Experience
Dawn Woelfel Hansen is a partner with the law firm of Touchstone Bernays. Ms. Hansen’s practice focuses on insurance related matters, including litigation, coverage opinions, declaratory judgment actions, and bad faith litigation. In addition, Ms. Hansen’s practice includes extensive appellate work. Cases currently pending before the Texas Supreme Court in 2015 include whether a declaratory judgment coverage action can go forward when there is no “final” judgment in underlying liability suit, and whether a duty owed by an independent contractor to the owner of the premises should change based upon status of injured party.
Areas of Practice
AppellateCoverageCivil Litigation
Litigation Matters
Counseled leading insurance companies on insurance coverage and bad faith claims.Prosecuted hundreds of declaratory judgment actions on all aspects of insurance coverage in state and federal courts.Drafted hundreds of coverage opinions.Defended bad faith lawsuits and claims.Handled over a hundred original proceedings, motions and briefs in appellate courts.Handled appellate cases from post-verdict proceedings to disposition by appellate courts.
Representative Cases
In re: Farmers Ins. Exchange, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 12952 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2014)(orig. proceeding)Dimmitt v. Brookshire Grocery Co. 2014 WL 2957438 (Tex. App. – Eastland 2012, pet. pending)Norris v. Brookshire Grocery Co., 362 S.W.3d 226 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2012, pet. denied)Perry v. Bradley, 2011 WL 6415135 (Tex. App. – Waco 2011, no pet.)Beltran v. Brookshire Grocery Co., 358 S.W.3d 263 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2011, no pet.)Frito-Lay v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co. 2010 WL 4705526 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2010, pet. denied)Apache Indus. Painting v. Gulf Copper & Mfg. Corp., 2010 WL 1611450 (Tex. App. – Houston 2010, pet. denied)Zook v. Brookshire Grocery Co., 302 S.W.3d 452 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2009, no pet.)PAJ v Hanover, 243 S.W.3d 630 (Tex. 2008)TX CC v. Wilson/Barnes, 233 S.W.3d 562 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2007, pet. denied)Energy v Superior, 236 S.W.3d 190 (Tex. 2007)Brainard v Trinity, 216 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2006, pet. denied)Ramirez v. Hariri, 165 S.W.3d 972 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2005, no pet.)McKidd v. Trinity Lloyd’s Ins. Co., 155 S.W.3d 307 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2004, no pet.)Stroop v. Northern County Mutual Ins. Co., 133 S.W.3d 844 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2004, pet. denied)Batte, et al. v. Joyce Hendricks, 137 S.W.3d 790 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2004, no pet.)Bituminous Cas. Corp. v. Maxey, et al., 110 S.W.3d 203 (Tex. App. – Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, pet. denied)In re Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 2003 WL 22839280 (Tex. App. – Tyler 2003, no pet.)Watson v Gore, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 7814 (Tex. App. – Eastland 2003, no pet.)In re Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 64 S.W.3d 463 (Tex. App. – Amarillo 2001, no pet.)Yard v. Daimlerchrysler Corp., 44 S.W.3d 238 (Tex. App. – Fort Worth 2001, no pet.)Green v. Morris, 43 S.W.3d 604 (Tex. App. – Waco 2001, no pet.)Highland Park Shopping Village v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 36 S.W.3d 916 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2001, no pet.)
Education
Syracuse University School of Law, J.D. 1992Southern Methodist University, B.A. with departmental distinction 1989
Publications
Author “Top Ten Case Update”Author “Security Premises Liability”Co-Author “Coverage Under A Commercial General Liability Insurance Policy”.Co- Author “The Texas Personal Automobile Insurance Policy”Author “To Err is Human, But You Better Preserve For Appeal”Co-Author “Indemnity Agreements: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”Co-Author “Insurance Update: Case Law and Consumer Protection”Co-Author “Consumer Protection”
Honors and Awards
Top Women in Texas 2020 – Super Lawyers List
Selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers by peers 2013 – 2019.
