Insured’s Failure to Challenge Trial Court’s Application of Exclusion Makes Appeal Futile

    The Texas Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s granting of summary judgment to the insurer because the appeal failed to challenge the exclusion under which the insurer found no coverage. Sosa v. Auto Club Indemn. Co., 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 6520 (Tex. Ct. App. Aug. 30, 2022).

    Sosa’s house was damaged during Hurricane Harry on August 26, 2017. Sosa filed a claim with Auto Club. She reported that two feet of floodwater had entered her home, her roof was missing shingles and was leaking, and she had sustained interior damage. An adjuster estimated the cost to prepare the roof damage was $1,191.96, less that her deductible. Auto Club determined that any remaining damage was caused by flood water, which was expressly excluded from coverage. 

    On November 11, 2020, Sosa filed suit against Auto Club for breach of the policy. Among other things, she argued the adjuster spent minimal time at her home inspecting and was inexperienced. In its answer, Auto Club asserted Sosa’s claim was time-barred by the statute of limitations. Sosa then filed an amended complaint and changed the date of the loss from August 26, 2017, to June 28, 2019. 

    Auto Club filed a motion for summary judgment, primarily arguing the suit was time-barred by both the statute of limitations and the two-year limitations period in the policy. The trial court granted summary judgment to Auto Club.

    On appeal, Sosa primarily agued hat her loss occurred in June 2019, not during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Therefore, the lawsuit filed in November 2017 was not time-barred. She did not challenge the summary judgment order on the ground that her claimed damages were covered under the policy. Her appellate brief did not mention flood or surface water.  

    Sosa did not ague that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment on the ground that her policy excluded coverage for her damages because they resulted from flood or surface water. This ground independently supported summary judgment in Auto Club’s favor because Auto Club was not liable for damages expressly excluded under Sosa’s homeowner’s policy. Therefore, any other error about which Sosa complained on appeal was harmless in light of the unchallenged ground.