TEXAS UPDATE

TEXAS LAWYERS
TEXAS SUPREME COURT (non) UPDATE: Well, the court is still two judges short due to recent resignations. The governor has not announced replacements. Therefore, no notable cases were handed down this morning. If anyone wants this job, please call the Gov. His name is Rick.
NOT ALL CLAIMS FILES ARE DISCOVERABLE IN TEXAS: A Texas appellate court disallowed a plaintiff homeowner’s discovery requests to the homeowner’s insurer to produce, among other things, all other mold and foundation claims files within Texas in the last five years. The company argued that the discovery would require it to do manual file searches and cost $200,000 for each year requested. Holding the requests overly broad, the court said the requests should be more narrowly tailored to provide relevant information “with as little cost as possible.” In re Fire Insurance Exchange, (Tex App-Beaumont 2004).
WHERE HAVE ALL THE ADJUSTERS GONE?: As many as 15,000 claim adjusters, many of them from Texas, are now in Florida, attempting to separate flood damage from wind damage and trying to determine how many deductibles should be charged to their insureds. With that many additional adjusters now in state, Florida officials have reported a new disaster…a serious beer shortage.
A NEW PAIN: A suit filed on Thursday charges that Merck & Co. misled patients about the safety of its arthritis drug. The case may signal many more such lawsuits against the drug maker, following its withdrawal of Vioxx form the market yesterday.
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING: We spotted the billboard recently: