DALLAS COURT OF APPEALS HOLDS INSURER WAIVED APPRAISAL CLAUSE & MANDAMUS RELIEF DENIED

Recently the Dallas Court of Appeals denied mandamus relief to an insurer seeking to compel appraisal holding the insurer had waived its right to appraisal by engaging in extended litigation and mediation before invoking the appraisal clause.  In In re GuideOne Nat'l Ins. Co., No. 05-15-00981-CV, 2015 WL 5050233 (Tex. App. —Dallas Aug. 27, 2015), the insurer denied the claim in July 2014 and the insured sued in September 2014.  The court ordered the parties to mediation and the mediation was conducted in April 2015.  The insurer moved to compel appraisal one week after the failed mediation.  The Court of Appeals held there was some evidence the parties had been at an impasse since the denial of the claim nine months earlier and, as such, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by ruling the insurer waived its right to appraisal.