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February 03, 2026
EL PASO, Texas — A commercial general liability insurer filed suit in Texas federal court, seeking a declaration that it does not have any duty to defend or indemnify its insureds in an underlying suit stemming from carbon monoxide poisoning at an insured motel because the policy’s pollution exclusion bars coverage.
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February 02, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 30 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit, holding that the insured failed to provide evidence suggesting 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.
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January 30, 2026
EDINBURG, Texas — After a pro se insured moved to dismiss his appeal, noting that the controversy had settled, a Texas appeals panel dismissed the appeal in the insured’s lawsuit that was on remand from the Texas Supreme Court and sought damages for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association’s alleged improper denial of coverage for hail and windstorm damage to his beachfront condominium that was caused by Hurricane Harvey and a subsequent storm, ending.
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January 29, 2026
HOUSTON — A breach of contract claim alleged against a property insurer by an insured seeking additional coverage for storm damage can proceed because a genuine issue of fact exists as to whether the storm caused all or only part of the property damage at issue, a Texas federal judge said in partially denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
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January 28, 2026
GALVESTON, Texas — An insured motel operator’s breach of contract complaint filed against its commercial property insurer must be transferred to New York federal court based on the forum selection clause included in the policy, a Texas federal magistrate judge said in granting the insurer’s motion to transfer.
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January 28, 2026
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal magistrate judge recommended that an insurance adjuster named as a defendant by insureds who seek additional coverage under their homeowners policy for storm damage be dismissed because the insureds cannot assert a cause of action against the adjuster based on the insurer’s decision to accept liability for the adjuster.
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January 23, 2026
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.
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January 20, 2026
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.
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January 14, 2026
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.
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January 13, 2026
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.
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January 09, 2026
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.
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January 09, 2026
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.
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January 09, 2026
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.
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January 08, 2026
DALLAS — A tax firm moved for summary judgment in a Texas federal court in its challenge to an Internal Revenue Service final rule on microcaptive insurance arrangements, arguing that the agency acted arbitrarily and capriciously by imposing reporting requirements without identifying facts or data showing that microcaptive transactions can potentially be done for tax avoidance or evasion.
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January 08, 2026
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.
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January 08, 2026
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.
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January 06, 2026
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.
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January 05, 2026
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.
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January 05, 2026
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.
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December 29, 2025
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.
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December 23, 2025
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.
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December 17, 2025
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.
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December 10, 2025
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.
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December 10, 2025
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.
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December 10, 2025
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.