Angela Brooks-Brown v. USAA Texas Lloyd's Company
03-15-00451-CV
| Tex. App. | Sep 11, 2015Background
- Insured Angela Brooks-Brown sued USAA Texas Lloyd’s after disputed hail and fire damage payments under her homeowners policy; she demanded appraisal and appointed an appraiser.
- Policy required the insurer to appoint an appraiser within 20 days and, if appraisers could not agree on an umpire within 15 days, a judge of the state court where the residence is located would choose an umpire.
- Appraisers disagreed on scope/amount and could not agree on an umpire; Brooks-Brown filed (and attempted to nonsuit) a Bell County suit and also filed an unserved suit in Jefferson County seeking an umpire there.
- Bell County district court appointed an umpire, entered a temporary anti-suit injunction preventing Brooks-Brown from pursuing the unserved Jefferson County umpire appointment, and ordered the appraisal completed within 30 days.
- The court denied Brooks-Brown’s plea in abatement; appraisal proceeded (no stay/supersedeas), an award issued, USAA tendered payment, and the parties filed a joint report that the appraisal was completed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether interlocutory appeal lies from appointment of an umpire | Brooks-Brown sought accelerated interlocutory review of the umpire appointment | No statutory basis for interlocutory appeal of umpire appointment; appeals generally require final judgment | No jurisdiction for interlocutory appeal of umpire appointment; dismissed |
| Whether interlocutory appeal lies from denial of plea in abatement | Brooks-Brown argued Bell County lacked exclusive jurisdiction because of filing in Jefferson County | Denial of abatement is not interlocutory-reviewable | Denial of plea in abatement not subject to interlocutory review |
| Whether temporary injunction was appealable and whether appeal is moot | Brooks-Brown appealed the temporary injunction preventing pursuit of the unserved Jefferson County proceeding | USAA argued injunction was appealable as temporary injunction but it expired when appraisal completed; moreover appraisal was completed while appeal pending because no stay was obtained | Appeal from temporary injunction moot because injunction expired upon completion of appraisal |
| Whether appeal is moot because appraisal completed and payment tendered | Brooks-Brown continued appeal despite appraisal completion | USAA argued completion and tender of award removed any live controversy; appraisal award binding and enforceable | Appeal moot; must be dismissed because court action cannot affect parties’ rights |
Key Cases Cited
- Qwest Communications Corp. v. AT&T Corp., 24 S.W.3d 334 (Tex. 2000) (appeals generally available only from final judgments unless statute provides otherwise)
- CMH Homes v. Perez, 340 S.W.3d 444 (Tex. 2011) (statutory interlocutory-appeal provisions are narrow and strictly construed)
- Mohamed v. AutoNation USA Corp., 89 S.W.3d 830 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2002) (no appeal from order compelling arbitration by analogy to appraisal/arbiter appointment)
- VE Corp. v. Ernst & Young, 860 S.W.2d 83 (Tex. 1993) (mootness doctrine: courts cannot decide controversies where relief would be purely advisory)
- Richards v. Mena, 820 S.W.2d 372 (Tex. 1991) (appeal from temporary injunction becomes moot after underlying proceedings render injunction expired)