A simple or not-so-simple dispute over the meaning of "theft" led to a take-nothing judgment on an $11 million insurance coverage claim, but the Dallas appeals court reversed, paving the way for a trial.

In Ryan LLC v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 1625 (Tex. App. 2023), the Fifth District Court of Appeals concluded a Ryan employee, Sean Weaver, committed theft by unlawfully taking illegally claimed commissions.

The amount of Weaver's unearned commissions was $346,612, but in reaching that conclusion the appeals court resolved in part the contested issue of what constituted coverage for theft in an insurance policy.