A New York-based insurance company is suing a Texas trucking business in an effort to rescind a policy.
Praetorian Insurance Company filed a lawsuit Aug. 19 in the Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas against Total Distribution & Logistics, doing business as TexExpress, David Garrett, and P.A. Inc.
According to the complaint, when TexExpress applied for and received insurance coverage, it reassured the plaintiff its trucks would not be carrying hazardous materials. The suit says on May 19, a TexExpress delivery truck was involved in a collision in Longview, and in the course of righting the overturned vehicle, a crew came into contact with hazardous materials in the trailer.
David Garrett, of the wrecker service, made a claim with Praetorian for personal injuries as well as property damage, the suit says, and he is included as a party in this suit because he could have a financial interest in the outcome. Likewise, P.A. Inc. is named because it made a claim in an unrelated incident June 12.
Based on the hazardous materials finding, the plaintiff seeks a declaration that it can rescind the insurance policy because of material misrepresentations on the application.
Praetorian Insurance seeks a refund of payments made in connection with the insurance policy, plus a judgment declaring it does not have to pay any damages for bodily injuries or any claim for business interruption. It is represented by attorneys Peri H. Alkas and Laura Balhoff Entler of Phelps Dunbar in Houston.
Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas case number 6:15-cv-00790-MHS-KNM.