The Eight-Corners Rule

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In November, the Texas Supreme Court accepted a certified question from the Fifth Circuit directly calling into question the continued vitality of the well-known “eight corners rule,” under which a liability insurer can only consider the four corners of the live pleading and the four corners of its policy in deciding whether to defend its insured. As we noted in this blog when the Texas Supreme Court accepted the certified question, the case involved an ATV accident in which Jayden Mills, the young driver, was killed. His mother sued the Richardses, alleging they were negligent in failing to supervise and instruct Jayden.
Continue Reading Still Only Eight Corners?: The Texas Supreme Court Decides Richards v. State Farm

Insurance practitioners in Texas are familiar with the so-called “eight corners rule” applied by Texas Courts to determine whether an insurer has a duty to defend a suit against its insured. The “eight corners rule” is simply summarized:

Under the eight-corners rule, the duty to defend is determined by the claims alleged in the petition and the coverage provided in the policy. The rule takes its name from the fact that only two documents are ordinarily relevant to the determination of the duty to defend: the policy and the pleadings of the third-party claimant. Facts outside the pleadings, even those easily ascertained, are ordinarily not material to the determination and allegations against the insured are liberally construed in favor of coverage.Continue Reading Assault on the Citadel? The Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Reconsider the “Eight Corners Rule”