Mealey's Texas Insurance : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Texas Insurance

January 23, 2026
Magistrate Says Insurer’s Subrogation Claim Against Contractor Should Proceed

AUSTIN, Texas — A federal magistrate judge in Texas recommended that a district court deny a construction company’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in a case its insurer brought against it seeking to recover attorney fees it paid in defending subcontractors in an arbitration regarding allegedly negligent hotel designs and construction, finding that the insurer exclusively paid defense cost claims.
January 20, 2026
Homebuilder Argues Judge Wrong To Find No Coverage For Arbitration Award

NEW ORLEANS — In its opening brief in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a homebuilder argues that a federal judge in Texas was wrong to grant summary judgment in favor of the builder’s commercial liability insurer in its suit seeking indemnification for an arbitration award for damages caused by construction defects in a home it built; it argues that the lower court abused its discretion in finding that no coverage existed under the policy.
January 14, 2026
Trial Court Abused Discretion In Denying Motion To Bifurcate, Panel Says

BEAUMONT, Texas — A Texas appellate court conditionally granted a petition for a writ of mandamus after determining that a trial court abused its discretion in denying an insurer and its adjuster’s motion to bifurcate a breach of contract claim from extracontractual claims to avoid prejudice to the insurer and adjuster and to preserve judicial resources.
January 13, 2026
Evidence Supports Crop Insurance Claim Denial, 5th Circuit Rules

NEW ORLEANS — Holding that a farmer failed to provide adequate evidence to demonstrate that denial of his crop insurance claim was arbitrary or capricious, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a lower court ruling that federal regulators implemented proper standards and correctly considered expert testimony in concluding that the farmer failed to follow good farming practices (GFP) for coverage purposes.
January 09, 2026
Insured’s Suit Barred By Suit Limitations Provision, Texas Panel Affirms

DALLAS — An insured’s breach of contract suit against its insurer is barred by the policy’s two-year suit limitations provision because the insurer clearly denied coverage more than two years before the insured filed suit and did not later change its coverage decision, the Fifth District Texas Court of Appeals said.
January 09, 2026
Diversity Of Citizenship Exists Between Insured, Builders Risk Insurer, Judge Says

DALLAS — A builders risk insurer met its burden of showing that complete diversity of citizenship exists in a coverage dispute over costs incurred by an insured for construction delays, a Texas federal judge said in denying the insured’s motion to remand.
January 09, 2026
Claimant’s Suit Against Tortfeasor’s Auto Insurer Fails, Texas Panel Affirms

HOUSTON — A trial court properly dismissed a claimant’s suit against a tortfeasor’s auto insurer and the insurer’s agent because the claimant could not file suit against the tortfeasor’s insurer without first obtaining a judgment against the tortfeasor or settling with the tortfeasor.
January 08, 2026
Prompted By Contractor’s Motion, 5th Circuit Dismisses Appeal In CGL Coverage Suit

NEW ORLEANS — One day after a contractor insured filed an unopposed motion to dismiss its appeal of a Texas federal court’s opinion that a commercial general liability insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify for an underlying negligence lawsuit arising from the death of a house cleaner, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal.
January 08, 2026
Breach Of Contract Claim To Proceed In Coverage Suit Over Home’s Destruction

HOUSTON — A breach of contract claim against a homeowners insurer in a coverage dispute stemming from the destruction of an insured’s home can proceed because questions of fact exist regarding whether the insured resided in the home and whether the insured maintained an insurable interest in the home, which is located on a property included in a trust for her children, a Texas federal judge said in partially denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
January 06, 2026
Fact Issues Exist In Insureds’ Water Damage Coverage Suit, Texas Federal Judge Says

HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge partially denied a homeowners insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a water damage coverage dispute after determining that questions of fact exist as to whether the insurer breached its contract in denying coverage for damage to a number of areas within the insureds’ home.
January 05, 2026
Insured Failed To Show Homeowners Insurer Owes Additional Coverage, Judge Says

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer after determining that the insured’s contractual and extracontractual claims cannot proceed because the insured failed to show that the homeowners insurer is liable for additional damages caused by a fire at the insured’s home.
January 05, 2026
Federal Judge Denies Auto Insurer’s Motion To Sever, Abate Extracontractual Claims

HOUSTON — An auto insurer failed to meet its burden of showing that it would be prejudiced if an insured’s contractual and extracontractual claims are tried together, a Texas federal judge said Jan. 2 in denying the insurer’s motion to sever and abate the insured’s extracontractual claims in a coverage dispute over repairs made to the insured’s vehicle.
December 29, 2025
Summary Judgment Granted In Coverage Dispute Over Losses From Frozen Plumbing

HOUSTON — A Texas federal judge entered summary judgment in favor of an insurer, holding that freeze-related plumbing damage to a policyholder’s property was excluded from coverage because the insured intentionally turned off the heat and failed to drain the system, dismissing each of the five claims brought by the policyholder with prejudice.
December 23, 2025
Disaster-Prone States Set 2026 Reinsurance Structures With Varying Models

Florida, California and Texas — the nation’s three most-populated states — enter the new year facing high risks of exposure to hurricanes, wildfires and severe storms, which often correspond with pressures on their property insurance markets.
December 17, 2025
Appeals Court: Captive Insurance Counterclaim Not ‘Petition-Based’ Under TCPA

HOUSTON — A Texas appellate court affirmed a trial court’s denial of two former captive insurance administrators’ motion to dismiss a counterclaim filed by captive participants, holding that the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) does not apply because the factual basis of the counterclaim concerned alleged fiduciary misconduct in the unwinding of a captive insurance program rather than the isolated petitioning-related communications the administrators identified in pleadings.
December 10, 2025
Majority Reverses No Coverage Ruling In Suit Arising From Spinal Cord Injury

NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel majority on Dec. 9 reversed a lower federal court’s order that granted a homeowners insurer’s motion for judgment as a matter of law in its declaratory judgment lawsuit arising from a spinal cord injury that occurred at its insureds’ home, ruling there was a legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a jury to determine that the spinal injury did not arise out of the use of a controlled substance and, therefore, the policy’s controlled substance exclusion does not bar coverage.
December 10, 2025
Texas High Court Will Not Review Court’s Reinstatement Of Insurer’s Subrogation Suit

AUSTIN, Texas— The Texas Supreme Court denied a homeowners insurer’s petition for a writ of mandamus in a subrogation suit stemming from a roofing contractor’s defective work, refusing to disturb a trial court’s decision to set aside a default judgment and final judgment by default entered against the roofing contractor.
December 10, 2025
Panel Directs Lower Court To Order Appraisal In Dispute Over Reconstruction Costs

HOUSTON — A panel of the Texas First Court of Appeals vacated a trial court’s denial of a builders risk insurer’s motion to compel appraisal in a coverage dispute over the cost of reconstruction of a home damaged by fire and directed the lower court to order the parties to appraisal after determining that the insurer did not waive its right to demand appraisal.
December 09, 2025
Panel Remands Insured’s Pollution Liability Suit, Says Jurisdiction Question Exists

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals remanded an insured’s suit seeking coverage under an environmental site pollution liability insurance policy for the settlement of an underlying personal injury suit stemming from carbon monoxide exposure after determining that it is unclear if federal jurisdiction exists because the insured references a nondiverse defendant in numerous filings despite the parties’ representations that the nondiverse defendant was dismissed or terminated from the suit.
December 08, 2025
Suit Seeking Coverage For Stolen Machine Components Will Stay In Federal Court

DALLAS — A lawsuit filed by insureds seeking coverage for losses incurred as a result of a burglary will remain in Texas federal court because complete diversity of citizenship exists as the insurer’s claims adjuster, a nondiverse defendant, must be dismissed, a Texas federal judge said after finding that the insureds failed to state a plausible claim against the adjuster.
December 05, 2025
Insured’s Expert Testimony In Fire Damage Coverage Suit Excluded As Unreliable

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas federal judge accepted a federal magistrate judge’s recommendation to grant a motion to exclude expert testimony presented by an insured, agreeing with the magistrate judge that the expert’s testimony is unreliable because the expert failed to provide specific valuations for insured computer equipment destroyed in a fire.
December 05, 2025
Breach Of Contract Suit Against Property Insurer Dismissed Following Settlement

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal judge dismissed an insured condominium association’s breach of contract suit against a property insurer seeking coverage for wind and hail damage after the parties reached a settlement.
December 05, 2025
Judge Denies Insurer’s Supplemental Summary Judgment Motion In Roof Damage Dispute

FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Dec. 4 held that fact issues preclude granting a commercial property insurer’s motion for supplemental summary judgment on a church insured’s claims for breach of contract and violations of the Texas Prompt Payment Claims Act, further denying the insured’s motion to reconsider an earlier ruling that dismissed its bad faith claims in a coverage dispute over hailstorm damage.
December 05, 2025
Insured’s Complaint Against Auto Insurer Will Remain In Texas Federal Court

SAN ANTONIO — A Texas federal judge adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation to deny an insured’s remand motion because the insured failed to meet her burden of showing that the amount in controversy, as set forth in her complaint against her auto insurer, will not exceed the federal jurisdictional requirement of $75,000.