Texas Political Subdivisions Property/Casualty Joint Self Insurance Fund v. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD addressed whether Texas commercial auto policies consider golf carts “autos” or “mobile equipment.” 

In Frederking v. Cincinnati Insurance Company, No. 18-50536 (5th Cir. July 2, 2019), the Fifth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling that resulted in a liability policy’s coverage of punitive damages.

In Prophet Equity LP v. Twin City Fire Ins. Co., the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas, Texas held that the insureds were entitled to payment from the second-level excess carrier for the wrongful termination of the investment firm’s partner by the firm’s majority partner.

In ADI Worldlink, LLC. v. RSUI Idemnity Co., 932 F.3d.369 (5th Cir. 2019), the Fifth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, finding that an “interrelatedness provision” of a claims made and reported policy, when read in conjunction with the policy’s notice requirement, precluded coverage for all wage claims against an insured, including those which were timely reported under a subsequent policy.

The strongest and most emblematic pillar of Texas insurance law is the eight-corners rule, which prohibits the consideration of evidence extrinsic to the pleadings and insurance policy in determining an insurer’s duty to defend.

The Texas Supreme Court recently issued two opinions holding that an insurer’s payment based on an appraisal award (1) precludes an insured’s claim that the insurer breached contract by failing to pay the amount of covered loss, as well as statutory and bad faith claims when the only actual damages sought are loss of policy benefits (Ortiz v. State Farm Lloyds, _____ S.W.3d. ____; No. 17-1048, 2019 WL 2710032 (Tex. June 28, 2019)); but (2) does not, as a matter of law, preclude an insurer’s liability under the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act (TPPCA) or under the policy (Barbara Technologies Corporation v. State Farm Lloyds, ____ S.W.3d. _____; No. 17-0640, 2019 WL 2710089 (Tex. June 28, 2019)).

Denver Partner Katherine L. Vaughn recently sat down with friend and colleague, Mark Savage, of the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) to talk to him about his work as an advocate for the motor carrier industry for Lewis Brisbois' January 2020 Transportation Law Update.

In Florida, unlike parties to a claim, nonparties have no duty to preserve evidence based on knowledge or foreseeability of litigation. In a recent opinion, a Florida Court of Appeals was asked to examine whether the courts should recognize a common law duty for nonparty preservation of evidence based on the knowledge or foreseeability of litigation.