State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Nickerson
| Citation | 216 S.W.3d 823 |
| Decision Date | 22 December 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-0427.,04-0427. |
| Parties | STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner, v. Teresa NICKERSON, Respondent. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Texas |
Michelle E. Robberson, Steven Dillon Roberts, Mark Anthony Teague, R. Brent Cooper, Cooper & Scully, P.C., Dallas, for petitioner.
Jesse L. Nickerson III, Nickerson Law Office, James R. Rodgers, The Moore Law Firm, Paris, for respondent.
J. Wade Birdwell, Wallach, Andrews & Stouffer, P.C., Fort Worth, for Amicus Curiae Judith Moss, D.O.
The issue in this case is whether an insured can recover attorney's fees under Chapter 38 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code from her underinsured motorist (UIM) insurer.
Teresa Nickerson was injured in an automobile collision with Calvin Christopher. Nickerson sued Christopher, but she released her claims against him after accepting a $25,000 payment representing the limits of Christopher's insurance policy. Nickerson also accepted a $10,000 payment of personal injury protection (PIP) benefits from State Farm. Believing her damages to be greater than Christopher's policy limits, Nickerson sued State Farm to recover under the UIM provision of her policy, which had a $300,000 limit. At trial, Nickerson sought to establish Christopher's liability and recover attorney's fees under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code subsections 38.001 and 38.002.
On November 13, 2002, a jury found that Christopher's negligence proximately caused Nickerson's damages and awarded her $225,000 in actual damages and $46,500 in attorney's fees incurred during trial. On December 4, 2002, State Farm paid Nickerson $191,294.52, representing the actual damages ($225,000), minus offsets ($35,000), plus interest on $190,000 at a rate of ten percent simple interest from November 13, 2002, through December 4, 2002. The trial court signed a final judgment on December 6, 2002, finding that Nickerson was entitled to actual damages of $225,000 plus prejudgment interest of $181,849.32 accruing from the date suit was filed until the day prior to judgment. Based on these findings it awarded Nickerson $300,000, the limit of her UIM policy. Additionally, the trial court awarded Nickerson $46,500 in attorney's fees and postjudgment interest.
On appeal, State Farm initially challenged both the attorney's fees and pre-judgment interest awards, but later withdrew the prejudgment interest issue, and on November 18, 2004, paid the remainder of the UIM policy limit of $300,000. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court...
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