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Mealey's Texas Insurance

  • March 09, 2026

    Judge Tosses Prompt Payment Counterclaims Against Professional Liability Insurer

    AUSTIN, Texas — A senior federal judge in Texas dismissed without prejudice counterclaims brought under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 542 against a professional liability insurer, holding that the defendants’ prompt payment counterclaims fail because they do not involve a “claimant” or “claim” as defined under Chapter 542.

  • March 09, 2026

    Court Lacked Admiralty Jurisdiction Over Yacht Owner’s Claims, 5th Circuit Affirms

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that granted subrogee insurers’ motion to dismiss a yacht owner’s petition seeking limitation of liability for damage caused by a fire and explosion under the Limitation of Liability Act, agreeing with insurers that the lower court lacked admiralty jurisdiction over the yacht owner’s claims.

  • March 04, 2026

    Policy’s Express Contract Exclusion Bars Coverage, Federal Magistrate Says

    SHERMAN, Texas — Noting that at least one other court has reached the same conclusion on similar facts, a magistrate judge determined that an insurance policy’s express contract exclusion unambiguously bars coverage for an underlying breach of contract claim that a homeowners association made against its management company and recommended that a federal Texas court grant the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • March 03, 2026

    Judge: Ransomware Sublimit Does Not Limit Insurer’s Liability For Malware Attack

    DALLAS — Noting that the court has not located any case law interpreting a ransomware sublimit endorsement or any similar policy provision, a federal judge in Texas held that a cyber liability insurance policy’s $250,000 Ransomware Sub-Limit Endorsement is not applicable on its face to the policy’s cyber extortion insurance and, as a result, the insurer’s liability is not limited as to the insured’s claim for $1.2 million in losses arising from a malware attack.

  • February 27, 2026

    Texas Federal Judge Denies Dismissal Of Insurer’s Counterclaims In Payment Dispute

    HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas denied a well owner/operator’s insurer’s motion to dismiss counterclaims brought by the insurer of a contractor in a dispute over responsibility for payment to their insureds to settle a workplace injury suit at the site, finding that the independent contractor directing operations when the injury occurred is classified at this stage as an employee of the owner.

  • February 27, 2026

    Texas Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Most Of Driver’s Claims Against Insurer, Lyft

    EASTLAND, Texas — A Texas appeals panel affirmed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment dismissal of claims for breach of contract and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) and Insurance Code brought by a Lyft driver against the ride-share company and the insurer that issued both his personal auto policy and Lyft’s auto policies after he was denied coverage for the cost of damages to his vehicle following an accident, ruling that the policies excluded coverage and the driver had no independent damages, among other findings.

  • February 27, 2026

    Texas Church, Insurer Resolve Federal Suit Over Coverage; Judge Dismisses Case

    WACO, Texas — A federal lawsuit filed by a Texas ministry against its insurer alleging breach of contract, bad faith and other claims for “knowingly” limiting coverage terms to deprive it “of policy benefits owed” for building damages from a wind and hail storm ended soon after it began following a judge’s order granting a joint stipulation of dismissal resolving the claims.

  • February 26, 2026

    Abatement Granted In Texas Weather Damage Case; Building Owner Seeks Appraisal

    McALLEN, Texas — The owner of a Texas building seeking insurance coverage for weather-related damage and battling over the damage estimate with its insurer filed an emergency motion to compel appraisal in a federal court in that state; the motion was filed three days after a federal judge exercised his discretion and granted the owner’s motion to abate judicial proceedings.

  • February 25, 2026

    5th Circuit Refuses To Reconsider Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Coverage Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 24 denied an insured’s petition to reconsider its ruling that affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit, standing by its ruling that the insured failed to provide evidence suggesting that hail occurred within the relevant policy period and, as a result, did not establish a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether covered damage occurred.

  • February 25, 2026

    Judge: No Reasonably Clear Evidence Of Bad Faith In Hurricane Beryl Coverage Suit

    HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas granted an insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment as to the insured’s claim that it violated Texas Insurance Code Chapter 541 when it underpaid a claim for property damage that was caused by Hurricane Beryl, concluding that there is no “reasonably clear” evidence that the insurer acted in bad faith.

  • February 25, 2026

    Texas Federal Judge Finds Most Of Insured’s Claims Stand In Payment Dispute

    DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas, in partially denying an insurance carrier’s motion for summary judgment, ruled that breach of contract and Texas insurance law claims that a homeowner brought against his insurer regarding coverage of damages after a pipe burst will survive but that a common-law bad faith claim will be dismissed.

  • February 23, 2026

    Texas Panel Affirms Judgment For Texas FAIR Plan In Insurance Coverage Dispute

    HOUSTON — A Texas appellate court affirmed a lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment to the Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA) in a homeowners insurance coverage dispute, finding that because the homeowners “did not bring forth more than a scintilla of probative evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact on any of their claims,” the lower court correctly granted summary judgment for the TFPA.

  • February 23, 2026

    Company’s Dropped Coverage Suit Against Insurer Moves Back To Texas Trial Court

    FORT WORTH, Texas — A lawsuit filed by the owner of a Texas diesel and auto company against his insurance company alleging breach of contract and other claims for dropping coverage in a suit filed over damages incurred during a fire is headed back to the state trial court where it began after a federal judge accepted a recommendation to grant a motion to remand on the ground that the request for damages does not exceed $75,000.

  • February 23, 2026

    Insureds’ Claims Foreclosed By Homeowners Insurer’s Payment, Magistrate Judge Says

    SHERMAN, Texas — A federal magistrate judge recommended granting a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment on breach of contract and extracontractual claims and denying the insureds’ motion to vacate an appraisal award after determining that the insureds failed to meet their burden of proving that the appraisal award was premised on a mistake of fact and that the insureds’ claims are foreclosed by the insurer’s timely payment of the appraisal award.

  • February 20, 2026

    Texas Panel OKs Insured’s Petition Opposing Umpire Selection In Storm Damage Suit

    CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Texas appellate panel, in conditionally granting a petition for writ of mandamus to a Hidalgo County woman who sued her insurance company for allegedly underpaying or improperly denying coverage for storm damages to her property, directed the trial court to vacate an order striking one umpire and appointing another and “to proceed in accordance with the terms of the insurance policy.”

  • February 20, 2026

    Insurer’s Partial Payment For Storm Damage Was Arbitrary, Capricious, Insureds Say

    AUSTIN, Texas — A homeowners insurer’s failure to promptly and adequately pay its insureds for the full value of their claim for damages to their home caused by a hail and windstorm was arbitrary and capricious, the insureds maintain in a complaint filed in Texas federal court.

  • February 19, 2026

    Claims Against Insurer Barred By Texas’ No-Direct-Action Statute, 5th Circuit Says

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 18 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the insurer mishandled an insurance claim related to the conduct of the insured and its board members, further concluding that the lower court properly denied the plaintiff’s motion to remand.

  • February 18, 2026

    Policy’s Windstorm Deductible Applies To Tornado, Texas High Court Rules, Reverses

    AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court held that a homeowners insurance policy’s windstorm deductible applies to the insureds’ damage that was caused by a tornado, reversing an appeals court majority’s judgment and reinstating the trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the insurer after holding that “all authorities indicate the obvious: not all windstorms contain tornadoes, but all tornadoes are windstorms, regardless of whether the broader weather event includes precipitation.”

  • February 12, 2026

    Texas Federal Judge Nixes Class Complaint Over Diagnostic Breast Imaging Coverage

    HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge opined in dismissing claims in a class action alleging violations of state insurance laws and breach of contract that the Texas Insurance Code does not prohibit cost-sharing between insurance companies and members for payment for diagnostic breast imaging and that an insurance company was not required to pay for the deductibles and coinsurance for the procedure for a woman and a class of other non-Employee Retirement Income Security Act policyholders.

  • February 10, 2026

    Parties To Reinsurance Breach Of Contract Suits Seek Case Reopening

    FORT WORTH, Texas — The parties to a reinsurance breach of contract dispute arising from a multimillion-dollar tort judgment jointly asked a Texas federal court to reopen their consolidated case that was administratively closed after one of the plaintiffs began insolvency proceedings in Bermuda that triggered an automatic stay.

  • February 06, 2026

    Owner Of Storm-Damaged Texas Buildings Files Complaint Alleging Insurer Underpaid

    DALLAS — The owner of Texas commercial buildings that were damaged during a 2024 winter storm sued its commercial property insurer in a state court alleging breach of contract and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) for “significantly” underpaying its damages claim “based on the insufficient inspection with the intention of minimizing its liability.”

  • February 05, 2026

    Property Insurer Must Produce Files Related To Insured’s Damage Claim, Judge Says

    DALLAS — A commercial property insurer is required to produce underwriting and personnel files related to an insured’s storm damage claim because the files are applicable to the insured’s claim, a Texas federal magistrate judge said in partially granting the insured’s motion to compel.

  • February 05, 2026

    Texas Federal Judge Grants Commercial Auto Insurer’s Motion For Default Judgment

    MIDLAND, Texas — A Texas federal judge adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation to grant a commercial auto insurer’s motion for default judgment, agreeing with the magistrate judge that default judgment is warranted because none of the defendants named in the lawsuit filed any responsive pleadings or made an appearance in the case.

  • February 05, 2026

    Suit Against Auto Insurer Must Be Remanded For Untimely Removal, Federal Judge Says

    FORT WORTH, Texas — A suit filed by insureds against an auto insurer seeking a declaration that coverage is owed for uninsured motorist benefits must be remanded to state court because the auto insurer’s notice of removal was not filed within a year of the insureds filing suit, a Texas federal judge said.

  • February 05, 2026

    Insured Files Appeal, Says Coverage Owed Under Professional Liability Policy

    EL PASO, Texas — A trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of a professional liability insurer because an underlying suit filed against an insured attorney contains potentially covered claims, the insured says in an appellant brief filed in the Eighth Texas Court of Appeals.