J. Richard Harmon

Texas Supreme Court

Significant Decision on Exception to 'Eight Corners' Rule

Richard Harmon devotes much of his practice to the representation of insurance carriers in all aspects of contractual and extra-contractual litigation. He represents insurers in matters involving both commercial and personal lines policies, third-party disputes involving coverage, bad faith, and Stowers issues. He has also represented numerous insurers in large commercial property insurance cases involving hurricanes Rita, Katrina, Dolly, and Ike.

Rick represents insurers at both the state and national levels and has advised insurers on international claims involving master and local policies. He also has experience representing insurers in class action suits and corporate and commercial matters. A significant part of his practice is devoted to advising excess insurers in cases involving multi-million dollar exposures.

While the majority of Rick’s practice is devoted to representing insurers directly, he also represents policyholders in third-party litigation involving products liability, premises liability, construction defect, and insurance agent errors and omissions.

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.

Obtained favorable decision from U.S. Court of Appeals for Tenth Circuit in coverage dispute involving number of occurrences based on largest E.Coli outbreak in U.S. history.

Lead trial counsel in suit to recover proceeds paid by insurance client from another insurer resulting in favorable unanimous verdict and full recovery for client.

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

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

Obtained summary judgment on behalf of insurer in class action involving thousands of potential claims relating to overhead/profit issues.

Served as lead counsel on numerous commercial and personal lines cases involving Hurricanes Rita, Dolly and Ike.

Represented insurer in complex commercial property dispute involving nine apartment complexes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Obtained favorable opinion from Texas Supreme Court in large commercial dispute in which client sought to compel arbitration under an agency contract.