The Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act (“TPPCA”), codified in Chapter 542 of the Texas Insurance Code, contains deadlines relating to payment of claims. The TPPCA allows for an insured to recover actual damages, penalty...more
A roofing contractor called Stonewater Roofing, Ltd. (Stonewater) challenged a Texas statute regulating public adjusters' conduct on the basis that the statute violates free speech and due process rights under the First and...more
On April 11, California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta filed an amicus brief before the Supreme Court of the State of California arguing that policyholders should be able to assert claims under the state’s Unfair Competition...more
In In re Illinois National Insurance Co., the Texas Supreme Court held that disclaiming insurers were not bound by any underlying settlement agreement, entered into without the insurers’ consent, where the claimants promised...more
When an insurer pays the full amount of an appraisal award plus statutory interest, the insured is precluded from recovering attorney’s fees under Chapter 542A of the Texas Insurance Code, according to a recent decision from...more
A California state court of appeals, applying California law, has held that, as a matter of first impression, a provision in the California insurance code excluding insurance coverage for loss caused by an insured’s willful...more
The Texas Supreme Court reinforced common law precedent that insurers cannot avoid liability under an insurance policy based on a misrepresentation in an insurance application unless the insurer can establish that the insured...more
Chapter 542 of the Texas Insurance Code, also known as the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act (“TPPCA”), generally allows an insured to recover interest and attorneys’ fees, in addition to the amount of the insurance claim,...more
In a case of first impression, the Dallas Court of Appeals recently held that, under a statute passed by the Texas Legislature in 2017, if an insurer pays an appraisal award issued in connection with a weather-related...more
In an interesting new decision, the Ninth Circuit in Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. v. Miller Barondess, LLP (“Miller Barondess”) held that Section 533 of the California Insurance Code—which states that “[a]n insurer is not liable...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, applying California law, has held that California Insurance Code Section 533, which prohibits insurance coverage for willful conduct, does not require a final...more
The last week of September, 2022, the State of Florida braced for what was categorized to be one of the worst storms to make landfall in U.S. history. Initially, all weather channels displayed the storm’s trajectory...more
In its recent decision, People ex rel. Ellinger v. Magill, et al., —Cal.Rptr.3d—, No. E076378, 2022 WL 1077988 (Cal. Ct. App., Mar. 18, 2022), the California Court of Appeal refused to extend liability under California’s...more
Illinois does not recognize bad faith as an independent tort. In the first-party context, bad faith is a purely statutory construct which hinges upon whether an insurer’s conduct was “vexatious and unreasonable.”...more
On Oct. 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is set to hear oral arguments in Pearson v. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company. The case centers on statutory construction of Chapters 542 and 542A of the...more
Amid the chaos surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, the Texas Department of Insurance has issued a Commissioner’s Bulletin extending certain claim-handling prompt payment deadlines for property carriers handling claims in...more
Texas policyholders can no longer cut deals with storm repair contractors to pocket their deductibles for storm repairs. The Texas Legislature has amended the Texas Insurance Code and Texas Business & Commerce Code,...more
A California appellate court recently reversed the trial court’s decision to enjoin the California Insurance Commissioner from enforcing certain regulations regarding unfair claim settlement practices....more
When an insured suffers a loss, they sometimes do not have the resources up front to make the repairs to their property. In many states, an insured can hire a contractor to perform the work in exchange for a post-loss...more
While insurance claims may be far from the first priority for clients affected by Hurricane Harvey, a new law takes effect on Sept. 1, 2017, that may affect first-party property insurance claims stemming from Harvey, floods...more
Texas homeowners Joe and Stacci Key sued their roofer, Lon Smith Roofing Contractors (“LSRC”), alleging LSRC violated the Texas Insurance Code by acting as an unlicensed public insurance adjustor. The trial court granted...more