Litigation

It has long been considered the law in Texas that recoverable damages for total destruction of property would not include loss-of-use damages. But in January, the Supreme Court of Texas held that there are instances in which a property owner with total destruction of its property can recover loss-of-use damages in addition to the fair-market-value damages otherwise recoverable. In J&D Towing, LLC v. American Alternative Ins. Corp., No. 14-0574 (Tex. Jan. 8, 2016), the plaintiff, a tow truck company whose only truck had been totally damaged in a car accident, sought lost profits during the period of time that the company was without a tow truck because the tortfeasor’s insurer refused to timely pay on the clear liability claim. The Court held that under the circumstances presented, the lost profit damages were not barred as a matter of law simply because the damage was a total loss; the tow truck company was entitled to seek the lost profits damages for the time the company was without a truck in the same way that it would … Continue reading →