Lyndon F. Bittle
Partner
Business Litigation, Appellate, Insurance
Phone: 214-855-3096
Direct Fax: 214-758-3796
Email: lbittle@ccsb.com
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Mr. Bittle leads Carrington Coleman’s insurance practice, which encompasses policy review and claims-handling assistance as well as litigation matters involving declaratory judgment, contract, and bad faith claims. His policyholder clients include manufacturers, real estate owners and developers, governmental entities, insurance brokers, and individuals.
Significant policyholder representations resulting in published opinions include:
- Evanston Ins. Co. v. Keeway America, LLC, 2010 WL 2652330 (N.D. Texas June 29, 2010) (dismissing insurer’s declaratory action for failure to plead facts indicating any prejudice caused by alleged late notice on claims-made policy)
- Kirby Co. v. Hartford Cas. Ins. Co., 2004 WL 216537 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 23, 2004) (insurer’s unreasonable delay in tendering defense breached policy and triggered additional insured’s right to select and control independent counsel)
- Mid-Continent Cas. Co. v. Safe Tire Disp. Co., 16 S.W.3d 418 (Tex. App.—Waco 2000, pet. denied) (pollution exclusion did not bar coverage of damage caused by fire at tire recycling plant)
- Int’l Ins. Co. v. Dresser Indus., Inc., 841 S.W.2d 437 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1992, writ denied) (manufacturer that retained control of liability litigation did not owe settlement obligation to excess insurer)
Mr. Bittle recently served as lead counsel for a consumer product manufacturer in litigation with its primary insurer concerning the parties’ respective rights and obligations under a self-insured retention in connection with product liability claims pending in several states. He also represents that manufacturer in coverage and claims-handling disputes with an umbrella insurer. Other recent representations in coverage matters that did not result in litigation include:
Advised multiple commercial property and business owners in connection with insurance claims for losses incurred as a result of vandalism, fire, windstorm, and other hazards.
Advised governmental entity concerning the rights and obligations of the parties under an OCIP (Owner Controlled Insurance Program) developed in conjunction with a major construction project involving multiple design professionals and construction contractors.
Advised real estate owner and developer concerning contract, indemnity, coverage, and subrogation issues arising in connection with Builders Risk policies following destruction by fire of an apartment complex shortly before construction was completed, and in connection with general liability policies triggered by a personal injury lawsuit.
Provided written opinion letter to governmental construction contractor analyzing asserted indemnity obligations and coverage issues arising from personal injuries alleged by subcontractor’s employee.
Mr. Bittle represents businesses and individuals in lawsuits and appeals concerning business governance and fiduciary obligations, claims of “shareholder oppression,” unfair competition, and product manufacturing or construction-related liability. In a recent case, Mr. Bittle successfully represented an LLC in litigation against a former member and officer who sought to rescind a self-dealing transaction with the company on several grounds, including alleged securities fraud. Summary judgment for the LLC was affirmed by the Dallas Court of Appeals. See Winn v. EPG Partners, LLC, 2010 WL 3260134 (Tex. App.—Dallas Aug. 19, 2010, pet. denied).
Mr. Bittle also represents local governments and officials in matters involving aviation law, environmental regulation, intergovernmental relations, insurance coverage, and sovereign or official immunity. For example, he represented the City of Dallas in its successful post-judgment effort to modify a federal court injunction concerning two unregulated landfills near the Trinity River, which ultimately resulted in construction of the new Trinity River Audubon Center. He previously represented the City in parallel state and federal litigation that clarified the complex relationships between federal, state, and municipal authorities controlling air traffic at Dallas Love Field Airport:
- American Airlines, Inc. v. DOT, 202 F.3d 788 (5th Cir. 2000)
- Legend Airlines, Inc. v. City of Fort Worth, 23 S.W.3d 83 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2000, no pet.)
As a member of the firm’s appellate practice group, Mr. Bittle regularly assists other attorneys with preparation of or challenges to expert testimony, dispositive motions, jury submissions, and appeals. He has presented oral argument to the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and to state appellate courts in Austin, Dallas, Eastland, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Waco. He is lead counsel on appeal of two cases involving disputes between minority and majority shareholders of closely held corporations and in a mandamus action pending before the Texas Supreme Court concerning interstate comity.
Before embarking on his legal career, Mr. Bittle owned and managed small businesses, including Sacramento California’s first natural food restaurant.
“We look at every client and situation with fresh eyes - with experience, of course, but we never assume it’s just like the last one. This makes us adept at seeing things that might slip through the cracks at a firm with solid walls between practice areas.”
Education
University of California, Berkeley,
Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D., 1988
Senior Executive Editor, 1987-88,
California Law Review
Associate Editor, 1986-87,
Industrial Relations Law Journal
Order of the Coif
University of California, Santa Barbara
B.A., 1971
Admittances
Texas 1988
U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Federal Circuit
Associations/Affiliations
Texas Bar Foundation: Fellow
American Bar Association Sections: Tort Trial & Insurance Practice (Chair- elect 2011-2012, Ins. Coverage Litig. Comm. ["TIPS-ICLC"]), Litigation
State Bar of Texas Sections: Appellate, Insurance, Litigation
Dallas Bar Association Sections: Tort & Insurance Practice, Appellate Law
Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
Dallas Theater Center: Board of Trustees (2005-2011)
Speeches/Publications
ABA HANDBOOK ON ADDITIONAL INSUREDS, Author of Chapters 2, 15A, 15C, 15G (to be published in 2012).
Program Co-chair, Insurance in the Construction Industry, The Seminar Group (January 13, 2012).
Recent Changes in Texas Insurance Law Affecting Businesses, Dallas Bar Ass’n North Dallas Clinic (December 2011).
An Overview of Insurance Coverage Issues in Construction Defect Disputes: Are You Covered?, National Business Institute Seminar, Construction Defect Litigation: From A to Z (October 2011).
Ethical Dilemmas in the Coverage Context, TIPS-ICLC Mid-Year Program Panel Moderator (February 2011).
ABA REFERENCE HANDBOOK ON THE COMPREHENSIVE GENERAL LIABILITY POLICY, Assisting Editor (2010).
A Practical Guide to Insurance and Indemnification of Directors and Officers, The University of Texas School of Law, 29th Annual Jay L. Westbrook Bankruptcy Conference (November 2010).
Author, D&O Insurance When the Company Goes Broke, Dallas Bar Association Headnotes (August 2010).
What Every Young Lawyer Should Know About Depositions, DAYL Lunch and Learn Panelist (May 2010).
Wrap It Up, I’ll Take It? Advantages and Risks of OCIP Policies, TIPS-ICLC Mid-Year Program Panel Moderator (February 2010).
OCIP and Professional Liability: Where the Policyholder Is Not the Insured, TIPS-ICLC Mid-Year Program Paper (February 2010).
A Late Notice Must Be Prejudicial to Deny Coverage, Dallas Bar Ass’n Headnotes (January 2010).
Texas Supreme Court Contributes to the Evolution of the Notice-Prejudice Rule as Applied to Claims-Made Policies, TIPS-ICLC Newsletter (Summer 2009).
Expert Objections segment of Appellate Lawyers at Trial, Before You Think You Need Them, panel presentation to the Dallas Bar Ass'n Solo and Small Firm Section (July 2009) and Kaufman County Bar Ass'n (October 2009).
Effective Use of Witnesses and Exhibits, Institute for Paralegal Education Seminar, A Litigation Paralegal’s Guide to Case Management (June 2009).
From Dump to Diamond: History of the Trinity River Audubon Center, presentation at the Center (June 2009).
Tensions: Pleading for Liability and Pleading for Coverage, Dallas Bar Ass'n Headnotes (December 2008).
An Overview of Insurance Coverage Disputes, National Business Institute, Insurance Coverage Litigation Seminar (August 2008).
Co-Author, Are D&O Policies At Risk of Climate Change?, TIPS-ICLC Newsletter (Summer 2008).
Severability Clauses: Protecting Policyholders from Rescission, Dallas Bar Ass’n Headnotes (December 2007).
Emerging Issues Raised by Derivative Shareholder Actions Involving Foreign Corporations Headquartered in Texas: Making Sense of the Interaction Between Texas Procedures and Substantive Law, 39 Tex. Tech. L. Rev. 1 (2006) (Awarded Outstanding Lead Article).
Protecting White Hats from the Sins of Dark Hats: The Effect of Severability Clauses on Policy Rescission and Coverage Exclusions, TIPS-ICLC Mid-Year Program (February 2007).
Contributing Editor, CGL Reporter, Int'l Risk Management Institute (2005-2009).
Punitive Damages and the Eighth Amendment: An Analytical Framework for Determining Excessiveness, 75 Cal. L. Rev. 1433 (1987).
