This is the first in a series of discussions about insurance issues unique to the Lone Star State.
For nearly a century, the Stowers doctrine has been a critical cornerstone of Texas insurance law protecting insureds facing the threat of a nuclear verdict. This doctrine, named after the seminal 1929 case G.A. Stowers Furniture Co.
Sometimes defining the simplest phrases proves anything but simple. So learned the insurer in a property loss and bad faith case brought by its insured and decided earlier this year by the Pennsylvania Superior Court (Watchword Worldwide v. Erie Ins. Co., 308 A.2d 728 (Pa. Superior Ct. 2024)).
Watchword Worldwide engaged in the business
This is a deceptively simple question — risk managers rightfully expect to know the scope of their coverages when they build their insurance programs. Unfortunately, judicial interpretation of common policy terms can turn what should be a straightforward question into a morass of uncertainty.
This uncertainty is exemplified