A surplus lines carrier ignored a defense tender for more than a year, a new Texas federal lawsuit says.
Plycem USA LLC, which makes fiber cement siding under the Allura USA brand, and its parent Elementia USA Inc. sued James River Insurance Company on April 30, 2026, in the Southern District of Texas. They accuse the insurer of breaching their commercial general liability policies and running afoul of Texas's unfair claims settlement practices law and Prompt Payment of Claims Act.
The trouble started on a Massachusetts construction site. According to the complaint, Marina Bay Residences hired Callahan, Inc. in July 2015 to put up mixed-use buildings at 550-552 Victory Road in Quincy. Plycem siding ended up on the job through a chain of suppliers and subcontractors. By winter 2018, the complaint says, water was getting into the buildings. Marina Bay sued Callahan in November 2021, and a string of third-, fourth-, and fifth-party complaints eventually dragged Plycem and Elementia into the case.
Plycem and Elementia turned to James River for help on September 30, 2024, the complaint says. They were named insureds on four primary CGL policies and four excess policies covering 2015 to 2019. The primary policies carry $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate limits. The excess policies sit on top with $10 million per occurrence.
The policy wording is standard. James River had the "right and duty to defend" against any "suit" seeking damages for "property damage" - defined as "[p]hysical injury to tangible property, including all resulting loss of use of that property" or "[l]oss of use of tangible property that is not physically injured." An "occurrence" means "an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions."
Then, the complaint says, very little happened. The plaintiffs allege James River "dragged its feet, reassigned the claim, and provided boilerplate responses" for more than a year. The carrier did not issue a reservation of rights letter until October 31, 2025 - and even then, it agreed to defend only Plycem, the filing claims. Elementia, the parent company facing fifth-party claims from supplier Harvey Industries, was not mentioned at all.
The plaintiffs say they kept pushing. James River did not explain how to submit defense invoices for reimbursement until April 4, 2026 - more than a year and a half after the tender, the complaint states. In the five months after the reservation of rights letter, the suit alleges, James River never reached out to the plaintiffs or their defense lawyers to ask about the underlying case or talk through taking over the defense.
The complaint cites Texas Insurance Code § 541.060, accusing James River of failing to make a good-faith effort to settle promptly, failing to affirm or deny coverage in a reasonable time, failing to issue a timely reservation of rights, and failing to investigate properly before paying. It also invokes § 542.058 of the Prompt Payment of Claims Act, seeking statutory penalties, interest, and attorneys' fees under § 542.060.
The plaintiffs want court declarations that James River owes them both a defense and indemnity, plus breach-of-contract damages, treble damages under Chapter 541, and attorneys' fees.
The allegations have not been tested in court. James River has not yet filed a response and no court has ruled.
