Provident Life & Accident Insurance Co. v. Knott
- Court
- Texas Supreme Court
- Decided
- December 19, 2003
- Docket
- 02-0485
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
Cited 3,329 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that we must affirm summary judgment if any ground presented to the trial court is meritorious — Jacpen Properties, LLC v. Waterfront Development, LLC, Charles Von Schmidt and Vacation Home Builders, Inc. (2020)
- recognizing that, when trial court does not specify in its order (citations to evidentiary exhibit numbers omitted — Joan DeYoung, Stephen DeYoung, M.D., and David DeYoung v. William L. Maynard, Individually and as of the Estate of Judy Page Maynard, and Maynard Properties, L.P. (2015)
- concluding that an OB/GYN who could no longer perform deliveries or many surgeries but could still provide general services was not totally disabled — Cheryl A. Hansen v. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (2015)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
Justice WAINWRIGHT delivered the opinion of the Court.
In this insurance coverage dispute, we construe the definition of total disability found in two insurance policies. Interpreting the policies as they are written, we hold that an insured is totally disabled when he is unable to perform all of the important and usual duties of his occupation. Because the insured in this case was able to perform some of the important and usual duties of his occupation as a physician, he was not totally disabled under the policies’ terms. We also conclude that the insured’s extra-contractual claims are barred by limitations. The trial court was correct in granting the motions for summary judgment. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals in part and affirm in part.
I. Factual and Procedural Background In 1968, Dr. James Knott began practicing obstetrics and gynecology with Dr. Robert Kuhne. Around 1970, the doctors formed a professional association, Kuhne & Knott Gynecological Associates, which was eventually renamed Richardson Women’s Clinic.
Cite this
Provident Life & Accident Insurance Co. v. Knott, 128 S.W.3d 211 (2003)Read the full opinion
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