HOUSTON (SE Texas Record) — A Texas appeals court recently granted conditional relief to an Ohio-based insurance company's in its currently pending lawsuit.
In its 13-page memorandum opinion issued Nov. 5, a Texas First District Court of Appeals three-judge panel granted conditional relief to Colonial County Mutual Insurance Company, based in Canton, Ohio. The company had filed for writ of mandamus that challenged a lower court's order "denying abatement of certain extra-contractual claims arising from an uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage dispute," the opinion said.
Conditions in granting the writ were vacating part of a lower court's order that denied abatement of severed statutory extra-contractual claims and granting Colonial's request to abate the severed Claims.
"We are confident that the trial court will promptly comply, and our writ will issue only if it does not," the opinion said. "We dismiss any pending motions as moot."
The underlying case in the opinion, Abigail Shelger v. Lisselotte Ortiz and Nationwide Insurance Company, currently is pending before a Harris County District Court Judge Donna Roth.
Justices on the panel were Russell Lloyd, Gordon Goodman and Sarah Beth Landau.
The original proceeding arose from Shelger's personal injury lawsuit over a motor vehicle accident, in which Colonial was subsequently added as a defendant. Shelger alleges that Colonial failed to pay uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits under a policy the company issued, according to background portions of the opinion.
"Shelger asserted causes of action against Colonial for breach of contract, as well as extra-contractual causes of action for breach of the common law duty of good faith and fair dealing, and violations of the Texas Insurance Code and Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act," the opinion said.
A lower court judge granted part of Colonial's motion to sever and abate extra-contractual claims in the case, issuing an order that severed the claims but that also abated discovery in Shelger's common law bad faith claim under the Texas Insurance Code and Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Colonial subsequently filed its writ of mandamus.
"Our Court requested a response to the petition from the real party in interest but no response was filed," the opinion said.