Liberty Mutual Wins Ruling On Defense In 130-vehicle Texas Pileup Lawsuits

Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. won an appeals court ruling that it does not have to defend three contractors against lawsuits over a 130-vehicle pileup that killed six people in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the lawsuits focused on roadway maintenance, not the contractors’ completed construction work on Interstate 35W.

The decision resolves the insurer’s duty to defend but leaves open whether Liberty Mutual must indemnify the contractors for liability they may incur in the underlying litigation.

In response to a request for comment, a company representative stated, “We do not comment on legal matters.”

Construction work versus roadway maintenance

The dispute stems from the Feb. 11, 2021, crash on Interstate 35W that killed six people and involved 130 vehicles. The collision occurred on an elevated section of the southbound toll lanes near Northside Drive during icy conditions.

Liberty Mutual issued an insurance policy covering certain bodily injury arising from the contractors’ work on the North Tarrant Express Segment 3A project. The project involved rebuilding 6.5 miles of I-35W, expanding frontage roads and adding managed toll lanes. The toll road opened in 2018.

The insurer initially agreed to defend the contractors under a reservation of rights, preserving its ability to dispute coverage.

It later filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a ruling that it had no duty to defend or indemnify the companies.

In March 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted summary judgment to Liberty Mutual on the duty to defend. The contractors appealed, arguing that the policy covered bodily injury arising from their completed work on the highway segment.

The 5th Circuit applied Texas’ eight-corners rule, which generally requires courts to compare the insurance policy with the allegations in the underlying lawsuit when determining an insurer’s duty to defend.

The contractors cited lawsuits including Vardy v. New Prime Inc. and Gerred v. FedEx Ground Package System Inc.

The appeals court said those complaints, read in context, focused on alleged failures to operate and maintain the roadway, prepare for winter weather, deploy necessary resources and monitor road conditions.

The contractors had completed their work years before the crash and did not handle the roadway’s day-to-day maintenance, the court said.

The pileup occurring on the highway segment they worked on did not establish the necessary connection between the injuries and their construction work.

The panel concluded that the underlying petitions did not allege bodily injury arising from the contractors’ work, even under the companies’ interpretation of the policy. It affirmed the lower court without deciding whether that court’s precise interpretation of the policy exclusions was correct.

Indemnification remains unresolved

The ruling concerns Liberty Mutual’s duty to defend the contractors, not whether the insurer must pay for liability the companies may ultimately incur.

The district court found that the indemnification question was not ready for a decision because evidence developed in the underlying litigation could affect the coverage analysis, including potential evidence of construction defects.

The broader litigation has also produced a substantial verdict. In December 2025, a Dallas County jury awarded $44.1 million to the family of Christopher Vardy, who died in the pileup.

The award included $24.1 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages against trucking company New Prime Inc.

The verdict concerned New Prime and its driver, Steven Ridder. It was not a judgment against the three contractors involved in the Liberty Mutual coverage appeal, and it did not resolve Liberty Mutual’s indemnification obligations.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that ice accumulation caused drivers to lose control and that the roadway operator’s failure to effectively monitor and address icy conditions contributed to the crash. Speeding for the winter weather conditions contributed to the severity of the outcome.

© Entire contents copyright 2026 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.

The post Liberty Mutual wins ruling on defense in 130-vehicle Texas pileup lawsuits appeared first on Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet.