News & Analysis as of

Litigation Strategies Policy Terms

Gray Reed

Using Evidence to Fill Gaps in Pleadings Silent on Important Coverage Facts

Gray Reed on

A decision out of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas showcases the practical challenge in the relationship between workers’ compensation and the pleading standards required to trigger...more

Zelle  LLP

When a Plaintiff’s Counsel Thinks His Client is Dead and then Alive Again – Believe Him but Seek Sanctions

Zelle LLP on

In Michael Mitchell v. USAA General Indemnity Company, No. 09-23-00042-CV, 2025 WL 635235 (Tex. App.—Beaumont Feb. 27, 2025, no pet.), the appellate court affirmed dismissal of all Plaintiff’s claims with prejudice, finding...more

Zelle  LLP

Court Enforces Pleading Standards and Dismisses Bad Faith Allegations

Zelle LLP on

In Fif Engineering, LLC v. Pacific Employers Ins. Co., No. 24-665, 2025 WL 593384 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 24, 2025), a United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, granted an insurer’s motion to...more

Zelle  LLP

Presuit Notice to Third-Party Adjuster Does Not Comply with Section 542A.003(a) of the Texas Insurance Code

Zelle LLP on

As a question of first impression, The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas analyzed whether issuing pre-suit notice to a third-party adjuster satisfies Section 542A.003(a) of the Texas Insurance...more

Maynard Nexsen

Lessons in Limitation – Contractual Limitations Provisions as a Basis for Summary Judgment

Maynard Nexsen on

In recent weeks, our firm obtained summary judgment under a contractual limitations provision that the plaintiff-insured argued had been equitably tolled due to the insurance carrier’s conduct. Although the good guys won, the...more

Pillsbury - Policyholder Pulse blog

The Ninth Circuit Wants Everyone to Stop Forgetting About the Appraisal Provision

Policyholders, don’t lose track of the appraisal provision in your insurance policies. At least that is what the panel in 50 Exch. Terrace LLC v. Mt. Vernon Specialty Ins. Co. seemed to be saying. There, the Ninth Circuit...more

Zelle  LLP

The First Houston Court of Appeals Correctly Grants Mandamus Relief to Compel Appraisal After Suit Is Filed

Zelle LLP on

In re SureChoice Underwriters Reciprocal Exch., involved a claim for hail and wind damage to the insured’s (“Glasper”) residence. 702 S.W.3d 876, 878 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2024, no pet. h.) The carrier (“SureChoice”)...more

Goldberg Segalla

Dwindling Returns: Failing to Read LPL Policy Cost Millions

Goldberg Segalla on

A quirky reality of litigation is that the amount of recoverable dollars often dictates the strategy and approach. Maybe no one said it better than Biggie: “mo money, mo problems.” Especially in the context of an insured...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Judges Wipe Out Business Interruption Policyholders’ First (And Only) COVID Win

Out of the 1,199 (and counting) trial court rulings addressing Covid business interruption lawsuits, only one of them resulted in a victory for the policyholder. Back in 2022, Baylor College of Medicine won $12 million from...more

Cozen O'Connor

Decision: Insurer Prevails on Motion in Limine to Exclude RCV Evidence at Trial

Cozen O'Connor on

In the recent decision Marquez v. Clear Blue Specialty Insurance Company, No. 6:23-cv-2025-ACC-DCI, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 219390 (M.D. Fla. Dec. 4, 2024), the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted the...more

Zelle  LLP

How to Be a Reasonably Prudent Insurer Under the Stowers Doctrine, Part II

Zelle LLP on

There are a number of factors that Courts review when determining whether an insurer has acted under a “reasonably prudent insurer” standard under the Stowers doctrine. We have previously discussed key issues to look out for...more

Marshall Dennehey

Without Deciding Whether the 4th District Court Reached the Correct Result Under Fla. Stat. §627.7252(2)(a)4’s Actual Text, the...

Marshall Dennehey on

Apex Roofing & Restoration LLC a/a/o Monica Williams v. United Auto. Ins. Co., Fla. 1st DCA, No. 1D2022-3990, October 2, 2024 - Prior to suit, USAA’s insured assigned her rights to Apex via an Assignment of Benefits (AOB)...more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

In South Carolina, Documents Outside the Pleadings May Be Utilized to Exclude Coverage

October 27, 2020 - In third party coverage matters, the traditional test to determine whether an insured is entitled to a defense under a commercial general liability policy is the Comparison or Four-Corners Test....more

Carlton Fields

Eleventh Circuit Rejects Insurer-Defended Policyholder’s Bid to Expand Florida’s Bad Faith “Excess Judgment Rule” to Include...

Carlton Fields on

In Cawthorn v. Auto-Owners Insurance Co., No. 18-12067 (11th Cir. Oct. 25, 2019), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Auto-Owners...more

Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP

Reminder Why Injured Claimants Must be Named in Declaratory Judgment Complaint

In Direct Auto Insurance Company v. Bahena, et al., 2019 IL App (1st) 172918, the Illinois Appellate Court sifted through a procedural nightmare in order to get to the very sensical conclusion that “It cannot be the case that...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

Appeals in Insurance Litigation – Appreciating Standards of Review

Robins Kaplan LLP on

It is said that the first rule of a successful appeal is to win in the trial court. But, regardless of winning or losing in the trial court, one of the most important considerations in evaluating exposure and the likelihood...more

NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation)

Good Faith Negotiations At Mediation

New York Law Journal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Special Report - August 2018 - As a full-time mediator for the past decade, I have come to learn that trust is a critical element in any successful negotiation....more

Butler Snow LLP

Do you really need a court to tell you what the insurance policy covers? Litigating insurance coverage issues? When and how to...

Butler Snow LLP on

No one should know what an insurance policy covers better than the insurer itself. After all, the insurer wrote the policy, right? Yet there are times when coverage questions arise that even the drafter of the policy cannot...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

The Ramifications of a Less-Than-Thorough Investigation

An insurance carrier has declined to defend a claim asserted against its insured, arguably without meeting its obligation to investigate the claim. For whatever reason — a change in personnel, loss of a file, or some other...more

Cozen O'Connor

Texas Reforms Insurance Litigation – Section 542A of the Texas Insurance Code 60 Days to Get Your House in Order

Cozen O'Connor on

Texas has finally enacted statutory reforms specifically designed to combat abusive insurance litigation. Enacted primarily in response to hailstorm lawsuits, the scope of the reforms are much broader. Effective September 1,...more

20 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide