Allowing Admissions to be Deemed Admitted Defeats Suit
Post 4889
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gZhkYqrW, see the full video at https://lnkd.in/gwvXFp6H and at https://lnkd.in/gre_Ng6H and https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4850 posts.
Lynette Januzi appealed from the trial court's order granting summary judgment against her and in favor of American Modern Property and Casualty Insurance (AMCI) and Melissa Ann Workman. She asserts the trial court erred in considering deemed admissions and there is more than a scintilla of evidence to support her claims.
In Lynnette Januzi v. American Modern Property And Casualty Insurance And Melissa Ann Workman, No. 12-24-00016-CV, Court of Appeals of Texas, Twelfth District, Tyler (August 29, 2024) the Court of Appeals applied Texas law.
BACKGROUND
In March 2019, Januzi obtained an insurance policy from her agent, Workman, through AMCI. The policy has a $75,000 sublimit for water damage. She had a water damage claim and over a period of AMCI issued additional payments to pay contractors and various damages making the total disbursement equal to the $75,000 limit. On January 22, AMCI notified Januzi that the last payment constituted the balance of the water damage limit.
Januzi took issue with the $75,000 water damage limit, claiming she was unaware of the sublimit. She further claims that AMCI failed to adequately evaluate and pay her claim. Januzi also believed that her agent failed to provide a policy providing sufficient coverage and that there was a conspiracy between the agent and insurance company to underpay claims. As part of the discovery process, AMCI and Workman sent Januzi requests for admissions. Although Januzi responded to other discovery requests, she did not respond to the admissions request.
In November, AMCI and Workman filed a motion for summary judgment, emphasizing that Januzi failed to respond to the admissions and that they are considered deemed admitted. Ultimately, the trial court granted the motion for summary judgment and dismissed Januzi's claims.
DEEMED ADMISSIONS
In Texas, once an action is filed, a party may serve written requests for admissions that can encompass "any matter within the scope of discovery, including statements of opinion or of fact or of the applications of law to fact . . ." If the opposing party does not serve responses to the admissions requests within thirty days, the matters in the requests are deemed admitted against the party without the necessity of a court order.
Withdrawal of deemed admissions is permitted upon a showing of good cause but Januzi has yet to request the deemed admissions be withdrawn or amended. Because the requests for admissions were attached to the motion for summary judgment, the trial court could properly consider them.
The deemed admissions were the controlling evidence before the trial court at the hearing on the motion for summary judgment, and the court could not properly have considered affidavits that attempted to controvert those admissions
ANALYSIS
In their motion, AMCI and Workman specifically relied on the following deemed admissions:
1 Admit that you signed the application for the insurance policy attached as Exhibit A (Signed Homeowner Application).
2 Admit that you authorized and approved the insurance coverage amounts stated in the application for insurance.
3 Admit that you were aware of the water damage limit at the time you signed the application for the insurance policy found in Exhibit A (Signed Homeowner Application).
4 Admit that the water damage limit under the policy is $75,000.
5 Admit that Defendant paid the water damage limit of $75,000.
6 Admit that you replaced items and made upgrades to the insured property that were not part of the water damage claim.
7 Admit the majority of the damages to the insured property were caused by the contractors you hired.
8 Admit water damage limits of $75,000 were paid under the Policy by 1-20-22.
These admissions and many more established that Januzi was aware of the policy limits when she purchased her homeowner's policy from Workman and that those limits include a $75,000 sublimit for water damage. They also establish that AMCI made payments totaling that $75,000 limit.
Januzi's causes of action against Workman for negligence, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation are rooted in her accusation that Workman, an insurance agent, represented that the policy "covered her needs fully" and that "she had the correct coverage." Therefore, the evidence establishes that Januzi was aware of and consented to the policy limits prior to her insurance claim, and Januzi cannot offer any conflicting evidence.
The judgment of the court below was affirmed and that all costs of this appeal are hereby adjudged against the Appellant, Lynette Januzi.
ZALMA OPINION
When I was a young lawyer California allowed litigants to deem admitted requests for admission that were not responded to in 30 days. I filed, on behalf of my clients, dozens of motions for summary judgment based on requests that were deemed admitted. The plaintiff whose case was lost because of admissions deemed admitted is not without a remedy, her lawyers may be responsible for the error.
(c) 2024 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Please tell your friends and colleagues about this blog and the videos and let them subscribe to the blog and the videos.
Subscribe to my substack at https://barryzalma.substack.com/subscribe or Subscribe to my substack at https://lnkd.in/gmmzUVBy
Go to X @bzalma; Go to Newsbreak.com https://www.newsbreak.com/@c/1653419?s=01; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/account/content?type=all; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg
Go to X @bzalma; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://lnkd.in/gwEYk; and go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://lnkd.in/gRthzSnT
Concurrent Cause Doctrine Does Not Apply When all Causes are Excluded
Post 5119
Death by Drug Overdose is Excluded
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/geQtybUJ and at https://lnkd.in/g_WNfMCZ, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5100 posts.
Southern Insurance Company Of Virginia v. Justin D. Mitchell, et al., No. 3:24-cv-00198, United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Nashville Division (October 10, 2024) Southern Insurance Company of Virginia sought a declaratory judgment regarding its duty to defend William Mitchell in a wrongful death case pending in California state court.
KEY POINTS
1. Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings: The Plaintiff moved for judgment on the pleadings, which was granted in part and denied in part.
2. Duty to Defend: The court found that the Plaintiff has no duty to defend William Mitchell in the California case due to a specific exclusion in the insurance policy.
3. Duty to Indemnify: The court could not determine at this stage whether the Plaintiff had a duty to ...
GEICO Sued Fraudulent Health Care Providers Under RICO and Settled with the Defendants Who Failed to Pay Settlement
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gDpGzdR9 and at https://lnkd.in/gbDfikRG, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5100 posts.
Post 5119
Default of Settlement Agreement Reduced to Judgment
In Government Employees Insurance Company, Geico Indemnity Company, Geico General Insurance Company, and Geico Casualty Company v. Dominic Emeka Onyema, M.D., DEO Medical Services, P.C., and Healthwise Medical Associates, P.C., No. 24-CV-5287 (PKC) (JAM), United States District Court, E.D. New York (July 9, 2025)
Plaintiffs Government Employees Insurance Company and other GEICO companies (“GEICO”) sued Defendants Dominic Emeka Onyema, M.D. (“Onyema”), et al (collectively, “Defendants”) alleging breach of a settlement agreement entered into by the parties to resolve a previous, fraud-related lawsuit (the “Settlement Agreement”). GEICO moved the court for default judgment against ...
ZIFL – Volume 29, Issue 14
Post 5118
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/geddcnHj and at https://lnkd.in/g_rB9_th, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5100 posts.
You can read the full 20 page issue of the July 15, 2025 issue at https://lnkd.in/giaSdH29
THE SOURCE FOR THE INSURANCE FRAUD PROFESSIONAL
This issue contains the following articles about insurance fraud:
The Historical Basis of Punitive Damages
It is axiomatic that when a claim is denied for fraud that the fraudster will sue for breach of contract and the tort of bad faith and seek punitive damages.
The award of punitive-type damages was common in early legal systems and was mentioned in religious law as early as the Book of Exodus. Punitive-type damages were provided for in Babylonian law nearly 4000 years ago in the Code of Hammurabi.
You can read this article and the full 20 page issue of the July 15, 2025 issue at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ZIFL-07-15-2025.pdf
Insurer Refuses to Submit to No Fault Insurance Fraud
...
Rulings on Motions Reduced the Issues to be Presented at Trial
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gwJKZnCP and at https://zalma/blog plus more than 5100 posts.
CASE OVERVIEW
In Richard Bernier v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, No. 4:24-cv-00002-GMS, USDC, D. Alaska (May 28, 2025) Richard Bernier made claim under the underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage provided in his State Farm policy, was not satisfied with State Farm's offer and sued. Both parties tried to win by filing motions for summary judgment.
FACTS
Bernier was involved in an auto accident on November 18, 2020, and sought the maximum available UIM coverage under his policy, which was $50,000. State Farm initially offered him $31,342.36, which did not include prejudgment interest or attorney fees.
Prior to trial Bernier had three remaining claims against State Farm:
1. negligent and reckless claims handling;
2. violation of covenant of good faith and fair dealing; and
3. award of punitive damages.
Both Bernier and State Farm dispositive motions before ...
ZIFL Volume 29, Issue 10
The Source for the Insurance Fraud Professional
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gK_P4-BK and at https://lnkd.in/g2Q7BHBu, and at https://zalma.com/blog and at https://lnkd.in/gjyMWHff.
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 29th year of publication dedicated to those involved in reducing the effect of insurance fraud. ZIFL is published 24 times a year by ClaimSchool and is written by Barry Zalma. It is provided FREE to anyone who visits the site at http://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/ You can read the full issue of the May 15, 2025 issue at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ZIFL-05-15-2025.pdf
This issue contains the following articles about insurance fraud:
Health Care Fraud Trial Results in Murder for Hire of Witness
To Avoid Conviction for Insurance Fraud Defendants Murder Witness
In United States of America v. Louis Age, Jr.; Stanton Guillory; Louis Age, III; Ronald Wilson, Jr., No. 22-30656, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (April 25, 2025) the Fifth Circuit dealt with the ...
Professional Health Care Services Exclusion Effective
Post 5073
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g-f6Tjm5 and at https://lnkd.in/gx3agRzi, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5050 posts.
This opinion is the recommendation of a Magistrate Judge to the District Court Judge and involves Travelers Casualty Insurance Company and its duty to defend the New Mexico Bone and Joint Institute (NMBJI) and its physicians in a medical negligence lawsuit brought by Tervon Dorsey.
In Travelers Casualty Insurance Company Of America v. New Mexico Bone And Joint Institute, P.C.; American Foundation Of Lower Extremity Surgery And Research, Inc., a New Mexico Corporation; Riley Rampton, DPM; Loren K. Spencer, DPM; Tervon Dorsey, individually; Kimberly Dorsey, individually; and Kate Ferlic as Guardian Ad Litem for K.D. and J.D., minors, No. 2:24-cv-0027 MV/DLM, United States District Court, D. New Mexico (May 8, 2025) the Magistrate Judge Recommended:
Insurance Coverage Dispute:
Travelers issued a Commercial General Liability ...
