(Download) "Brooks, Tarlton, Gilbert, Douglas & Kressler v. United States Fire Insurance Co." by United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Brooks, Tarlton, Gilbert, Douglas & Kressler v. United States Fire Insurance Co.
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Release Date : January 05, 1987
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 105 KB
Description
RANDALL, Circuit Judge: Defendant, an insurance company, appeals the district court's decision - based on competing cross-motions - to grant summary judgment in favor of plaintiff, the insured, on a breach of contract claim. In a related argument, defendant also challenges the district court's award of damages on the contract claim. Next, defendant appeals the district court's determination that defendant's conduct toward its insured violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Plaintiff cross-appeals the Deceptive Trade Practices Act claim, arguing that the district court incorrectly applied the Act's 1979 amendments to plaintiff's claim and, as a result, awarded plaintiff only a fraction of the punitive damages which it should have received. Plaintiff also asks this court to correct a mathematical mistake in the judgment entered below. We agree with the district court that defendant breached the terms of the insurance policy between plaintiff and defendant. However, we reject the court's conclusion that this breach of contract was also a breach of an express warranty and, therefore, a Deceptive Trade Practices Act violation. Moreover, the unorthodox nature of the proceedings below prohibits us from deciding whether either the alternative ground asserted by the district court in support of its judgment or the additional arguments pled by plaintiff demonstrate a violation of the Act. Consequently, we affirm the district court's decision on the Deceptive Trade Practices Act claim and return the claim to that court for further proceedings.