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Read the full article and see the video at https://www.linkedin.com/\\u2026/hallelujah-texas-allows-fraud-ex\\u2026 and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 3150 posts.

The eight-corners rule of insurance contract interpretation about duty  to defend directs Texas courts to determine a liability insurer\\u2019s duty  to defend its insured based on:

the pleadings against the insured and
\\n     the terms of the insurance policy.

For many years plaintiffs\\u2019 lawyers have taken advantage of the rule and  with careful pleading have required an insurer to defend a suit that  was probably not covered by the insurance policy.

In Loya  Insurance Company v. Osbaldo Hurtado Avalos And Antonio Hurtado As  Assignees of Karla Flores Guevara, No. 18-0837, Supreme Court of Texas  (May 1, 2020) the Texas Supreme Court, in the face of an obvious fraud,  was asked to create an exception to the eight corners rule.

ZALMA OPINION

It is about time that the state of Texas created an exception to the  eight corners rule. Hopefully this decision will lead to others allowing  the admission of extrinsic evidence to determine the duty to defend as  is the case in California and other states. A careful lawyer drafting a  suit can always allege something that will allow for a defense. Consider  my blog post on how a murder\\u2019s estate got a defense when he shot the  plaintiff in: \\u201cFour Corners Rule Requires Defense for Person who Shot  Plaintiff in the Face