Insured Asks Texas High Court To Decide Whether Appraisal Award Bars Claims

Mealey's (February 11, 2019, 12:30 PM EST) -- AUSTIN, Texas — An insured recently asked the Texas Supreme Court to determine whether a homeowners insurer’s payment of an appraisal award for hailstorm damage operates as a contractual bar to damages available to him under Texas contract law and the Texas Insurance Code, contending that a policy’s appraisal provision “has morphed into a compelled arbitration provision with no ability to recover costs associated with the process of enforcing a policyholder’s rights” (Oscar Ortiz v. State Farm Lloyds, No. 17-1048, Texas Sup.)....