Court Reinstates Coverage Action to Resolve Causation Issue

DALLAS - A home insurer may not be bound by an appraiser's opinion that damage to a homeowner's personal belongings was caused by water rather than mold, but it creates an issue of fact and precludes summary judgment, a Texas appellate court held on July 9. Timberlake v. Metropolitan Lloyds Insurance Company of Texas, No. 05-06-00224-CV (Texas Ct. App., 5th Dist.).

The 5th District Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment awarded to Metropolitan Lloyds Insurance Company of Texas, ruling that Metropolitan failed to meet its burden of showing that there are no remaining issues of material fact.

Metropolitan filed its …