Loading…
In commercial property insurance suits arising from the April and May 2016 Bexar County hail storms, the civil district courts' standing order abates the case automatically when the commercial insurance carrier answers, until 30 days after a mediation impasse (court-ordered and Rule 190 discovery deadlines pause; the order's own deadlines and statutory deadlines, interest and penalties do not; written discovery may be served but responses fall due 30 days after the abatement ends). The parties must file an Agreed Mediation Order, in the attached form, within 120 days of the answer and a proposed Agreed Scheduling Order within 15 days of an unsuccessful mediation; within 120 days of the answer they exchange the listed claim, policy, adjusting and underwriting materials (business-loss accounting within 180 days), the carrier must tell the independent adjuster to preserve claim notes and emails, and privilege logs follow the TRCP. Reports and estimates obtained for mediation are confidential to that lawsuit unless part of the claims file or later relied on by a testifying expert; the carrier may inspect before mediation and re-inspect after. The order is posted on the District Clerk's website and must be attached to the original petition; relief from any part requires a hearing. The attached Agreed Mediation Order requires attendance by counsel, individual parties (adjusters and insurer employees excepted when a representative with full authority attends) and a representative of each entity party, with the mediation fee split equally.
Applies to pretrial matters in commercial property insurance cases filed in the District Courts of Bexar County (the 37th, 45th, 57th, 73rd, 131st, 150th, 166th, 224th, 225th, 285th, 288th, 407th, 408th and 438th District Courts) that involve insurance disputes arising from the April and May 2016 Bexar County hail storms. Signed by the fourteen civil district judges then sitting, several since departed; no judge join. Not registered on TOPICs; posted on the District Clerk's forms page of the county website (recorded by the District Clerk on November 30, 2016, filing number 68881, Vol. 4655 Pg. 1816–1819). Procedural information only; not legal advice.
IN RE: BEXAR HAIL COMMERCIAL CLAIM LITIGATION — IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS, CIVIL JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURTS. STANDING PRETRIAL ORDER CONCERNING BEXAR COUNTY COMMERCIAL HAIL CLAIMS This order applies to pretrial matters in commercial property insurance cases filed in the District Courts of Bexar County, Texas that involve insurance disputes arising from the hail storms occurring in Bexar County in April and May of 2016. The purpose of this order is to expedite pretrial matters, discovery and mediation in order to minimize court costs and litigation expenses. This order shall be posted on the Bexar County District Clerk website and shall be attached to the Original Petition of applicable cases. All attorneys and parties should endeavor to notify others about this order. Parties seeking to be excused from any part of this order must set a hearing and request relief from the court. AUTOMATIC ABATEMENT – The filing of an original answer by the commercial insurance carrier shall trigger an immediate and automatic abatement. The case shall remain abated until 30 days after a mediation impasse. The abatement period will apply to all court ordered deadlines and Rule 190 discovery deadlines. The abatement period will not apply to the deadlines in this order or to any statutory deadline, interest or penalties that may apply under any statutory code or law. The parties may send written discovery during the abatement time period, however, the responses and objections to those discovery requests will not be due until 30 days after the end of the abatement period. MEDIATION – The parties shall agree to a mediator and to a mediation date. An Agreed Mediation Order, in the form attached, shall be filed with the court within 120 days after the answer is filed. Within 15 days of an unsuccessful mediation, the parties will submit a proposed Agreed Scheduling Order to the court. DISCOVERY – Within 120 days of the filing of an answer by the commercial insurance carrier, the parties will use their best efforts to exchange information and documentation pertaining to the commercial property, including the following: expert reports, engineering reports, estimates of damage or repairs; contents lists for contents damage claim(s); photographs; repair receipts or invoices; the non-privileged portions of the commercial insurance carrier and adjusting company's claims file (including all claim diary notes, activity logs, loss notes and email correspondence regarding the insurance claim); payment ledger, payment log and/or proof of payment from the insurance carrier; a copy of the insurance policy in effect at the time of the respective storm claim(s); and the non-privileged portions of the underwriting file. If the insurance carrier is not in possession of the adjusting company's/adjuster's claims file, and the adjusting company/adjuster is not named as a party in the lawsuit and represented by separate counsel, then the insurance carrier shall seek the adjusting company's claims file and use their best efforts to exchange this information within the 120 day time period. The insurance carrier is also ordered to notify the independent adjusting company that all emails, activity notes and loss diary notes pertaining to the hail storm claim in litigation shall be preserved and not destroyed. Finally, a privilege log will also be produced in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure for any redactions or privileges asserted. Within 180 days of the filing of an answer by the commercial insurance carrier, the parties will use their best efforts to exchange accounting and financial documentation and other information pertaining to any claims for business interruption, loss of business income, lost profits, inventory or food loss (provide list with values), lost business expense, accounts receivable and any other business loss claim. Any expert reports, engineering reports, contractor estimates or any other estimates of damages or repairs obtained pursuant to this order for settlement, demand, or mediation purposes and exchanged prior to mediation shall be for mediation purposes only and shall be considered confidential, except that any estimates and/or reports that are part of the claims file, which were obtained or prepared during the claims handling, shall not be considered confidential under this paragraph. However, if a consultant, whose report is produced for mediation, is designated as a retained testifying expert and does not produce a subsequent report for use at trial, the mediation report shall not remain confidential. Confidential reports and estimates are only confidential for the lawsuit in which they are being used. Confidential expert reports designated for mediation purposes shall be returned to the providing party within 14 days of a written request. Such reports shall not be discoverable or admissible at trial or any hearing. If the party procuring the report designates the expert to testify, such party shall have the right to prevent discovery or testimony by the expert regarding the mediation report and any opinions therein, provided that a subsequent report is produced. The procuring party may use data such as measurements and photographs without waiving this privilege. Nothing herein shall prohibit the use of those reports and estimates in any subsequent insurance claims or lawsuits involving the same commercial insurance carrier. Once a mediation date and mediator are agreed to by all parties, the commercial insurance carrier shall be permitted to inspect the property involved in the lawsuit (as soon as practicable) prior to mediation. If mediation is unsuccessful, the commercial insurance carrier and other defendants may re-inspect the property with the same, new or additional experts pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. Signed on November 30, 2016. [Signed by Michael Mery, Judge, 37th District Court; Stephani Walsh, Judge, 45th District Court; Antonia Arteaga, Judge, 57th District Court; David A. Canales, Judge, 73rd District Court; John D. Gabriel, Jr., Judge, 131st District Court; Renée Yanta, Judge, 150th District Court; Laura Salinas, Judge, 166th District Court; Cathleen Stryker, Judge, 224th District Court; Peter Sakai, Judge, 225th District Court; Richard Price, Judge, 285th District Court; Sol Casseb III, Judge, 288th District Court; Karen H. Pozza, Judge, 407th District Court; Larry Noll, Judge, 408th District Court; Gloria Saldaña, Judge, 438th District Court.] AGREED MEDIATION ORDER (the form attached to the standing order). Pursuant to the Standing Pretrial Order Concerning Bexar County Commercial Hail Claims, the parties agree to the following mediation date and mediator: Date: ________ Mediator: ________. The court, hereby, approves and orders the above date and mediator as agreed by the parties. Each side shall pay an equal portion of the mediation fee. All parties must have in attendance a representative with full authority to enter into a final settlement agreement. The following shall be personally in attendance at the mediation until excused by the mediator: 1. An attorney of record for each party, unless the party is self-represented. 2. All individual parties, either plaintiff or defendant, except that individual defendant adjusters and insurer employee defendants are not ordered to attend so long as a representative with full authority to negotiate and settle on their behalf is present. 3. A representative of each non-individual party, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing. Signed and entered on ________, 2016. Judge Presiding.
IN RE: BEXAR HAIL COMMERCIAL CLAIM LITIGATION — IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS, CIVIL JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURTS. STANDING PRETRIAL ORDER CONCERNING BEXAR COUNTY COMMERCIAL HAIL CLAIMS This order applies to pretrial matters in commercial property insurance cases filed in the District Courts of Bexar County, Texas that involve insurance disputes arising from the hail storms occurring in
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-09 from BenchPath's own-site custody copy read through the vision lane (rendered pages transcribed; the OCR text layer was not used). Four image-only pages: the order (pages 1–2), the fourteen signature blocks (pages 2–3, listed in brackets) and the Agreed Mediation Order form (page 4, transcribed with its blanks). The site labels the file "Hail Claim Standing Order 2"; it is the standing pretrial order itself.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.