Texas Mutual Insurance Company v. Surety Bank, N.A. Individually and D/B/A Surety Premium Finance
Appellant Texas Mutual Insurance Company challenged a provision in a temporary injunction obtained by Appellee Surety Bank, N.A., alleging it constituted an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech. The temporary injunction prohibited Texas Mutual from communicating or implying to insurance agents or customers that Surety Bank was in financial trouble or unfit to finance insurance premiums. The Court of Appeals for the Second District of Texas in Fort Worth held that the challenged provision was unconstitutional under article one, section eight of the Texas Constitution, finding it to be an overly broad prior restraint on speech and not the least restrictive means to address the alleged harm. Consequently, the court modified the trial court's temporary injunction by deleting the offending provision and affirmed the injunction as modified.