Robert J. Witmeyer

Rob is a shareholder in the Dallas office of Cooper & Scully, P.C.  He focuses his practice on insurance coverage.  Before entering private practice, he clerked for the Honorable Harry Lee Anstead at the Florida Supreme Court.

Rob counsels both carriers and policyholders in complex coverage matters.  He has extensive experience analyzing coverage issues involving commercial auto, commercial property, directors & officers, excess and umbrella, general liability, and professional liability policies, with a substantial portion of his practice dedicated to construction defect claims.  These claims often involve significant coverage issues such as allocation of damages, number of occurrences, and trigger of coverage.  

Rob also has extensive appellate and litigation experience, with a primary emphasis on “bad faith,” breach of contract, and declaratory judgment actions in courts around the country. He has worked on a wide variety of insurance coverage disputes, including those involving advertising injuries, construction defects, environmental accidents, hail and wind damage, liquor liability, professional malpractice, trucking accidents, and uninsured motorists' claims. He has also handled complex contract disputes involving insurance and indemnity issues in the oil and gas industry.

Rob is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana.  He and his wife, Sara, have two daughters, Elizabeth and Katherine.  Rob volunteers frequently with his daughters’ school and other community organizations, including the Epilepsy Foundation, where he is currently a board member with the Epilepsy Foundation Texas-Dallas/Fort Worth.  

Admitted

New Mexico, 2019
Texas, 2014
Florida, 2005
New York, 2004
U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Education

L.L.M., University of Miami School of Law, 2004
J.D., The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, 2003
B.A., Tulane University, 1999

 

Presentations/Publications

Determining the Applicable Substantive Law for the Insurance Coverage Lawsuit, 17th Annual Advanced Insurance Law Course, State Bar of Texas, June 4, 2020

Peeking Behind the Curtain: Use of Extrinsic Evidence in the Duty to Defend, 15th Annual Construction Symposium, Cooper & Scully, January 31, 2020

No Coverage for Attorney's Fees, 25th Annual Insurance Symposium, Cooper & Scully, April 5, 2019

Insurance Coverage for Rip and Tear Costs, 14th Annual Construction Symposium, Cooper & Scully, January 25, 2019

Unlocking the Mystery of Use of Extrinsic Evidence in the Duty to Defend, Cooper & Scully Webinar, September 19, 2018

U.S. Metals and the Aftermath, 25th Annual Insurance Symposium, April 2018

Last Man Standing: Allocation of Settlements and Triggering Coverage, 13th Annual Construction Symposium, January 2018

I Rip, You Tear, the Carrier Pays?, 2017 CLM & Business Insurance Construction Conference, October 11, 2017

Allocation and Other Insurance, 24th Annual Insurance Symposium, April 7, 2017

Texas Supreme Court Denies Rehearing in U.S. Metals v. Liberty Mutual, Insurance Law Section, State Bar of Texas

Texas Supreme Court Denies Rehearing in U.S. Metals v. Liberty Mutual, Journal of Texas Insurance Law, Fall 2016, Volume 14, Number 2.  

U.S. Metals: "Physical Injury"; "Impaired Property" Exclusion; Impact On “Rip And Tear” Costs, 23rd Annual Insurance Symposium, April 8, 2016

UTCLE 19th Annual Insurance Law Institute, Co-Author of “Environmental Claims:  Old Battles—New Issues,” November 13-14, 2014

Burden of Proof in Coverage Litigation (in five parts), IRMI (2013-14)

Arising out of: How Strong is the Connection?, IRMI (August 2010)

 

Published Cases

Liberty Surplus Ins. Corp. v. Century Ins. Co., Case No. H-18-1444, 2019 WL 3067504 In the United States District Court, S.D. Texas, July 12, 2019

Evanston Ins. Co. v. Mid-Continent Cas. Co., Case No. 17-20812, 2018 WL 6037507, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, November 19, 2018

Children’s Hospital Colorado v. Lexington Insurance Company, 2017 WL 1356092, Civil Action No. 15-cv-01904-RPM in the United States District Court, D. Colorado, April 13, 2017

Patton v. Mid-Continent Casualty Company, 2016 WL 3900799; In the United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Houston Division. July 19, 2016

SPJST Lodge #154 and American Sokol Organization v. Century Surety Company, 2015 WL 12699508, In the United States District Court, N.D. Texas, Fort Worth Division, November 23, 2015

Evanston Ins. Co. v. Harbor Walk Development, LLC, 814 F.Supp.2d 635 2011 WL 4495686; In the United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Norfolk Division. September 09, 2011

General Fidelity Ins. Co. v. Foster, 808 F.Supp.2d 1315 2011 WL 3962646, In the United States District Court, S.D. Florida. March 24, 2011

Golding v. Drescher, 56 So.3d 14 (Table, Text in WESTLAW), Unpublished Disposition 2011 WL 918367; In the District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District, March 16, 2011

Advantage General Ins. Co., Ltd. v. KILN/QBE Intern., 8 So.3d 1213 2009 WL 1139247, In the District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District. April 29, 2009

 

Honors

Selected in Texas Monthly's Super Lawyers for 2020 (Thomson Reuters)