On certified question from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, in Fairfield Insurance Company v. Stephens Martin Paving, LP, 2008 WL 400397, *1 (Tex. 2008), addressed the issue of whether Texas public policy prohibits a “liability insurance provider from indemnifying an award for punitive damages imposed on its
Insurance
Insurance Company House Counsel May Defend Insureds
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Insurance
In an opinion filed today in the matter of Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee vs. American Home Assurance Co., the Supreme Court of Texas has authorized liability insurers to use in-house staff attorneys to defend their Texas insureds, so long as there is no conflict of interest between the insurer’s and…
Texas Supreme Court decides Superior Snubbing – upholds effect of indemnity provisions in Master Service Agreement
By Liskow & Lewis on
Supreme Court of Texas decides Superior Snubbing: In a case of substantial importance to the energy industry, the Supreme Court of Texas held that an oilfield service contractor sued by an injured employee of another contractor is entitled to enforce the indemnity provision in a Master Service Agreement between the operator…
The OCSLA Does Not Provide Federal Jurisdiction for Insurance Disputes
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Insurance
The Eastern District of Louisiana recently held that insurance claims for damage to a Gulf of Mexico production facility will not support federal court jurisdiction under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Accordingly, the district court remanded the case of LLOG Exploration Co. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, 2007 WL 854307 (E.D. La. 3/16/07), to…
Additional Insured Cannot Rely On Certificate of Insurance
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Insurance
Contributed by Andrew Wooley
In Via Net v. TIG Insurance Co., the Supreme Court of Texas recently concluded it was not reasonable for a party to believe it was an additional insured under another party’s commercial general liability policy, based only on a certificate of insurance provided by the other party’s insurance broker. After noting…