One type of insurance often abused by life, health, and accident insurance companies is that which provides a cash benefit or defined benefit—or the label preferred by insurers now, a supplemental health policy—that is supposed to kick in and pay benefits when diagnosed with or receiving treatment for a medical issue. That...
What Is Extracontractual Liability for an Insurance Company, Including a Stowers Claim?
Claims against an insurance company for failing to fulfill the terms of an insurance policy can be complex and difficult. In many cases, the issue can be the definition of certain words in the contract. Sometimes, there can be claims against an insurance company that seek damages above, beyond, or outside the...
What Is Business Disparagement and How Is It Dealt With in Texas?
Derogatory statements published online, in the media, or personally communicated that adversely affect a company’s sales, business, or credit can be remedied in Texas with a cause of action known as business disparagement. While the tort is similar to defamation, the two claims are distinct and exist for different purposes. Defamation protects...
What Are the Options if My Commercial Property Insurance Claim Is Denied?
Running a business (or nonprofit) comes fraught with a host of stressors. Supply disruptions, marketing issues, cash flow, and regulatory requirements are just some of those. Others include the legal risks of not only consumer or client complaints related to your goods or services, but property damage resulting from unforeseeable natural or...
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Is It Right for You?
The default method of resolving legal disputes in Texas by going to court is based on your constitutional right, as either initiating party (plaintiff or claimant) or answering party (defendant or respondent), to have any civil dispute heard by an impartial judge or jury that will determine who is right and wrong....
What Is Not Covered by a D&O Insurance Policy?
Running a company comes with a lot of responsibility. People in positions of authority have to make decisions that have far-reaching consequences. If employees, shareholders, creditors, or other parties take issue with the decisions made by a director or officer, they will typically sue that person directly along with the company. That...
Protecting Your Small Business or Personal Investment: The Features of Fraud to Look Out For
Large corporate enterprises have many protections and security procedures in place to guard against fraud (by both outsiders and insiders), as well as the balance sheet to tolerate occasional missteps. Small businesses and individual investors do not have the luxury of such protection, which is what often makes them more accessible targets...
What Does Business Interruption Insurance Cover?
Business interruption (or “business income”) insurance protects against temporary losses of revenue and extra expenses due to either a man-made or natural disaster, provided it is not excluded from coverage. It may be a benefit incorporated into a commercial general liability (CGL) policy, property insurance, or other type of standard business owner’s...
The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA): Statute of Limitations
The forms of deception that can occur in commercial transactions are limited only by the imagination of a dishonest purveyor, with subtle half-truths capable of inflicting harm no less than outright lies. It is not possible to anticipate all the ways a bad actor could mislead others—especially in this age of virtual...
Can I Get Out of My Non-Compete in Texas?
If you signed a non-compete agreement, you may end up feeling stuck unable to leave or work elsewhere in your preferred field. Rarely is that truly the case, unless you received specialized training in return for an agreement not to compete, access to highly proprietary confidential information (trade secrets, source code, client...
