Ekvall & Byrne, L.L.P. - Attorneys at Law

Our Attorneys

Erik E. Ekvall After graduating from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1985, Erik moved to Dallas and began practicing with the firm of Louis J. Sandbote, P.C. Erik specialized in insurance defense litigation while with Louis J. Sandbote, P.C., where he defended numerous first-party cases against insurance carriers in areas such as breach of contract, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Insurance Code, and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. Many of these cases arose out of claims that the carrier had denied based upon arson or fraud, and virtually all involved exposure significantly in excess of the carrier's policy limits. Erik joined the Dallas firm of Page & Addison, P.C. in October, 1990, where he headed that firm's insurance defense section, handling general liability, employment, and workers' compensation litigation within Texas and supervising and directing the handling of insurance defense litigation throughout the country on behalf of Club Corporation International.

Erik joined the firm of Bishop and Hummert, P.C. in May, 1992 and remained there until he joined with Rick in founding Ekvall & Byrne, L.L.P. While with Bishop and Hummert, P.C., Erik practiced primarily in the area of insurance law, particularly property, personal injury and first-party insurance defense litigation.

Erik is admitted to practice before the Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern Federal District Courts of Texas, as well as all Texas state courts. Erik is a member of the Texas and Dallas Bar Associations. Erik is also a member of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute.

In addition to the many cases that Erik has tried, he has also successfully handled the appeal of several matters, including Caldwell v. Carrolton Air Conditioning, Inc. _ S.W 3rd _, 2007 WL 2390425 (Tex. App. – Amarillo); Lundy v. Allstate Ins. Co., 774 S.W.2d 352 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 1989, no writ); State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. v. Peck, 900 S.W.2d 910 (Tex.App.- Amarillo 1995, no writ); Trinity Universal Ins. Co. v. Sweatt, 978 S.W.2d 267 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1998, no writ); Brian Davis v. Thurston Enterprises, Inc., 2000 W.L. 291395 (Tex.App.-Dallas); Empire Indemnity Ins. Co. v. Domdom, 2003 Tex.App. Lexis 7135 (Corpus Christi, 2004); Norstrud v. Trinity Univ. Ins. Co., 97 S.W.3d 749 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth, 2003); Pikul v. Kroger Co. Store No. 536, Tex.App. Lexis 1288 (Fort Worth, 2005); and Ostrander v. Progressive County Mut. Ins. Co., 2005 Tex.App. Lexis 393 (Dallas, 2005). In two recent cases that Erik tried - a six-day trial in Denton County District Court involving a suit brought by homeowners against their insurance carrier for breach of contract and multiple extra-contractual claims, including a claim for more than $3,000,000.00 in exemplary damages, arising out of the carrier's denial of the homeowners' foundation claim, and a week-long trial in Tarrant County District Court seeking well over $1,000,000.00 in damages for injuries sustained as the result of a collision that occurred on I-30 in Grand Prairie between a fully loaded concert tour bus and a large street sweeper truck - resulted in unanimous jury verdicts in favor of his clients. In addition to his trial practice, Erik has spoken before insurance industry groups on many topics, including proper claims handling and claims investigation techniques, mold claims and compliance with DTPA and Insurance Code guidelines.

Ekvall & Byrne, L.L.P. - Attorneys at Law