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ARTICLE · 06 JULY 2016

Texas – Not A Direct Action State, Even For Third Party Beneficiaries

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
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Texas, unlike Louisiana, does not allow a claimant to sue the insurer of a third party. This was recently tested in Auzenne v. Great Lakes Reinsurance PLC, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 4879.

United StatesInsurance
Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith
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Case: Auzenne v. Great Lakes Reinsurance PLC
Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] May 10, 2016
No. 14-15-00159-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 4879

Texas, unlike Louisiana, does not allow a claimant to sue the insurer of a third party. This was recently tested in Auzenne v. Great Lakes Reinsurance PLC, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 4879. In Auzenne, ­­the Fourteenth Court of Appeals examined whether a third party claimant had standing to bring a cause of action against an insurer that provided medical payments coverage to individuals injured in its insured's store.

Mr. Auzenne was injured when he slipped and fell in a Snowflake Donuts' store insured by a CGL policy issued by Great Lakes. The Great Lakes policy included medical payments coverage. Auzenne submitted his medical bills directly to Great Lakes for reimbursement, which Great Lakes declined to pay. Auzenne sued Great Lakes for breach of contract and violations of the Texas Insurance Code, arguing that the medical payments

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