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Insurance Litigation Texas

Cozen O'Connor

Texas Supreme Court Reaffirms Procedure for Litigating Bad Faith Claims in UM/UIM Cases

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In In Re State Farm Automobile Insurance Co. and Lindsey Nicole Dessart, 712 S.W.3d 53 (Tex. 2025), the Texas Supreme Court clarified the proper procedure for litigating bad faith claims related to uninsured/underinsured...more

Zelle  LLP

Court Grants Insurer’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Nearly All of Insureds’ Causes of Action

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Schnatzmeyer v. State Farm Ins. Co., No. 3:23-CV-02820-K, 2025 WL 1697505, at *1 (N.D. Tex. June 17, 2025). In a case involving two overlapping freeze claims—and a substantial array of legal issues affecting insurers in...more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

Governmental Immunity and Your Subrogation Claim in Texas: Navigating the Texas Tort Claim Act

Property insurers are often frustrated when damage occurs due to the actions of others, especially when a governmental agency is at fault. In the Lone Star State, the Texas Tort Claim Act (TTCA) establishes that these...more

Phelps Dunbar

Texas Court Could Limit Risk by Defining Exposure Trigger for Long-Tail Claims

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The Northern District of Texas recently issued a pivotal decision for long-tail injury cases. It clarified that under Texas law, excess liability coverage for long-tail injury claims can center on an exposure trigger theory....more

Chartwell Law

Texas Supreme Court Reverses $89M Verdict in Landmark Trucking Case

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The Texas Supreme Court recently issued a major opinion reversing a nearly $90 million judgment against a national motor carrier in a personal injury suit arising from a multi-vehicle crash on an icy interstate. The case,...more

Cozen O'Connor

Texas Supreme Court Narrows Employer Liability and Explains Standard for Proximate Cause

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In a significant decision issued on June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court of Texas reversed a jury verdict awarding over $89 million in damages in favor of the plaintiffs in Werner Enterprises, Inc. v. Blake, holding that the...more

Zelle  LLP

Holding an Insured to its Duties and Burdens

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Once in a while, there is an insurance case that addresses numerous “common” issues and reaffirms the parties’ respective duties in supporting and adjusting claims, promptly making repairs, and mitigating loss. The recent...more

Zelle  LLP

When Coverage Disagreements Are Justified: The Bona Fide Dispute Doctrine in Action

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In Texas, bad faith claims arising under the Texas Insurance Code or the common law are routinely asserted by plaintiffs in first-party insurance disputes. While these causes of action are frequently pled, mere disagreement...more

Zelle  LLP

Insurer Escapes Duty to Defend Obligation in Toll Road Pile-Up Lawsuits Under Designated Work Exclusion and Professional Liability...

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On March 19, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor in Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. N. Tarrant Infrastructure LLC, No. 4:23-cv-01043-O, 2025 WL 863470 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 19, 2025) held that under the Eight-Corners Rule, Liberty...more

Zelle  LLP

Court Analyzes “Forces of Nature” in Applying Section 542A of the Texas Insurance Code

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Recently, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, rejected an insured’s attempt to reframe its claim from a “forces of nature” claim and enforced Section 542A.006 of the Texas...more

Zelle  LLP

“Occurrence” Provisions Within Excess Policies Support an Exposure Trigger Theory Application for Asbestos-Related Claims

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Asbestos fibers, chemical fumes, environmental pollutants—what do they have in common? They all involve injuries that manifest over time and are continuously at the center of the complex exposure trigger debate....more

Zelle  LLP

Concurrent Causation is Key – Fifth Circuit Holds Insured to its Causative Burden

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The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment granted by the bankruptcy court in favor of commercial property insurer in a Winter Storm Uri claim, holding that the insured motel owners...more

Zelle  LLP

Any is Not All and The Future is Not Now: The Contours of the Cosmetic Damage Exclusion Taking Shape

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In Iyengar v. Liberty Insurance Corporation, No. SA-21-CV-1091-FB, 2024 WL 5505300 (W.D. Tex. Dec. 13, 2024), District Judge Biery denied Plaintiffs’ Motion for Clarification regarding Magistrate Judge Bemporad’s...more

Carlton Fields

Texas Appeals Court Finds Project Owner Excluded From Coverage as Claimants’ Statutory Employer

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On April 3, 2025, a Texas state appeals court reversed a trial court order awarding Exxon Mobil $25 million under an umbrella insurance policy issued by Lexington Insurance Co. to Brock Services Ltd. The appeals court found...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Texas Case Shows Why Juries Are Well-Suited To COVID Suits

A pending case in Texas illustrates why COVID-19 business interruption claims need to be decided by juries in light of case-specific facts, not by judges using a one-size-fits-all approach. Originally published in Law360 -...more

Zelle  LLP

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

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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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Insurance – Texas Style, Part 1: Stowers Liability and Insurance Towers

This is the first in a series of discussions about insurance issues unique to the Lone Star State. For nearly a century, the Stowers doctrine has been a critical cornerstone of Texas insurance law protecting insureds...more

Zelle  LLP

Southern District of Texas Holds Benefits-Lost Rule Inapplicable, Alleged Delay in ALE Payments Not an “Independent Injury”

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On October 17, 2024, Judge Andrew S. Hanen in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division properly held that: (1) the Benefits-Lost rule does not apply where the insured did not...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Sometimes, Insurers Want To Settle!

This summary of a recently filed complaint illustrates one of the worst-case scenarios an insured defendant can find itself in: getting slapped with a verdict in excess of your liability insurance limits.  Here, it was an $11...more

Segal McCambridge

Navigating Pre-Suit Notice and Attorneys’ Fees in Texas Storm Litigation

Segal McCambridge on

Storm-related claims in Texas often lead to disputes over attorneys’ fees, making it critical for insurance carriers to understand and apply statutory pre-suit notice requirements. Failure by claimants to meet these...more

Zelle  LLP

Texas Department of Insurance Approves ZestyAI’s Severe Convective Storm Models

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Severe Convective Storms (“SCS”) are one of the most common and most damaging natural catastrophes in the United States. SCSs are intense atmospheric disturbances that can cause powerful winds, large hail, heavy rainfall, and...more

Zelle  LLP

Cade v. State Farm Lloyds — Insured's Failure to Comply with Policy Conditions Bars Personal Property Claims

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In PAJ, Inc. v. Hanover Ins. Co., the Texas Supreme Court set forth the “notice-prejudice rule,” which states that unless an insurer was prejudiced by an insured’s delay in giving timely notice of its claim or suit, an...more

Zelle  LLP

Chapter 542 Interest and Tolling During Periods of Delay Caused by the Policyholder

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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

Zelle  LLP

When Are Insurance Code Chapter 542 Penalties Not Owed?

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There are a litany of deadlines an insurer must be mindful of, and this is especially true in Texas, which imposes a number of statutorily prescribed deadlines during the claim adjustment process. The Texas Prompt Payment of...more

Carlton Fields

Texas Supreme Court Holds $220M Settlement Agreement Is Not Binding on Insurers Without Insurer’s Consent Where Insured Faced No...

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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

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