Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Co. of America v. Criaco

Appellee is a law firm that represented a personal-injury claimant who sought to recover damages sustained in a two-car collision. After recovering on a claim against the driver of the other car, the law firms client filed suit against an insurance company that provided underinsured-motorist coverage in favor of the client. To settle that case, the client and the insurance company first entered into a letter agreement under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 11, followed by a settlement agreement and release. After the insurance company paid a large settlement to the law firm and its client, the law firm filed this suit against the insurance company asserting that the Rule 11 letter required the insurance company to pay the workers compensation lien to a nonparty insurance adjuster and that the law firm was entitled to receive one-third of this amount as attorneys fees for its recovery of the workers compensation lien. The trial court granted the law firms motion for final summary judgment and denied the insurance companys cross-motion for summary judgment.