FORT WORTH – A federal judge has ordered a Mostyn Law hail client to show cause on why his lawsuit should not be dismissed for failing to comply with a court order.
In May, Antonio Perez filed suit against Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance in Tarrant County, alleging he was not fully compensated for damage caused by a hailstorm a year earlier.
In June, the cause was removed to federal court.
Court records show the case was originally filed through Mostyn Law’s former head of litigation, Rene Sigman, who left the firm for the Merlin Law Group in July.
On Aug. 23, Allstate filed a motion to dismiss, arguing Perez’s amended complaint fails to state a cause of action.
Perez, now represented by Mostyn Law attorney Gregory Cox, responded on Sept. 19, asserting that the motion should be denied, court records show.
The next day, the trial court granted Allstate’s motion, dismissing all claims except Perez’s breach of contract claim, which maintains he was not fully compensated.
“As to the latter claim, plaintiff has alleged no facts that would make plausible a claim against Allstate of breach of a duty of good faith and fair dealing,” the order states.
“Therefore, that claim must be rejected as constituting nothing more than a basic recitation of the elements of such a claim, with no allegation of facts that would lead to the conclusion that such a claim is plausible.”
The court also questioned the adequacy of Perez’s alleged breach of contract claim.
“As Allstate points out in its motion to dismiss, plaintiff has pleaded no facts identifying any specific contractual provision breached by Allstate, he failed to attach a copy of the insurance policy to his complaint, and failed to identify what provision or provisions of the insurance policy Allstate allegedly breached,” the order states.
“However, on the assumption that plaintiff might be able to cure those pleading defects, the court is not dismissing plaintiff's breach of contract claim against Allstate, but is allowing him an opportunity to amend his complaint as to that claim.”
Perez was given to Sept. 27 to amend his complaint, which he did not, court records show.
Two days after the deadline, the court issued another ruling on Sept. 29, ordering Perez to show cause on why his action should not be dismissed for failing to comply.
If Perez fails to show cause by Oct. 6, the Mostyn Law client faces sanctions.
Allstate is represented by Neil Rambin and Susan Egeland, attorneys for the Dallas law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas, Fort Worth Division, cause No. 4:17-cv-00490-A