COVID-19 Update

We are very pleased to announce the promotion of Stephen Small to Partner. Stephen is under the leadership of Jennifer Kelley, Director of Coverage. “I am deeply honored to be promoted to partner. This is a significant milestone in my career, and I am profoundly grateful for the support and guidance I have received from both my colleagues and mentors. Becoming a partner is both a privilege and a responsibility that I embrace wholeheartedly. I am excited to embark on this next chapter with our team of talented professionals to navigate challenges, strengthen client relationships, and contribute to the firm’s continued excellence.” – Stephen Small

Cox PLLCs insurance coverage team continues their work updating our clients about Texas Insurance Laws, noteworthy decisions from the Fifth Circuit and Texas state and federal courts! Check out Jennifer Kelley’s team’s attached 2024 Summer newsletter!

(Galveston, Texas) – A federal district court judge in the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, granted summary judgment in favor of Cox PLLC’s clients involving a collision between a sailboat and yacht in Galveston Bay. The sole issue in the case was whether the owner of the sailboat could recover, on top of the cost of repairs, damages for the vessel’s diminution in value. Tracy Freeman, Cox’s Houston office managing partner, argued the sailboat owner could not recover such damages. The sailboat owner’s request for diminution in value damages, Freeman argued, was subject to, and limited by, the maritime maxim of restitutio in integrum, the longstanding doctrine that recoverable damages from a vessel collision are limited to the cost of necessary repairs. Opposing counsel argued that restitutio in integrum was not crystal clear and applying it to a pleasure boat would lead to an inequitable result. The federal judge disagreed. In granting Cox PLLCs clients’ motion for summary judgment, the federal court recognized that restitutio in integrum, a maxim that goes back to 1882 in the United Supreme Court opinion, The Potomac, remains alive and well today in the Fifth Circuit. The Court noted in its order that a …

Cox PLLCs insurance coverage team continues their work updating our clients about Texas Insurance Laws, noteworthy decisions from the Fifth Circuit and Texas state and federal courts! Check out Jennifer Kelley’s team’s attached quarterly newsletter!