AMY ELIZABETH STEWART

Shareholder

Amy Elizabeth Stewart is the founder and managing shareholder of Amy Stewart PC. Amy is an experienced, AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated* lawyer, whose law practice focuses on commercial insurance coverage disputes, including coverage litigation and arbitration, bad faith litigation, pre-suit advice and negotiations, and other complex insurance litigation matters. Amy has achieved outstanding results for clients in complicated, high-stakes cases through diligent preparation, tenacious advocacy, and meticulous attention to detail.

In her insurance litigation practice, Amy primarily represents commercial policyholders in disputes with insurance companies. When an insurance carrier denies coverage, refuses to defend, or reserves the right to deny a claim, Amy assists her clients in maximizing the coverage provided by their policies. Amy has represented clients in disputes involving the existence and scope of coverage, the applicability of exclusions, policy interpretation, information provided or known by the insured at the time the policy incepted, the insurer's claim handling, timely payment of claims and defense costs, policy procurement issues, violations of state insurance regulations and consumer protection statutes, bad faith, and claim resolution. Having spent many years representing insurance companies in coverage litigation, Amy has unique insight into the perspectives of both the insurer and the insured. Her substantial experience with the insurance industry and understanding of the applicable law make her an invaluable resource for her clients facing an insurance dispute.

Amy has significant experience with specialty liability policies, including directors and officers liability, fiduciary liability, errors and omissions, securities broker/dealers liability, employment practices liability, and other professional liability policies. In addition, she regularly handles disputes involving commercial general liability, commercial property, excess, and umbrella policies. Amy also handles high-risk disputes arising under select homeowners policies.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

Results matter. As demonstrated by the results she has achieved on behalf of clients, Amy is an effective advocate, who is able to master the facts, sort through the complexities, streamline the evidence to tell a compelling story, and leverage the strengths of the case to achieve the best possible outcome. Here are a few of the results Amy has obtained for her clients:

  • Won summary judgment on behalf of fiduciary liability insurer in a case involving alleged damages in excess of $30 million ‒ Mary Kay v. Federal, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88583 (N.D. Tex., August 14, 2007); preserved district court's judgment on appeal in the Fifth Circuit
  • Won summary judgment on behalf of excess D&O insurer; underlying plaintiff sought to recover from nonprofit D&Os more than $150 million in alleged damages ($20 million in combined policy limits) ‒ In re Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital, Inc., 387 B.R. 706 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2008)
  • Won jury trial on behalf of plaintiff in breach of contract case alleging that defendant overstaffed nursing home facilities with unnecessary temporary workers and billed for unnecessary services that were not reimbursable under applicable guidelines
  • Represented CIGNA in federal district court and before the Fifth Circuit in the landmark ERISA preemption case decided by the United States Supreme Court in 2004, CIGNA Healthcare of Texas, Inc. v. Ruby Calad, 542 U.S. 200 (2004)
  • Won construction arbitration representing specialty concrete contractor who was alleged to have performed faulty work, involving breach of contract and deceptive trade practice claims; arbitrator denied plaintiff's claim in its entirety
  • Represented property insurer in large, multi-party lawsuit against city transit authority and its construction contractors, asserting claims for breach of contract, violations of the Texas Water Code, and inverse condemnation arising from flooding of downtown streets and a high-rise office building and damages caused by an electrical fire that ensued; case settled after being called to trial
  • Defeated opposing party's petition for review in Texas Supreme Court by handling briefing on the merits in case presenting the issue of whether the fortuity doctrine (no insurance coverage for known or in-progress losses) precludes the duty to defend in Texas ‒ Warrantech Corp. v. Steadfast Ins. Co., 210 S.W.3d 760 (Tex. App.‒Fort Worth 2006, pet. denied)
  • Substantially reduced client's liability based on careful analysis of coverage issues and close monitoring of defense costs when governmental investigations commenced against a major international supermarket and foodservice operator in connection with alleged securities fraud and the impact of the alleged fraud on employer stock held by employee benefit plans
  • Represented leading accounting firm in litigation initiated by professional golfer, who alleged errors and omissions in provision of tax planning services; reduced both potential exposure and defense costs through voluntary discovery and an early mediation facilitated by experts, which resulted in an advantageous settlement

HONORS & ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Rated AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 (Peer Review Rating) by Martindale Hubbell
  • Selected for the Texas Super Lawyers® list of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas by Thomson Reuters, 2011
  • Selected as a Texas Super Lawyer in the area of insurance coverage by Thomson Reuters, 2009, 2010, and 2011, a listing of outstanding attorneys who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement
  • Recognized as a Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters in insurance coverage, business litigation and construction litigation, 2007
  • Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • Honored as one of Top 25 Women in Business 2011 by the Dallas Business Journal

PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Outside the office and the courtroom, Amy is actively involved in both professional and community organizations. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, and the Dallas Bar Association; in each of these bar associations, she is a member of the litigation and insurance sections. Amy serves as Vice President of the North Texas Association of Insurance Counsel and is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society. For many years, Amy has been a sustaining member of Attorneys Serving the Community, frequently serving as co-chair of various committees. She is honored to serve as the luncheon co-chair for 2011-12. She also serves on the boards of directors of two nonprofit corporations, Empowering Women as Leaders and Heart House Dallas. In 2008, Amy founded the Dallas women's networking group, ConnectHer.

EMPLOYMENT

Before forming Amy Stewart PC, Amy was a partner with the New York-based law firm, Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP, representing insurance companies in coverage and bad faith litigation. Amy began her legal career in 1992 with the Dallas firm now known as Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, practicing commercial litigation.

EDUCATION

  • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 1992
  • B.S., Liberty University, Political Science, 1989, magna cum laude

BAR/COURT ADMISSIONS

  • State Bar of Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court of the Northern, Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas

*AV® Preeminent™ and BV® Distinguished™ are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.

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