Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog

Uninsured / Underinsured Coverage And Limitations

April 10, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone with uninsured and underinsured coverage in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Irving, Pantego, Dalworthington Gardens, or anywhere else in Texas would probably have a hard time understanding when it becomes too late to file a claim for benefits under these coverages. Maybe this will help.

A Texas Supreme Court case decided in 1974, is still good law and a reference point for answering this question. The case is styled, “Raul C. Franco et us. v. Allstate Insurance Company.

In this case, Franco and his wife sought to recover from Allstate Insurance Company, under the uninsured motorist provision of their insurance policy, for the death of their daughter and personal injuries to Franco, arising out of an accident alleged to have been caused by the negligence of an uninsured motorist. Their suit was filed approximately three years after the date of the accident and death. The question is whether the two or four year statute of limitations is applicable to either or both of the claims asserted.

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:

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.

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 And Business Owners

March 31, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Business owners in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Cedar Hill, Irving, De Soto, Duncanville, Mesquite, Garland, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Richardson, and other places in Texas might be interested in the following case if they find themselves in a position where they are buying or selling a business.

The style of the case is, Ford Bacon & Davis, L.L.C. v. Travelers Insurance Co., et al. This case was decided on March 14, 2011, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This is a case where one company purchased the assets of another company.

A 1996 Asset Purchase Agreement (the agreement) was between Ford, Bacon & Davis, L.L.C. (FBD LLC) and Ford, Bacon & Davis, Inc. (FBC Inc.) The agreement explicity excluded coverage relevant to this lawsuit, which is “asbestos related lawsuits.”

Home Owners Claims

March 29, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Home owners in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Pantego, Fort Worth, Lake Worth, Dallas, Mansfield, De Soto, Duncanville, and other places in Texas would naturally wonder at times about exactly what types of coverages they have on their homeowners policies. Of course the answer is a lawerly “it depends.”

One case to look for in guidance for part of the answer is found in the case, Gomez v. Allstate Texas Lloyds Insurance Company. This is a 2007, Fort Worth Court of Appeals case. This is a liability insurance dispute concerning coverage under a homeowner’s policy for bodily injury arising out of a “four-wheeler” all terrain vehicle. One of the issues was the trial court’s interpretation of the scope of the policy’s recreational vehicle exception to the motor vehicle exclusion. Another issue was whether or not Allstate had a duty to defend the lawsuit that had been filed.

The Gomezes sued Jamy and Lara Johnson for injuries alleged to have occurred when Austin Gomez (6 years old) was a guest at the Johnson’s home, and Jamy placed Austin on a four-wheeler with no protective gear and allowed him to operate the vehicle. The lawsuit papers allege that Austin lost control and “went over an embankment.” The lawsuit alleges several things that the Johnson’s did wrong in contributing to the cause of this accident.

Insurance Claims Denial

March 27, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

If someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mansfield, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, De Soto, Irving, Grapevine, or any other place in Texas gets an insurance claim denied they should not simply give up and go away. That is exactly what the insurance company wants you to do.

Depending on the type of claim that you have the process for what should be done next will vary. One thing that should not vary is the first thing you should do. That is to call an experienced Insurance Law Attorney for a consultation.

The Washington Post ran a positive news article related to this subject on March 16, 2011. The title of the article, which was released by the Associated Press is, “GAO report illustrates success rates for appealing denials of health insurance claims.”

Bad Faith Claims

March 26, 2011 | Mark S. Humphreys

Someone in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Fort Worth, Dallas, Irving, Mesquite, Garland, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, or anywhere else in Texas may use the term “bad faith” when talking about insurance, but very few people can actually define it. And those who can define it will still have a hard time, in a legal sense, applying that term or definition to a particular fact situation.

The United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, had a case recently dealing, in part, with this issue. The opinion in the case was issued on February 28, 2011, and is styled, C. K. Lee v. Catlin Specialty Insurance Company, Justin Carroll, and Engle Martin & Associates, Inc.

Here are some of the underlying facts: