J. Richard Harmon

Chambers USA Guide 2024

"Richard is an excellent communicator and gets great results."

Texas Supreme Court

Significant Decision on Exception to 'Eight Corners' Rule

J. Richard “Rick” Harmon has built a broad and diverse practice over the last 30 years in which he advises domestic and London market insurers and syndicates on coverage, property, excess and Stowers doctrine issues and policyholders and commercial clients in complex civil litigation matters that allows him to draw on his extensive experience and develop strategies tailored to a client’s particular needs and ultimate goal.

Rick can switch between roles easily from analyzing a case, to figuring out the most compelling strategy, to striking an aggressive position in a settlement or in court. He will always push his clients towards the best option for them and never takes the path with the least resistance.

Rick’s coverage experience involves all lines of insurance, including general liability, commercial auto/trucking, professional and employment liability, excess liability, and directors & officers liability. He represents insurers in coverage actions state and federal counsel in Texas as well as several other states. He defends insurers in first-party property matters involving both personal lines and commercial lines policies and has successfully tried multiple cases to verdict. Rick also vigorously defends policyholders and companies in a wide variety of areas, including energy/oil and gas, premises liability, commercial auto and trucking, construction defect, and commercial litigation and serves as lead counsel in numerous cases involving wrongful deaths, catastrophic injuries, and multi-million-dollar property damage disputes.

Rick has prosecuted or defended hundreds of insurance coverage cases in Texas and multiple other jurisdictions in the United States. He successfully represented clients in appeals involving complex coverage issues before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits, multiple Texas intermediate appellate courts and the Texas Supreme Court.

Rick is indispensable and knowledgeable about all components regarding Stowers issues. He can evaluate, advise, and guide insurers on their potential exposure and the steps they should take. He was the lead attorney for the prevailing insurer before the Texas Supreme Court in Monroe Guaranty Insurance Co. v Bitco General Ins. Corp., one of the most significant insurance decisions in Texas in the last decade. He is “go to” counsel in Texas for numerous insurance clients for advice on complex coverage matters and high-stakes Stowers issues.

Rick has spent his entire career defending personal lines and commercial insurance property insurers in first-party contract and bad faith cases. He was lead counsel for an insurance client in more than 700 suits from Hurricane Ike and designed strategies to effectively gather and process claim information and settle cases early in the litigation process.

Rick was lead trial counsel in a Hurricane Katrina suit involving nine apartment complexes and devised a coverage strategy on anti-concurrent causation clause that led to a complete victory for the client on appeal in Arm Properties Management v. RSUI Indemnity Co., resulting in a significant positive impact for insurers in Texas involving “wind v. water” claims. He has also been lead counsel for property insurers in multi-district litigation all over Texas involving weather-related catastrophes.

Rick devotes a substantial amount of his practice to defending companies and individuals in cases across the state. Recently, he defended a contractor in a nuisance/property damage case in Jefferson County involving more than 1,000 plaintiffs. The case was resolved through a sophisticated process that Rick engineered and implemented.

Rick defends high-exposure cases involving catastrophic injury and wrongful death with a current emphasis on energy and transportation matters. Rick’s third-party defense practice spans the entire state, from the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley and from deep East Texas to El Paso.

Rick advises many excess/umbrella insurance clients, serving as monitoring counsel, coverage counsel, or in both roles. Because of his experience as lead defense in high-exposure cases, Rick can associate in as lead or co-defense counsel and try the case if the need arises. He also serves in a coverage role and has represented excess insurers in some of the largest coverage litigation in the United States in the last five years.

Representative Experience

Lead trial counsel in first-party property suit resulting in unanimous defense verdict.

Lead trial counsel in suit brought against insurer in Hidalgo County resulting in defense verdict.

Lead counsel for insurer client in coverage litigation involving the sexual abuse claim from the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy plan.

Lead counsel in landmark coverage decision by the Texas Supreme Court regarding use of extrinsic evidence in third-party coverage litigation.

Monroe Guaranty Ins. Co. v Bitco General Ins. Corp, 640 S.W.3d 195 (Tex. 2022)

Successfully argued case before Fifth Circuit resulting in favorable decision to client in coverage dispute involving interrelated claims provision under employment/D&O policies.

API Worldlink v RSUI Indemn. Co, 932 F.3d 369 (5th Cir. 2019)

Favorable resolution of several large property insurance lawsuits for clients involving Hurricanes Dolly and Ike.

Negotiated favorable multi-million dollar settlements in several high-profile products liability and premises cases in South Texas on behalf of excess insurers.

Negotiated settlement for excess insurer in bus fire case involving multiple deaths.

Obtained summary judgment on behalf of insurer on contractual indemnity claim involving seven-figure damages.

Represented insurer in commercial property dispute involving nine apartment complexes damaged by Hurricane Katrina and formed coverage strategy resulting in landmark favorable decision by Fifth Circuit of application of anti-concurrent causation clause in “wind v water” claims.