David is a litigator with a concentration in large loss property subrogation and construction matters. His thoughtful and direct approach to litigating cases has resulted in millions of dollars in recoveries for his clients and a number of successful jury verdicts. Since graduating from law school in 2005, David has primarily represented builder’s risk, property and liability insurers, businesses, and homeowners pursuing substantial property damage claims resulting from construction and design defects, fires, explosions, machinery and equipment failures, gas and water leaks, and transit losses. He also represents developers/owners and general contractors in construction disputes and has handled employee theft/dishonesty claims, personal injury claims, and professional liability claims.
As a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Oklahoma Bar Association, David has represented clients and pursued claims on their behalf throughout Texas and Oklahoma. He has also handled claims in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and New Mexico. From 2014-2018, David was selected by his peers for the Texas Super Lawyers list of Rising Stars published by Thomson Reuters, a designation given to lawyers under 40 who are viewed by their colleagues as preeminent in their respective practice areas. In 2017 and 2018, David was also named to the Super Lawyers Texas Rising Stars Up-and-Coming 100 List, a listing of the lawyers who ranked top of the list in the Texas Rising Stars nomination, research, and blue ribbon process.
David is an active member of the National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP) and has been published in NASP’s Subrogator magazine, The Construction Lawyer journal published by ABA Publishing for the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry, and Construction Today magazine. He is also a co-author of Chapter 162: Amount Recoverable in Subrogation in the New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition. David has presented at NASP’s annual conference and numerous continuing education courses for clients in the insurance industry.
Experience
- Confidential settlement for the owner of a salt water disposal facility and its property insurers after the facility was destroyed in an explosion and fire.
- Successfully tried claim for homeowners and their property insurer against an Austin, Texas homebuilder involving the defective construction of an outdoor fireplace that caused a fire resulting in significant property damage.
- Settlement with a recovery of almost 80% of the covered loss for the insurer of a workover rig that collapsed during a windstorm.
- Successfully tried claim for a Fortune 500 Company and its property insurers against an electric utility for fire damage caused by the electric utility’s failure to own, operate and maintain its equipment in accordance with good utility practice.
- Confidential settlement for the builder’s risk insurer of the construction manager/ general contractor for Texas Christian University’s football stadium renovation project after a section of precast seating collapsed during construction.
- Successfully tried claim against a fire sprinkler contractor for water damage to specialty lighting equipment and accessories used in the motion picture and television industries that was caused by the failure of a fire sprinkler pipe in a warehouse.
- Successfully tried claim for damage to a 1994 Winfield Gordon E RV-4 aircraft caused by a runway incursion on a private airstrip.
Publications
- Case Summary: Overcoming a Motion to Strike and Exclude Expert Testimony in Fire Cases, Subrogator Magazine, Spring/Summer 2017, at 26
- Unwitting Waiver of the Attorney/Client Privilege, 30th Annual Construction Law Conference sponsored by The Construction Law Foundation of Texas and The Construction Law Section of the State Bar of Texas in cooperation with The Texas Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Mar. 2, 2017
- Texas Supreme Court Permits Loss of Use Damages for Destroyed Property, Subrogator Magazine, Spring/Summer 2016, at 124
- Subrogation Alert: Texas Supreme Court Permits Loss of Use Damages in Total Destruction Case, Kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC, Jan. 11, 2016
- Amount Recoverable in Subrogation, New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition ch.162, Sep. 2015
- Subrogation Alert: Texas Statute Affecting Condominium Construction Defect Claims, Kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC, September 10, 2015
- Is the Malfunction Theory Alive and Well in Texas?, SUBROGATOR, Winter 2015, at 100
- Litigation Alert: Texas Supreme Court Limits Application of the Economic Loss Rule, Kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC, Sep. 2, 2014
- A Construction Defect Damages Your Client’s Property, Now What?, Dallas Bar Association Headnotes, August 1, 2014
- Impact of Black + Vernooy on Subrogation Claims Against Design Professionals, Builders in Texas; Subrogation & Recovery Alert, July 8, 2013
- Recovering an Insured’s Deductible – Texas; Subrogation & Recovery Law Blog, May 17, 2013
- Certificate of Merit Requirement in Federal Diversity Cases; Subrogation & Recovery Law Blog, November 17, 2011
- What Lies Beneath, Construction Today, June 1, 2011
- COGSA vs. Carmack – Carmack Does Not Apply to Overseas Shipment under a Single Through Bill of Lading; Subrogation & Recovery Law Blog, June 28, 2010
- COGSA vs. Carmack – United States Supreme Court To Address Carmack’s Application To Intermodal Shipments; Subrogation & Recovery Law Blog, March 5, 2010
- Comparative Contract Fault: Using the AIA Documents to Apportion Contract Damages; The Construction Lawyer, April 1, 2006
Presentations
- Critical Damages Issues: Property Subrogation Claims, Property & Liability Resource Bureau Claims Conference & Insurance Services Expo, Apr. 17 & 18, 2018
- Causes of Action in Texas Construction Law, The Basic Course in Texas Construction Law, Dec. 1, 2017
- Absence of a Specific Defect Makes the Manufacturer Stronger – But Not Invincible, National Association of Subrogation Professionals Annual Conference, Nov. 9, 2015
- Subrogation Considerations in Fire Claims: NFPA 921 and the Malfunction Theory, Unified Investigations & Sciences Live Burn 2015, Jan. 28, 2015
- Understanding and Protecting Your Subrogation Claim, 2013
- Avoiding Bad Faith while Preserving Your Subrogation Claim, Aug. 14, 2013
- Texas Residential Construction Liability Act (RCLA), 2011
- The TRCCA is Dead; Long Live the RCLA, Cozen O’Connor 2010 Dallas Subrogation Seminar, 2010
- Construction Update: TRCCA/TRCLA and Certificates of Merit, Cozen O’Connor 2009 Dallas Subrogation Seminar, Oct. 20, 2009
- Arbitration Forums (AF), 2008
- Sovereign Immunity and Statutory Notice Requirements, 2006
Associations
- Dallas Bar Association (DBA)
- Construction Law Section
- Tort & Insurance Practices Section (TIPS)
- Community Involvement Committee (CIC)
- Home Project Committee
- State Bar of Texas Construction Law Section
- National Association of Subrogation Professionals
- Loss Executives Association (LEA)
- Property & Liability Research Bureau (PLRB)
- Oklahoma Bar Association
Community
Since 2008, David has been a member of the Dallas Bar Association (DBA) Home Project Committee, serving as a 2014 vice-chair and a co-chair from 2015-2018. The Home Project Committee manages the DBA’s partnership with Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity to sponsor and build a new Habitat home each year since 1991. The DBA Home Project is Dallas Habitat’s longest running whole house sponsor and is proud to have contributed to Dallas Habitat’s success in providing affordable housing in Dallas.
