Melinder v. Texas Farmers Insurance Company et al, No. 3:2010cv00516 - Document 68 (S.D. Tex. 2014)
Court Description: OPINION AND ORDER granting 56 Motion for Summary Judgment and that all claims asserted by Plaintiff, Christina Melinder, against Texas Farmers in her Second Amended Complaint are DISMISSED with prejudice.(Signed by Magistrate Judge John R Froeschner) Parties notified.(sanderson, 3)
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS GALVESTON DIVISION CHRISTINA MELINDER V. TEXAS FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY, ET AL. § § § § § § CIVIL ACTION NO. G-10-516 OPINION AND ORDER On July 19, 2013, Defendant, Texas Farmers Insurance Company (Texas Farmers), filed a Motion for Summary Judgment seeking the dismissal of all claims asserted against it by Plaintiff, Christina Melinder. The Court set August 16, 2013, as the deadline for filing a response, but no response has been filed. The Court, therefore, assumes that Melinder concedes Texas Farmers is entitled to relief it seeks. Accordingly, the Court now issues this terse Opinion and Order. Even though Melinder has failed to file a response, the Court cannot grant a default summary judgment. Eversley v. MBank of Dallas, 843 F.2d 172, 175 (5th Cir. 1988) The Court may, however, accept Texas Farmers evidence as undisputed. Then, the Court must determine whether Texas Farmers undisputed evidence establishes a prima facie showing that Texas Farmers is entitled to summary judgment. C.F. Dahlberg & Co. v. Chevron USA, Inc., 836 F.2d 915, 919 (5th Cir. 1988) There is no need to dwell on the facts. Melinder owned two residential properties in Kemah, Texas, that were badly damaged by the flooding caused during Hurricane Ike. When the hurricane struck, the properties were both insured under Standard Flood Insurance Policies issued by Texas Farmers, a WYO carrier under the National Flood Insurance Program. Ultimately, Texas Farmers paid Melinder a total of $169,702.26 for the damage to both properties. Melinder never filed another Proof of Loss and the extended deadline to do so expired on August 9, 2010. On September 13, 2010, Melinder filed this lawsuit seeking, inter alia, additional funds from Texas Farmers under the policies. It is beyond doubt that a lawsuit for additional insurance benefits under an SFIP policy cannot be legitimately pursued unless the insured strictly complies with all of the policy s requirements, including the submission of a Proof of Loss for any further benefits. Marseilles Homeowners Condominium v. Fidelity National Insurance Company, 542 F.3d 1053, 1056 (5th Cir. 2008) It is undisputed that Melinder did not do so and that failure is fatal to her claims regardless of their merits. It is, therefore, ORDERED that the Motion for Summary Judgment (Instrument no. 56) of Defendant, Texas Farmers Insurance Company, is GRANTED and that all claims asserted by Plaintiff, Christina Melinder, against Texas Farmers in her Second Amended Complaint are DISMISSED with prejudice. DONE at Galveston, Texas, this 9th 2 day of January, 2014.
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
