第五巡回上诉法院维持原判：Dallas 屋主诉 State Farm 的 2021 年水损索赔已过诉讼时效
美国第五巡回上诉法院 10 月 22 日就 Schnatzmeyer v. State Farm Lloyds 一案发布非正式公布（unpublished）意见（案号 25-11369）。位于德克萨斯州 Dallas 的一处住宅在 2021 年 2 月 17 日因邻居的水管在严寒中冻裂而进水受损，屋主 Mark Schnatzmeyer 与 Carole Sandlin 向 State Farm Lloyds 索赔；State Farm 于 2021 年 3 月 12 日发出估价与理赔决定、支付 4,261.52 美元后将该索赔结案。2022 年 12 月 24 日，这处住宅又因自家水管冻裂受损；屋主在就两起索赔与保险公司交涉未果后，于 2023 年 11 月 3 日提起诉讼。
由 Stewart、Richman 与 Higginson 三位法官组成的合议庭以 per curiam 意见裁定，与 2021 年索赔有关的诉讼请求已超过时效：保单约定的起诉期限为两年零一天，自 State Farm 2021 年 3 月 12 日作出理赔决定之日起算；保险公司事后重新查看资料并不重新起算时效，除非其撤回或改变原决定，而 State Farm 从未改变原决定。屋主的恶意（bad faith）、虚假陈述、欺诈与共谋，以及《德州及时赔付索赔法》相关请求，也因此一并被时效拦截或被认定已放弃。法院据此维持（AFFIRMED）德克萨斯州北区联邦地区法院有利于 State Farm 的简易判决。（GSM 据美国第五巡回上诉法院 10 月 22 日意见报道）
Fifth Circuit Affirms in Schnatzmeyer v. State Farm Lloyds: 2021 Water-Damage Claims Held Time-Barred
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an unpublished opinion on October 22 in Schnatzmeyer v. State Farm Lloyds, No. 25-11369. A residential property owned by Mark Schnatzmeyer and Carole Sandlin in Dallas, Texas, sustained water damage on February 17, 2021, when a neighbor's frozen pipes burst during a freeze. State Farm Lloyds issued its estimate and claim decision on March 12, 2021, paid the insureds $4,261.52, and closed the claim. The property was damaged again on December 24, 2022, when the insureds' own pipes burst in another freeze; after further exchanges with the insurer, the insureds sued on November 3, 2023.
A panel of Circuit Judges Stewart, Richman and Higginson held, in a per curiam opinion, that the claims related to the 2021 claim are time-barred. The policy's contractual limitations period of two years and one day began to run on State Farm's March 12, 2021 determination, and the insurer's later reconsideration of additional information did not restart the clock, because State Farm never withdrew or changed its initial decision. The insureds' bad faith, misrepresentation, fraud and conspiracy claims, and their claim under the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act, were likewise barred or forfeited. The court therefore affirmed the summary judgment granted to State Farm by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. (GSM, based on the October 22 opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit)
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：Dallas 市中心天际线（2023 年资料图）。照片：Emmanuelope，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Downtown Dallas skyline (2023 file photo). Photo: Emmanuelope, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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