PJC Business

DTPA/I NSURANCE C ODE

PJC 102.14

PJC 102.14 Question on Insurance Code Chapter 541 QUESTION ______ Did Don Davis engage in any unfair or deceptive act or practice that caused damages to Paul Payne ? “Unfair or deceptive act or practice” means any of the following: [Insert appropriate instructions.] Answer “Yes” or “No.” Answer: _______________ COMMENT When to use. PJC 102.14 is a basic question that should be appropriate in most cases brought under Tex. Ins. Code ch. 541 (formerly Tex. Ins. Code art. 21.21). Code section 541.003 also prohibits “unfair methods of competition,” and in such a case PJC 102.14 should be modified as appropriate. Questions for causes of action based on the DTPA may be found at PJC 102.1 (false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice), 102.7 (unconscionable action), and 102.8 (warranty). See also PJC 102.21 (knowing or intentional conduct). Accompanying instructions. Instructions to accompany PJC 102.14, informing the jury what type of conduct should be considered under the question, are at PJC 102.16–102.19. If more than one instruction is used, each must be separated by the word or , because a finding of any one of the acts or practices defined in the instruc tions would support recovery under the Insurance Code. Broad-form submission. PJC 102.14 is a broad-form question designed to be accompanied by one or more appropriate instructions. Tex. R. Civ. P. 277 requires that “the court shall, whenever feasible, submit the cause upon broad-form questions.” Tex. R. Civ. P. 277; see Thota v. Young , 366 S.W.3d 678, 689 (Tex. 2012) (rule 277’s use of “whenever feasible” mandates broad-form submission in any or every instance in which it is capable of being accomplished). In Crown Life Insurance Co. v. Casteel , the supreme court reviewed a charge that included five DTPA “laundry-list” theories of liability incorporated into a single question submitting an article 21.21 claim. Crown Life Insurance Co. v. Casteel , 22 S.W.3d 378, 387–88 (Tex. 2000). The supreme court held that it was error to submit four of the five DTPA-based theories of liability because Casteel did not possess the requisite consumer status to maintain an article 21.21 claim. Casteel , 22 S.W.3d at 388. Most importantly, the supreme court decided that this error should be presumed to be harmful when a single broad-form lia-

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