Columbia Lloyds Insurance Co. v. Liberty Insurance Underwriters, Inc.
The court rejected an insurer's attempt to challenge the reasonableness and necessity of defense fees after breach of the duty to defend but allowed the insurer to challenge an unitemized charge by defense counsel. The court also addressed calculation of penalty interest, confirming that it runs from the date of payment of each invoice by the insured until paid by the insurer and is recoverable even if the insurer has a right of reimbursement due to application of an exclusion, and the insured can recover both prejudgment interest and penalty interest under the Prompt Payment of Claims Act.
liability insurance policy, duty to defend, breach of contract, damages, attorneys' fees, reasonableness, hourly rates, itemized billing entries, accounting services, Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act, fraud exclusion, final adjudication, right of reimbursement, prejudgment interest
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