A Texas driver says Allstate named the wrong person as the at-fault driver in his crash - then refused to answer his discovery requests.
The policyholder sued Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company in federal court in Houston on August 3, 2026, alleging the carrier ran a coordinated effort to avoid liability on his auto claim. According to the complaint, the dispute traces back to a crash on July 12, 2023, which the filing says happened when another vehicle struck his.
The driver says he did everything the policy required. The filing states he "fully complied with all contractual obligations under the Allstate policy, including cooperation, timely reporting, and provision of requested information."
The core of the complaint is a dispute over who was driving. The filing alleges Allstate submitted Bates-stamped exhibits in earlier court proceedings that identified one person - not that person's parent - as the at-fault driver, and that those filings amount to judicial admissions binding the insurer. The complaint alleges the carrier later "attempted to reverse its position, conceal its prior representations, and obstruct Plaintiff's ability to obtain relief."
From there, the complaint moves to a discovery fight. The driver alleges he served interrogatories, requests for admission, and requests for production, and that Allstate "refused to answer any of these discovery requests." The filing alleges the refusal was "intentional, strategic, and executed with full knowledge that truthful responses would reveal" prior judicial admissions, what it calls "insurance-fraud violations," and "bad-faith claims-handling practices."
For claims professionals, the notable move is how the complaint scales a routine claim and discovery dispute into something far larger. It brings a civil RICO claim, alleging Allstate and others formed an "association-in-fact enterprise" engaged in a "pattern of racketeering activity" built on "mail fraud," "wire fraud," "insurance fraud," "obstruction of justice," and "conspiracy to defraud." The complaint seeks treble damages under RICO, along with punitive damages and attorneys' fees.
The complaint also invokes Texas insurance law. It cites Tex. Ins. Code §§ 541 and 542 and pleads a separate bad-faith count, alleging Allstate "breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing" by, among other things, "refusing to conduct a reasonable investigation" and "refusing to comply with discovery obligations."
On the numbers, the complaint names no headline damages figure. It states only that "the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs" - the standard federal threshold - while seeking compensatory, punitive, treble, and exemplary damages to be set at trial.
The allegations have not been tested in court, and no judge has ruled on any of the claims.
