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K&L Gates Triage: Emergency Preparedness and Response in Long Term Care - Part II
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The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a federal Texas court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the insured, holding that its “deductible buyback policy” was a “named perils” policy that did not...more
Litigation arising out of Hurricane Harvey (Harvey) has been ongoing since the first lawsuit was filed within days of Harvey making landfall on August 25, 2017, inundating Houston with an unprecedented amount of rainfall and...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, in the matter of Evanston Ins. Co. v. AmSpec Holding Corp., granted summary judgment in favor of Evanston Insurance Company (“Evanston”) after determining...more
In opposing a motion to compel arbitration, Nueces County made two procedural arguments: first, that the carrier waived its right to arbitrate by virtue of the policy’s service-of-suit clause....more
This action involves plaintiff Living Steward Properties’ insurance claim for property damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. The insurer defendants moved to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims that the insurer...more
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas recently compelled arbitration against insurers but not brokers related to a commercial insurance dispute....more
Policyholders attorneys often try to skip the threshold steps of bringing their client’s claim within coverage and allocating between covered and non-covered causes of loss. Instead, the policyholder attorney would have the...more
On April 13, 2020, Texas Attorney General Paxton issued an opinion letter on a request of Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, regarding a recently enacted statute providing a temporary tax exemption for qualified property...more
Almost two years after Hurricane Harvey devastated parts of Texas and Louisiana, Central America, and several Caribbean islands, the coverage issues arising out of it are far from resolved. The court decisions addressing...more
Commercial Property and Business Interruption insurance policies customarily include suit limitations clauses to protect the insurer against lawsuits. These clauses may be found buried amid general conditions in the property...more
Judge Nancy Atlas of the Southern District of Texas cut through competing arguments to resolve a high-profile dispute involving a Hurricane Harvey claim through Contract Interpretation 101....more
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP is closely monitoring Hurricane Florence and hopes that everyone in the state is taking the proper precautions to plan and protect themselves from this storm....more
In the year since Hurricane Harvey, the Texas and Federal court systems have been flooded, saturated, engulfed (pick the Harvey related adjective of your choosing) with filings related to the damages caused by the rain-heavy...more
As Texas continues to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the extent of the damage Harvey left in its wake is just now being realized. To date, private insurers have seen more than 670,000 property insurance claims...more
Just as the Texas coast assessed the magnitude of Hurricane Harvey’s damage, Hurricane Irma was taking shape in the Atlantic. Fewer than two weeks later, Irma would crash into the Florida Keys. Estimates put Harvey and Irma’s...more
Homeowners facing issues in the wake of Harvey and other Texas storms need to be aware of the recent Texas Supreme Court opinion in Knox v. Eagle Water Management, Inc., that rejected testimony by homeowners as to the cause...more
In January 2018, the Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) presented Hurricane Harvey data to the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee. After the hurricane, TDI requested monthly reports from the insurance industry,...more
Many in the Houston area are keenly aware of the devastating impact the rain from Hurricane Harvey had on the region. There are countless stories of residents and business owners who had never flooded that are now living...more
At its recent December 11th meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas, the Governing Committee of the Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA) is reported to have approved an assessment for its insurance company members of over $64 million...more
The 2017 United States Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ended on November 30, was the most expensive ever according to one report. Disaster modelers Chuck Watson and Mark Johnson concluded that total damages for...more
In August, Hurricane Harvey directly hit the city of Houston, leaving substantial wind and flood damage in its wake. Many home and business owners who avoided flood damage breathed a sigh of relief on August 28 when the...more
I. OVERVIEW - On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas as a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane. It then stalled over Houston. After landfall, winds diminished but precipitation did not, and over...more
Recent damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have focused attention on special “named storm” and “hurricane” deductible endorsements found in most property insurance policies issued for coastal areas. Such...more
Bill Deron bought a 100-acre tract next to a creek outside the City of Houston. Deron planned to build a subdivision where some of the homes abut a creek. The other homes would sit about 15 feet higher than the creekside...more
In the first part of the series “The Mortgage Servicer’s Role in Navigating Insurance Claims,” we covered assessing property damage and applying insurance proceeds in compliance with the terms of the standard mortgage...more