Following two hail storms which struck Hidalgo County in 2012, insured homeowners sued various insurers and claims adjustors, alleging underpayment of property damage claims and asserting statutory, contractual, and extra-contractual claims.

A towing vessel damaged a Shell mooring line attached to a Shell a mobile offshore drilling unit in the Gulf of Mexico. After paying Shell’s damages, the towing vessel owner sued the owner of the assist towboat, claiming indemnity under the Master Service Agreement (“MSA”) between them. 

Atlanta Partner Seth Friedman and Associate Christopher Meeks obtained a ruling from the Georgia Court of Appeals that, absent very limited circumstances, third-party claimants do not have standing to bring a declaratory judgment action against an insurance company prior to obtaining a judgment against the insured. 

On May 11, 2017, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s denial of a Joint Motion to Enforce Settlement filed by Plaintiffs and Defendants/Appellants/JR Logging Inc., Jerry Avants, Jr. and Indemnity Insurance Company of North America. 

A helicopter ditched in the Gulf of Mexico due to engine failure. The pilot escaped unharmed, but the helicopter did not fare as well – it sank to the bottom. 

It is no secret the state of Texas has experienced its fair share of foul weather and property damage claims within the last five years. In 2016, the state experienced one of, if not its most expensive hail and storm season in recent memory with an estimated half-a-million hail-damage claims alone. 

Appellant, Crystal Seafood Company, Inc. appealed an order of the lower holding the seafood processing company and two of its officers jointly and severally liable for a $1,034,228.42 payment received pursuant to a settlement of the company’s claim arising out of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010. 

In this case, Hess Corporation’s predecessor conducted oil operations on property located in Louisiana until 1971 and its oil and gas leases expired in 1973