Housing & Community Services, Inc. v. Texas Windstorm Insurance Ass'n

515 S.W.3d 906, 2017 WL 1228901, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 1748
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 2, 2017
DocketNUMBER 13-15-00560-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 515 S.W.3d 906 (Housing & Community Services, Inc. v. Texas Windstorm Insurance Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Housing & Community Services, Inc. v. Texas Windstorm Insurance Ass'n, 515 S.W.3d 906, 2017 WL 1228901, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 1748 (Tex. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice Benavides

Appellants Housing and Community Services, Inc. and HCS 401, LLC d/b/a Lantana Square Apartments (collectively HCS) appeal the trial court’s granting of summary judgment in favor of appellee Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and ordering that HCS take nothing in its lawsuit against TWIA. We affirm.

I. Background

HCS owns the Lantana Square Apartments (“the Lantana property”) in Corpus Christi. The Lantana property was insured against wind and hail storm events through TWIA.1 Specifically, it was insured by two TWIA policies, which provided coverage through December 2012.

On May 15, 2012, HCS sustained damages allegedly caused by a hail storm to various buildings on the Lantana property covered under both TWIA policies. On May 28, 2013, HCS filed two separate but related claims (Claim numbers: C0183954 and C0184052) with TWIA, claims related to the May 15, 2012 damages. On July 1, 2013, TWIA denied both claims on grounds that HCS failed to fulfill its duty to file its claim with TWIA within one year of the [908]*908loss. The denial letters stated that HCS may seek a onetime, 180-day extension to file its claim upon a showing of “good cause” to the Texas Commissioner of Insurance. On July 12, 2013, a representative for HCS filed a request with the Texas Commissioner of Insurance requesting an extension on the claim dates. On August 23, 2013, the Texas Commissioner of Insurance denied HCS’s requests.

On March 24, 2014, HCS filed suit against TWIA alleging claims for wrongful denial of coverage under section 2210.575 of the insurance code, see Tex. Ins. Code Ann. § 2210.575 (West, Westlaw through 2015 R.S.), and for declaratory relief— specifically, that HCS’s thirteen-day lapse of filing its claims within exactly one year of the requisite requirements of the policy did not bar it from coverage under the policies, if TWIA was not prejudiced pursuant to PAJ v. Hanover Insurance Company. See 243 S.W.3d 630 (Tex. 2008). On September 3, 2014, HCS filed a motion for partial summary judgment arguing that it was entitled to coverage under the policies because the evidence conclusively showed that HCS “provided proper notice under the TWIA policy; or in the alternative, ... TWIA was not prejudiced by this immaterial delay” of thirteen days.

TWIA answered, responded to HCS’s motion for partial summary judgment, and filed its own motion for traditional summary judgment on grounds that the evidence conclusively showed that HCS failed to meet the mandatory one-year, post-loss, claim-fifing deadline, having missed this deadline by thirteen days. Furthermore, TWIA asserted in its motion that chapter 2210 of the insurance code exclusively regulates insurance policies issued by TWIA, including the two involved in this case, and does not require TWIA to' show prejudice if a claimant fails to report its claim within the one-year period.

The trial court granted TWIA’s traditional motion for summary judgment and ordered that HCS take nothing from its lawsuit against TWIA. This appeal followed.

II. Summary Judgment

By one issue, HCS contends that the trial court erroneously granted TWIA’s motion for summary judgment and denied its own motion for summary judgment.

A. Standard of Review

We review the granting of a motion for summary judgment de novo. Robert V. Buck v. G.J. Palmer, Jr., 381 S.W.3d 525, 527 (Tex. 2012). When the trial court does not specify the grounds for its ruling, a summary judgment must be affirmed if any of the grounds on which judgment is sought are meritorious. Id. When both parties move for summary judgment and the trial court grants one motion and denies the other, we review all the summary judgment evidence, determine all issues presented, and render the judgment the trial court should have. Id.

B. Discussion

Before delving into our analysis, it is important to note four stipulations made by the parties: (1) “on May 15, 2012, a hail and/or windstorm event occurred in Corpus Christi” that caused the alleged damages to the Lantana property claimed by HCS; (2) HCS filed those claims one year and thirteen days after the wind and/or hail storm event; (3) TWIA denied those claims as untimely because they were filed “in excess of one year from the date of the loss;” and (4) TWIA was not prejudiced by HCS’s untimely filed claims. Thus, as matter of first impression, we must decide whether under the insurance code, TWIA may deny coverage due to a claimant’s untimely filing of a claim, regardless of [909]*909whether TWIA was prejudiced or not by the untimely filing.

TWIA argues that the plain-language of the relevant insurance code provisions are dispositive to the analysis of this case. First, section 2210.573(a) states that an insured must file a claim under an association policy not later than the first anniversary of the date on which the damage to property that is the basis of the claim occurs. Tex. Ins. Code Ann. § 2210.573(a) (West, Westlaw through 2015 R.S.). This provision is tempered, however, by a safety-valve provision which allows a claimant to seek a discretionary 180-day extension of the claim deadline from the commissioner of insurance upon a claimant's showing of “good cause.” Id. § 2210.205(b) (West, Westlaw through 2015 R.S.). TWIA asserts that these claims procedures are mandatory, and absent strict adherence, it may deny coverage for an untimely-filed claim.

HCS counters this argument by citing to PAJ and other cases, which have held that an insured’s failure to timely notify its insurer of a claim or suit does not defeat coverage if the insurer was not prejudiced by the delay. See PAJ, 243 S.W.3d at 636-37; see also Prodigy Commc’ns Corp. v. Agricultural Excess & Surplus Ins. Co., 288 S.W.3d 374, 382-83 (Tex. 2009) (“In a claims-made policy, when an insured notifies its insurer of a claim within the policy term or other reporting period that the policy specifies, the insured’s failure to provide notice ‘as soon as practicable’ will not defeat coverage in the absence of prejudice to the insurer.”); cf. Hernandez v. Gulf Group Lloyds, 875 S.W.2d 691, 694 (Tex. 1994) (insured’s immaterial breach of policy did not prejudice insurer to avoid coverage under the insurance policy).

While acknowledging the PAJ, Prodigy, and Hernandez decisions, TWIA argues that those cases are inapplicable and distinguishable from the present case because of the “special statutory nature of windstorm coverage and its departure from the common law.” We agree.

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515 S.W.3d 906, 2017 WL 1228901, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 1748, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/housing-community-services-inc-v-texas-windstorm-insurance-assn-texapp-2017.