Good fences make good insureds

Rowland Trucking’s insurance policy required that it maintain a fence around the entirety of its property.  The fence had gaps on the south and west side.  Thieves entered on the east side and stole $350,000 in videogame consoles.  The Fifth Circuit affirmed judgment for the insured under the Texas Anti-Technicality Statute, which provides: “Unless the breach or violation contributed to cause the destruction of the property, a breach or violation by the insured of a warranty, condition, or provision of a fire insurance policy or contract of insurance on personal property, or of an application for the policy or contract: (1) does not render the policy or contract void; and (2) is not a defense to a suit for loss.”  W.W. Rowland Trucking Co. v. Max America Insurance, No. 13-20341 (Feb. 24, 2014, unpublished).  The Court sidestepped an argument that the statute did not reach liability policies, finding that the policy here was a property policy notwithstanding its occasional use of the word “liability.”