Nicholas threatens to bring high winds, torrential rain and flooding to eastern Texas and Louisiana after making landfall early Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Allstate has reached an agreement with a law firm to dismiss the latter’s proposed class-action lawsuit against the insurer – a lawsuit that accused Allstate of using unqualified expert witnesses in insurance litigation.

There is hope on the horizon for Texas contractors that, for decades, have borne liability for construction defects in owner-furnished contracts.

Reversing a federal district court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently applied the Texas eight-corners rule to hold that an insurer had a duty to defend a restaurant chain against claims the chain breached its contract with a credit card processor by not preventing hackers from gaining access to its customers’ private information.

A tip about a stolen car in a Fort Bend County subdivision led investigators to a multi-million dollar luxury vehicle theft ring, according to the Fort Bend County sheriff.

Five tons of acetic acid leaked at a Texas plant Tuesday, leaving two people dead and 30 more injured, officials say.

An explosion that left six people injured and destroyed a house in Plano, Texas, on Monday was likely caused by a gas leak, officials said.

The leak was isolated to the home on Cleveland Drive, which was leveled, according to Plano Fire-Rescue. The explosion also damaged other houses, but no other homes were in danger after the blast.

Helicopter news video showed debris scattered over the neighborhood after the explosion at 4:40 p.m. Monday.

Six people were taken to hospitals — one who was inside the house that exploded and five from a home next door — the fire department said.

Three of the injured were transported to a children’s hospital, officials said. The ages of those hurt were not immediately available.

Lamesans are continuing to pick up the pieces from a severe storm Saturday evening which caused damage almost certainly to total in the millions of dollars from high wind, hail, heavy rain and flooding.

Insurance giant UnitedHealthcare is cracking down on unnecessary emergency room visits with a new policy starting July 1 that the American Hospital Association says will jeopardize patients’ health and threaten them with financial penalties.

Wine grape growers in Texas and surrounding states filed a lawsuit last week against drug-maker Bayer-Monsanto and chemical giant BASF for the damage their cotton herbicide has caused to vineyards.

The Texas Senate Transportation Committee has unanimously approved a House bill that would help curb the growing trend of lawsuit abuse targeting commercial vehicles in Texas.

Weather officials so far have confirmed at least five tornadoes touched down across North Texas during severe storms on Monday night.

Major hailstorms pelted three big cities across the south-central United States on Wednesday night, shattering windows, denting vehicles and leaving behind headaches for homeowners.

Hail as large as softballs rained down Wednesday evening as severe thunderstorms struck parts of Texas and Oklahoma. There were 38 reports of severe hail across Texas and Oklahoma, including near San Antonio, Fort Worth and Oklahoma City, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

The Texas House Insurance Committee on Tuesday voted 5-4 to recommend fellow lawmakers pass a bill mandating appraisal clauses in auto insurance contracts. House Bill 2534 would institute another option for insurers and policyholders to resolve claim cost disputes without having to go to court.