Overview Eric Bowers is an insurance litigator who pursues the interests of commercial lines insurers in matters involving coverage, priority and allocation, subrogation, Insurance Code and DTPA violations, and bad faith. His experience includes commercial general liability, commercial auto liability, claims-made, professional (E&O) liability, employer's liability, excess and umbrella liability, and commercial property policies. Eric regularly evaluates coverage and priority issues in a variety of industries, including construction, oil and gas, maritime, trucking, healthcare/emergency medical, and real estate brokerage and mortgage services. In addition to his focus on commercial insurance litigation and coverage, Eric also prosecutes and defends suits for contractual indemnity. |
Representative Experience
- Obtained Fifth Circuit affirmation of money judgment against CGL carrier involving settlement allocation and the applicability of defendant carrier's continuous-and-progressive-damage exclusion and subsidence exclusion (federal court).
- Obtained summary judgment in subrogation action against oil-and-gas well operator for contractual indemnity (state court).
- Negotiated favorable settlement for CGL carrier against third-party suit brought by named insured’s consultant asserting bad faith, Texas Insurance Code and Deceptive Trade Practices Act violations (state court).
- Obtained jury verdict and judgment for client CGL carrier in an action against subsequent insurer of mutual insured to recover settlement payment and defense costs arising out of underlying construction-defect lawsuit (federal court).
- Represented primary and umbrella carrier in several construction-defect lawsuits involving allocation and trigger of multiple policy layers and years of coverage (state court).
- Obtained appellate affirmation of summary judgment in favor of product distributor in personal injury action (state court).
PUBLISHED CASES
|
Professional and Community Activities
- Director, Dallas Bar Association Tort & Insurance Practice Section (2009-Present)
- Regional Editor and Author (Texas section), Defense Research Institute (DRI) Professional Liability Coverage Compendium (2012)
- Author (New Mexico section), DRI Excess and Umbrella Compendium (2011)
- Co-Chair, Dallas Bar Association LegalLine (2010-2011)
|
Speeches and Presentations
- "The Contractual Liability Exclusion - How Broad Is It?" Thompson Coe's 10th Seminar on Texas Insurance Law Developments (October 13, 2011)
- "Payback - The Nuts & Bolts of the Allocation Case," Thompson Coe's 9th Seminar on Texas Insurance Law Developments (May 6, 2010)
- "Insurability of Punitive Damages,” Thompson Coe's 8th Seminar on Texas Insurance Law Developments (November 6, 2008)
PUBLICATIONS
- DRI Professional Liability Coverage Compendium (Regional Editor - Southwest Region and Author - Texas section; expected publication November of 2012)
- DRI Excess and Umbrella Compendium (Author - New Mexico section; December of 2011)
- "Additional Insured and Contractual Liability Coverage," Chapter 6 of Thirteen Things Every Insurance Agent & Broker Should Know, AgentsofAmerica.org eBook (co-author; February 25, 2010)
|
Professional Recognition
- Named a 2012 and 2013 Super Lawyer - Rising Star by Law & Politics magazine
|
| Industry-Specific Biographies Education - The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 2004
- Texas A&M University, B.S., 2000, Chemistry
Bar Admissions - Supreme Court Texas, 2004
- United States District Court Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern Districts of Texas
- United States District Court Western District of Oklahoma
- United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit
|