Practice Description

Mr. Pickelman advises clients in complex commercial litigation, in addition to the defense and prosecution of cases involving professional negligence, catastrophic injury, transportation, premises liability, construction, products liability and insurance, both coverage and bad faith on behalf of insurers and policyholders.

Representative Experience

Successfully handled numerous matters ranging from personal injury to complex commercial disputes on behalf of both defendants and plaintiffs, in state, federal and bankruptcy courts in Texas and states throughout the United States.

Diverse practice has led to success in representing clients at both trial and appeal, as well as in arbitrations and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.

Selected Publications, Seminars and Cases

Warsaw Convention Revisited for the Last Time? 64 J. AIR L. & COM. 273 (1998)

Evett v. Consolidated Freightways Corp., 110 F.Supp.2d 510 (E.D.Tex. 2000)

Mt. Hawley Ins. Co. v. Lexington Ins. Co., 110 Fed. Appx. 371 (5th Cir. 2004)

Ferguson v. Mt. Hawley Insurance Co., Civil Action No. 2:03-CV-381 (E.D.Tex. 2004)

TIG Ins. Co. v. North America Van Lines, 170 S.W.3d 264 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2005, no pet.)

Universal Insurance Exchange v. Overland Underwriting Managers, Case No. 04-82393-bjh7 (N.D.Tex. Bank. 2005)(Opinion March 28, 2005)

Connaway v. Village Farms, L.P., 200 S.W.3d 353 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2006, no pet.)

Bergenholtz v. Cannata, 200 S.W.3d 287, (Tex.App.-Dallas 2006, no pet.)

Pierre v. Newman, Davenport & Epstein, P.C., 2006 WL 1522613 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2006, pet. denied).

Diamond H. Recognition LP v. King of Fans, Inc., 589 F.Supp.2d 772 (N.D. Tex. 2008)

West American Ins. Co. v. RLI Ins. Co., 2009 WL 3327203 (W.D. Mo. 2009)

Hanson v. Greystar Development & Const., LP, 317 S.W.3d 850 (Tex. App. – Fort Worth 2010, pet. denied)

Awards & Honors

“Top Lawyers in Dallas under 40” (D Magazine 2006)
“Texas Super Lawyers — Rising Stars” (2004-2013)
“Texas Top-Rated Lawyers” (Dallas Morning News & The Wallstreet Journal, 2013)
Order of the Coif — NOTE — top 10 in SMU law graduation class
Beta Gamma Sigma — NOTE — business degree equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa
SMU Law Review

Practice Description

Mr. Moody advises insurance companies and their insureds. He has successfully tried tort and contract actions ranging in length from one day to six weeks. He also counsels clients on insurance coverage matters, frequently speaks on insurance topics, and has developed a growing mediation practice that focuses on insurance coverage disputes.

Representative Experience

Over 36 years of experience handling a broad range of tort, contract and business disputes. He has represented primary and secondary domestic insurance carriers in high exposure first- and third-party coverage, class actions, and extra contractual “bad faith” litigation. He also has experience representing London and other European carriers in primary, excess and reinsurance disputes.

Through representation of insureds, has represented product manufacturers and suppliers in both business and tort litigation. He also has experience in representing contractors in defective construction and jobsite accident cases, as well as representation of professionals in errors and omissions claims.

Selected Publications, Seminars and Cases

Fortuity Doctrine: Trying to make sense of the concepts of “Known Loss”and” Loss in Progress”, presented at 2012 University of Texas Insurance Law Institute, Oct. 2012, Austin, Texas

Subrogation and Liens – Maximizing Your Client’s Recovery, unpublished paper presented to the University of Houston’s Advanced Insurance and Tort Claims seminar (Houston and Dallas, March 2007)

Coverage Issues in Construction Defect Claims, unpublished paper presented to the University of Houston’s Advanced Insurance and Tort Claims seminar (Houston and Dallas, April 2008)

Duty to Defend and the Right to Control the Defense, unpublished paper presented at the Defense Research Institute’s Annual Symposium on Excess and Reinsurance (1991)

Hartford Fire Insurance Co. v. C. Springs 300, Ltd., 287 S.W.3d 771 (Tex. App. — Houston 2009, writ denied)

Ethics Jeopardy, Council on Litigation Management, Annual Convention (2009 and 2010)

Diamond H. Recognition, L.P. v. King of Fans, Inc., 589 F.Supp.2d 772 (N.D.Tex. 2008)

Compelling Receivers to Arbitrate Under the Federal Arbitration Act, unpublished paper presented as part of the Mealey’s Insurance Insolvency and Reinsurance

Roundtable discussion on “Flirting With Disaster: Insolvency” (April 1999)

The Issues and Problems Presented by “Following Form” Excess Coverage, unpublished paper presented at the Defense Research Institute’s Annual Symposium on Excess and Reinsurance (1990)

TIG Insurance Co. v. Dallas Basketball, Ltd., 129 S.W.3d 232 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2004, writ denied)

Environmental Coverage Under First-Party Policies, unpublished paper presented at the Texas-Louisiana Oil and Gas Symposium (1992)

Maintenance v. ITT Hartford Group, 895 S.W.2d 816 (Tex. Civ. App. — Texarkana 1994, writ denied)

Nutmeg Insurance Company v. Pro-Line Corp., 836 F.Supp. 385 (N.D. Tex. 1993)

Hamm v. Allstate Ins. Co., 286 F.Supp.2d 790 (N.D. Tex. 2003)

Everest Reinsurance Company v. Howard, 950 S.W.2d 800 (Tex. Civ. App. — Austin 1997, writ denied) (lead counsel at trial court level)

Extra-contractual Claims in the Third-Party Context: Dead or Alive, unpublished presentation to the Dallas Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section (May 2005)

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff: The Difference Between Breach of Insurance Contract and Bad-Faith Actions, unpublished paper presented to the University of Texas 9th Annual Insurance Law Institute (November 2004)

Insurance Coverage for Punitive Damages, Texas Association of Defense Counsel
Seminar (Las Vegas, Nevada, April 2001)

Hartford Lloyd’s Ins. Co. v. Yarbrough, 2006 WL 1469705 (S.D. Tex. 2006)

Reinsurance — What Is It?, unpublished paper presented at the University of Texas
Insurance Law Institute (September 1996)

The Advice of Counsel Defense — Its Parameters and Drawbacks, unpublished paper presented at the Defense Research Institute’s Annual Symposium on Excess and Reinsurance (1992)

Hartford Casualty Insurance Company v. Powell, 19 F.Supp.2d 678 (N.D. Tex. 1998)

Awards & Honors

“Texas Super Lawyers” (Texas Monthly magazine, 2006-2014)

“Best Lawyers in America” (U.S. News & World Report,
2006 -2015)

“Texas Top-Rated Lawyers” (Dallas Morning News & The Wall Street Journal, 2012-2014)

AV ® PREEMINENT Martindale-Hubbell rating

Practice Description

Mr. Lewis is the managing shareholder of the financial products litigation team, handling complex litigation arising from commercial and residential loans, consumer loans, insurance and annuity policies. With a firm belief that each case demands individualized attention from the outset, Mr. Lewis works to identify the most efficient and effective means to achieve the desired result, avoiding unnecessary cost and delay. If the suit can only be resolved through a trial on the merits, he offers a proven record of successful trials based on over 20 years in practice.

Representative Experience

Multiple trials of loan origination and servicing issues

Trial of suit opposing request to invalidate home equity lien

Trial of bankruptcy action opposing sanctions for alleged stay violations

Trial of partition of commercial real property

Multiple trials of insurance claims handling issues

Trial of complex injury and joint enterprise claims

Trial of bankruptcy action opposing sanctions for alleged wrongful credit reporting

Selected Publications, Seminars and Cases

Issues in Mold Related Coverage Disputes: The Insurance Company’s Perspective, ALFA’s Mold Litigation Seminar
Key Issues in Liability Coverage for Property Damage and Bodily Injury Claims, Mealey’s Asbestos and Mold Insurance Conference

Liability of Insurance Agents and Brokers, Annual Insurance Law Institute

Smith v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 14-10555, 2014 WL 5658947 (5th Cir. Nov. 5, 2014)

Hicks v. Chase Home Fin., LLC, No. 03-13-00007-CV, 2014 WL 4058958 (Tex. App.–Austin Aug. 13, 2014, no pet.)

Reece v. U.S. Bank Nat. Ass’n, 762 F.3d 422 (5th Cir. 2014)

Shin v. Chase Home Fin., LLC, No. 05-12-01634-CV, 2014 WL 2993815 (Tex. App.–Dallas June 30, 2014, no pet.)

Kramer v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 574 Fed. Appx. 370 (5th Cir. 2014)

Daniels v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, 574 Fed. Appx. 337 (5th Cir. 2014)

Johnson v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, 570 Fed. Appx. 404 (5th Cir. 2014)

French v. EMC Mortg. Corp., 566 Fed. Appx. 285, 287 (5th Cir. 2014)

Green v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 562 Fed. Appx. 238 (5th Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 220 (2014)

Saenz v. U.S. Bank Nat. Ass’n, 02-13-00221-CV, 2014 WL 1096042 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Mar. 20, 2014, pet. dism’d w.o.j.)

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Classic Home Fin., Inc., 548 Fed. Appx. 205 (5th Cir. 2013)
2009.

Massey v. EMC Mortg. Corp., 546 Fed. Appx. 477 (5th Cir. 2013)

Deutsche Bank Trust Co., N.A. v. Hall, 400 S.W.3d 668 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2013, pet. denied)

Smith v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 14-10555, 2014 WL 5658947 (5th Cir. Nov. 5, 2014)

Morlock, L.L.C. v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 13-20602, 2014 WL 4652902 (5th Cir. Sept. 19, 2014)

Santiago v. Novastar Mortgage, Inc., 443 S.W.3d 462 (Tex. App.–Dallas 2014, pet. filed)

Hicks v. Chase Home Fin., LLC, No. 03-13-00007-CV, 2014 WL 4058958 (Tex. App.–Austin Aug. 13, 2014, no pet.)

Reece v. U.S. Bank Nat. Ass’n, 762 F.3d 422 (5th Cir. 2014)

Emrich v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 575 Fed. Appx. 502 (5th Cir. 2014)

Morlock, L.L.C. v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 575 Fed. Appx. 228 (5th Cir. 2014)

Shin v. Chase Home Fin., LLC, No. 05-12-01634-CV, 2014 WL 2993815 (Tex. App.–Dallas June 30, 2014, no pet.)

Kramer v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 574 Fed. Appx. 370 (5th Cir. 2014)

Daniels v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, 574 Fed. Appx. 337 (5th Cir. 2014)

Johnson v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, 570 Fed. Appx. 404 (5th Cir. 2014)

French v. EMC Mortg. Corp., 566 Fed. Appx. 285, 287 (5th Cir. 2014)

Green v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 562 Fed. Appx. 238 (5th Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 220 (2014)

Saenz v. U.S. Bank Nat. Ass’n, 02-13-00221-CV, 2014 WL 1096042 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Mar. 20, 2014, pet. dism’d w.o.j.)

Davis v. Citibank, NA, 05-12-01386-CV, 2014 WL 1022326 (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar. 13, 2014, no pet.)

U.S. Bank Nat. Ass’n, v. Bonney, 05-12-01294-CV, 2013 WL 7149055 (Tex. App.—Dallas Dec. 13, 2013, no pet.)

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Classic Home Fin., Inc., 548 Fed. Appx. 205 (5th Cir. 2013) 2009.

Massey v. EMC Mortg. Corp., 546 Fed. Appx. 477 (5th Cir. 2013)

Maxwell v. U.S. Bank Nat. Ass’n, 544 Fed. Appx. 470 (5th Cir. 2013)

JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Dixon, 541 Fed. Appx. 423 (5th Cir. 2013)

Hudson v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 541 Fed. Appx. 380 (5th Cir. 2013)

Jenkins v. Stewart Title Co., 05-12-00685-CV, 2013 WL 3487741 (Tex. App.—Dallas July 10, 2013, no pet.)

Atchley v. Chase Home Fin. LLC, 02-12-00365-CV, 2013 WL 3064444 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth June 20, 2013, no pet.)

Shatteen v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 519 Fed. Appx. 320, 321 (5th Cir. 2013)

Deutsche Bank Trust Co., N.A. v. Hall, 400 S.W.3d 668 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2013, pet. denied)

Smith v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 519 Fed. Appx. 861 (5th Cir. 2013)

Puig v. Citibank, N.A., 514 Fed. Appx. 483 (5th Cir. 2013)

Priester v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 708 F.3d 667 (5th Cir. 2013), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 196, 187 L. Ed. 2d 256 (2013)

Water Dynamics, Ltd. v. HSBC Bank USA, Nat. Ass’n, 509 Fed. Appx. 367 (5th Cir. 2013)

Home Loan Corp. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 312 S.W. 3d 199 (Tex App – Houston [14th Dist.] 2010)

The Burlington Ins. Co. v. Superior Nationwide Logistics, Ltd., 2010 WL 3155916 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 10, 2010)

Red Rock Properties 2005, Ltd. v. Chase Home Finance LLC, 2009 WL 1795037 (Tex App. – Houston [14th Dist.], June 25, 2009)

Morgan v. Chase Home Finance LLC, 306 Fed. App. 49 (5th Cir. 2008)

Caddell v. Travelers Lloyds of Texas Ins. Co., 2007 WL 1574244 (Tex. App. – Texarkana June 1, 2007).

Awards & Honors

Texas Super Lawyers, 2006-2010, published by Texas Monthly magazine

AV ® PREEMINENT Martindale-Hubbell rating

Best Attorneys under 40 – D Magazine, 2004

Practice Description

Mr. Lee represents clients in litigation before state and federal courts, including complex litigation. He provides efficient and effective representation and works with clients toward beneficial resolution.

Representative Experience

Served as coverage counsel involving various types of policies.

Served as trial counsel in court and arbitration actions.

Served as appellate counsel in federal and state appellate courts.

Obtained dismissal of or judgment on various types of action through effective motion strategy.

Obtained early dismissal of civil proceeding after evidentiary hearing on personal jurisdiction.

Judicial Intern (Judge Alan Mayfield), 7th District Court, McLennan County, Texas, 2000.

Awards & Honors

Texas Super Lawyers: “Rising Star” 2007, published by Texas Monthly magazine

Practice Description

Mr. Feiler helps clients in a variety of litigation matters including commercial and construction disputes, along with complex insurance litigation, coverage disputes and rescission actions (especially involving fidelity and surety bonds), and the defense of insureds in a variety of business, property, and personal injury claims. Although primarily on the defense side, his practice includes representation of plaintiffs in complex insurance and commercial litigation, and employment-related claims.

Representative Experience

Representation primarily on defensive side, but also represents plaintiff-insurers in coverage disputes.

Speaker at national programs related to fidelity and surety law.

Selected Publications, Seminars and Cases

Timing is Everything, Except When it Isn’t: The Notice/Prejudice Rule and Its Effect on Fidelity Bond Claims, American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee (author and speaker)
(New York, Jan. 27, 2012).

You Can’t Ask That! Asserting Work Product Protection for Deposition Preparation Materials,
20 The Brief, No. 2 (ABA Winter 2011).

Co-Author, When is a Material Change Really Material?, 13th Annual Gulfcoast Fidelity & Surety Institute
(Boca Grande, June 2-5, 2011).

Ponzi Schemes: Claims, Coverage Issues and Quantification of Losses, Surety Claims Institute (author and speaker)
(Cape Cod, MA, June 24-26, 2009).

Contributing Author, The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrines – The Boundaries of Protected Communications Held By Insureds and Insurers, XIV Fidelity Law Journal
(Michael Keeley and Martha L. Perkins, eds. October 2008).

Co-Author, Voiding A Policy Obtained By Fraud, Other Than Through Normal Rescission, 10th Annual Gulf Coast Fidelity and Surety Institute (May 29 – June 1, 2008).

Contributing Author, Loan Loss Coverage Under Insuring Agreement (A), in Loan Loss Coverage Under Financial Institution Bonds (Gilbert J. Schroeder and John J. Tomaine, eds., ABA 2008).

Co-author, Construction and Surety Law, Annual Survey, 61 SMU Law Review 705 (2008).

Thornburg Insulation, Inc. v. J.W. Terrill, Inc., The Missouri Court of Appeals Correctly Interprets Standard-Form
Commercial Crime Policy Definition of “Occurrence”, Fidelity Law Assoc. Newsletter (Jan./Feb. 2008).

Co-author, Construction and Surety Law, Annual Survey, 60 SMU Law Review 839 (2007).

Co-author, Construction and Surety Law, Annual Survey, 59 SMU Law Review 1079 (2006).

Practice Description

Mr. Carlton’s business and litigation practice currently focuses on providing consultation and representation to insurance carriers and policy-holders in numerous areas of insurance coverage; and defending insurers, self-insureds and third-party administrators against claims of insurance bad faith. He also maintains a commercial litigation practice representing self-insured employers, construction companies, contractors, and other business entities.

Representative Experience

Provided insurance coverage opinions, counsel and representation in disputes and litigation involving commercial general liability, professional liability, commercial property, environmental, workers’ compensation/employers’ liability and commercial umbrella liability policies.

Represented national primary and excess insurance carriers and third-party administrators in high exposure coverage and extra-contractual “bad faith” litigation.

Represented business clients in disputes involving insurance brokers, agents, carriers, third-party administrators, claims representatives and self-insureds.

Defended national construction companies, contractors and professional employer organizations in suits involving alleged construction defects and catastrophic damages and injuries.

Selected Publications, Seminars and Cases

The Challenge of Integrated Data and Information Management when Splitting the Claim File, Insurance Bad Faith & Coverage Conference, Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, New York, New York (2014).

To Split or Not to Split: Avoiding Bad Faith when Defense and Coverage Collide, Annual Conference, Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, Boca Raton, Florida (2014).

Preparing the Company Witness for a Bad Faith Deposition, Insurance and Bad Faith Coverage Conference, Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, Atlanta, Georgia (2014).

Proven Methods to Avoid “Wasting” a Policy When There are Multiple Investigations and Competing Demands, American Conference Institute’s 25th National Advanced Forum on Bad Faith Litigation, San Francisco, CA (2013)

Claim Manuals and Training Materials: How to Address Them During Discovery and Trial, Insurance Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability, DRI, Boston, MA (2013)

Insurance Bad Faith – Getting Lean in Big Litigation: A New Way to Workout, Annual Conference, Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, San Antonio, TX (2013)

SIR’s, Settlement in Excess of Verdicts: When the Finger Pointing Starts, Fraud-Bad Faith-Coverage Conference, Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, Orlando, FL (2013)

Avoiding Bad Faith When Litigating Questionable Coverage: Reservation of Rights, Declaratory Judgement Actions, Partially Covered Claims and Additional Insured Issues, American Conference Institute’s 23rd Annual National Forum on Bad Faith Litigation, Orlando, FL (Nov. 2012)

The Insurer’s Right to Intervene – And other Problems When the Insured Assigns its Bad Faith Claims, Insurance and Bad Faith Coverage Conference, Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, Boston, MA (2012)

Duty of Good Faith: Insurance Claims Practices, Gallhager Basset, Sedgwick, Tri-Star, Travelers, Broadspire (2010)

Shifting the Risks: Selected Avenues of Risk Management in Texas Contractual Relationships, Texas Association of Defense Counsel (2010)

Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing: Insurance Claims Practices, Hartford Ins., ESIS (2009)

Fundamentals of Litigation Management, Counsel on Litigation Management (2009)

Case Assessment and Evaluation, Council on Litigation Management (2009)

Duty of Good Faith/Insurance Code Litigation: A Utilization Review Perspective, Hartford Ins. (2009)

Duty of Good Faith/Texas Insurance Code Litigation: Case Development, Hartford Ins. (2008)

Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing; A Claims Handling Perspective. Gallagher Basset (2007)

Defending Non-Subscriber Cases, Workers’ Comp Publication Seminar (2006)

Coverage Issues in Nursing Home Claims, DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute (2006)

Twin City Fire Insurance Company v. Davis, 904 S.W.2d 663 (Tex. 1995)

Community Involvement, Affiliations and Memberships

Member, Defense Research Institute (Insurance Law Committee, 2003-present; SIU/Fraud Subcommittee Co-Chair, 2014; Board of Directors, 2014) (Commercial Litigation Committee, 2006-present)

Member, Texas Association of Defense Counsel (Board of Directors, 1999-2005;
Dallas Area Vice-President, 2002-2005)

Member, State Bar of Texas (Tort and Insurance Law Committee)

Member, Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (2010-2012)

Member, Counsel for Litigation Management (Bad Faith Committee, 2009-present; eDiscovery & ESI Committee, 2013-present)

Awards & Honors

AV ® PREEMINENT Martindale-Hubbell rating