with an opinion handed down by the Court of Appeals, Fort Worth. It was delivered on March 24, 2011. The style of the case is Jimmy D. Hand v. Old Republic Title Insurance Company. Here is some background.

Hand’s neighbor, Glen Jones, sued Hand over a rock wall that Hand built along the border separating their properties. Specifically, Jones claims that the rock wall “fails to follow the true boundary line and encroaches upon the boundary of his property.” Jones sued for trespass to try title and adverse possession.

Insurance Companies Cheating

April 9, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Do people in Weatherford, Aledo, Azle, Springtown, Peaster, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park, Mineral Wells, Poolville, Whitt, or any other place in Texas remember several years ago when Farmers Insurance quit writing homeowners insurance policies in Texas? Remember the uproar and complaints by homeowners to the insurance company and to elected representatives? Do you remember why this was happening?

Here is what this writer has heard mixed with what was on the TV and radio news and in the papers. Farmers was alleging too many lawsuits and too many mold claims were causing costs to rise far beyond what they should and as a result they were forced to raise rates. However, this rate increase was put in place without approval by the state regulatory boards and agencies who oversee these matters. This battle, some could say a public relations battle, went on for months.

The truth was there, but for some reason it was never made real clear and to catch on to what was going on, someone would have to be paying very close attention. Here are a couple of things that were clear:

Title Insurance Policy Rights

April 5, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Title insurance policy holders in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Weatherford, Garland, Mesquite, Richardson, Irving, Grapevine, Colleyville, and other places in Texas know very little about the laws dealing with title insurance policies.

The United States Court of Apeals for the Firth Circuit issued an opinion on March 23, 2011, that dealt with title insurance policies and one of the laws that deal with those policies. The style of the case is, Emma Benavides, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Chicago Title Insurance Co.

The primary reason this case was in the court of appeals was because the district court had refused to allow the case to go forward as a class action lawsuit. The court spends a good amount of time discussing the class action laws but that is not the purpose of this article. The basis of the lawsuit is what is kinda interesting.

Insurance And Hospital Liens

April 3, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Here is one for people in Weatherford, Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, Aledo, Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, Irving, and anywhere else in Texas to know. It regards insurance settlements and hospital liens.

This is an opnion issued on March 17, 2011, by the Texas Court of Appeals, First District, Houston. The style of the case is, Memorial Hermann Hospital System v. Progressive County Mutual Insurance Company.

In this case, Progressive settled a claim brought against one of its insureds arising out of injuries in a car accident. Memorial filed a hospital lien for the cost of medical treatment to the injured person half an hour before Progressive issued the settlement check. Under the Texas Hospital Lien Law, 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 attibuted to the negligence of another person.” Texas Property Coce, Section 55.002. To secure the lien, Section 55.005 requires the hospital file notice with the county clerk before payments to the entitled party. The statute also declares that the county clerk “shall index the record in the name of the injured individual.”

Title Insurance Policies

April 2, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Dallas, Fort Worth, or anywhere else in the metroplex area who has a title insurance policy may be interested in the following case.

The Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals, Houston, issued an opinion on March 17, 2011, where a lawsuit was filed concerning issues that dealt with title policies.

The style of the case is, Windsor Village, Ltd. and Jackob Elbaz v. Stewart Title Insurance Company. This is an appeal from the 113th District Court, Harris County, Texas.

Insurance Lawsuits

March 22, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

When someone in Weatherford, Aledo, Hudson Oaks, Peaster, Springtown, Azle, Millsap, Cool, Poolville, Whitt, or out in Mineral Wells, finds themselves in a situation where they have to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit against an insurance company, they want to win the case. The best chance of doing that is making sure the lawsuit is in a State Court rather than a Federal Court. There are many reasons why a State Court is preferable to Federal Court. All someone really needs to know is that every time an insurance company lawyer can get a case removed from State Court into a Federal Court, they are going to do so. The other thing they need to know is to seek the advice of an experienced Insurance Law Attorney. He will know the best strategies for keeping a case in a State Court.

On January 24, 2011, the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, issued an opinion in a case where the issue was discussing, in which court the lawsuit should be litigated. The style of the case is, Scott Browning v. Sentinel Insurance Company and Cavalry Construction Co.

Browning had filed the lawsuit in the 11th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas, alleging that Calvary, violated provisions of the Texas Insurance Code.

Insurance Law Notice Requirement

March 15, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Folks in Weatherford, Parker County, Aledo, Azle, Springtown, Poolville, Whitt, Peaster, Hudson Oaks, Brock, Willow Park, Cool, Millsap, and other places in Texas will at one time or another have a claim against their own insurance company. When making this claim against their own insurance company, otherwise known as a first party claim, and the insurance company does not treat you properly in the handling of the claim it is likely that there have been violations of provisions of the Texas Insurance Code. When this happens it is advisable to seek the assistance of an experienced Insurance Law Attorney. Here is what he should tell you.

1) gather all the documents you have related to the claim, such as the policy itself, letters and e-mails and faxes to and from the insurance company, and any documents verifying the value of the loss such as repair bills or estimates;

2) write out what has happened – this should be your version of the sequence of events with all the relevant information to help the attorney understand the case – the writing should start out: My name is …, I have a policy of insurance with …, On such and such date … happened, I then made a claim to my insurance company for benefits. Then write down a sequencial listing of what happened in the claims process.

Insurance Company Referrals

March 8, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

It happens in Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Roanoke, Keller, Colleyville, North Richland Hills, Grapevine, and all over the state. Someone has some property damage. They call their insurance company. The insurance company suggests they call XYZ company. The insured calls XYZ company. XYZ company does something wrong in their dealings with the insured. The question becomes: Is the insurance company responsible for any wrong committed by XYZ company?

The most common situations where the above happens is car wrecks. After a car wreck the insurance company often suggests a repair shop to take the car to for repairs. The second most common situation is home repairs. A home owner has hail damage, flood, or fire and the insurance company suggests a company to make the repairs.

The Texas Court of Appeals in Dallas recently had a case that involved a theft. The opinion was issued on February 8, 2011, and the case is styled, J. Howard Jaster, Individually and as Assignee of the Edinberg Trust v. Shelter Mutual Insurance Company. In this case Jaster alleged that Shelter Mutual Insurance Company (Shelter) was an agent of Michael Hanna d/b/a Cornerstone Replacement Services (Cornerstone).