Katherine T. Garber

Katherine T. Garber is a trial attorney who represents and provides counsel to both insurers and policyholders on coverage issues and in declaratory judgment litigation, insurance policy disputes, and defense of personal injury and property damage claims. Kathy also represents transportation and logistics clients in litigation matters and disputes, including business and commercial disputes, personal injury and wrongful death claims, and cargo and freight claims. She has experience in insurance coverage issues relating to energy operations (both onshore and offshore), transportation (both onshore and offshore) and public-sector organizations.

Kathy is the author of numerous coverage opinions with an emphasis on the analysis of commercial general liability, hull and cargo, professional errors and omissions, directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, first-party property, and excess and umbrella coverages, and related contractual indemnity issues. Kathy negotiates, prepares and reviews contracts for a variety of clients.

Kathy currently serves as the Co-Chair of Clark Hill StrasburgerBOLD - Houston, the firm's strategy to promote women within the firm, the legal profession, and the business community.

EXPERIENCE

• Obtained summary judgment for transportation broker against shipper on federal preemption of state law claims other than breach of contract, under 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c). Huntington Operating Corp. v. Sybonney Express, Inc., No. H-08-781, 2010 WL 1930087 (S.D. Tex. May 11, 2010).
• Obtained judgment in arbitration in favor of managing general agent against retail insurance agent in dispute regarding placement of coverage.
• Represented gas detection service company in arbitration for property damage resulting from offshore platform explosion.
• Represented numerous property owners and managers against suits brought for injuries resulting from criminal activities on premises.
• Represented general contractors against suits brought for injuries to employees of subcontractors on job sites.
• Served as coverage counsel for excess insurer in lead contamination lawsuit involving multi-million dollar construction project.
• Acted as coverage counsel for excess insurer in lawsuit alleging personal injuries resulting from ammonia release at chemical facility.

Presentations

• Speaker. Indemnity & Insurance Issues for Housing Authorities, 7th Annual HATS: The Housing Authorities of Texas Symposium (November 2016)
• Moderator. Insuring Goods Across Borders: Can It Be Simple?, 49th Transportation Law Institute (October 2016)
• Speaker.Important Legal Issues for 2016 and Beyond: Indemnities, Insurance, and OCIPs, Client Presentation (August 2016)
• Panel Speaker. A Brave New World: Risk Management, Upstream, Downstream, and Everywhere in Between, Strasburger Energy Symposium (May 2016)
• Speaker. Contractual Indemnity Issues, Client Presentation (December 2015)
• Program Chair. 48th Transportation Law Institute (October 2015)
• Speaker. Cargo Claims: What Carriers, Freight Brokers, and Shippers Can Learn from the Latest Developments, TLP &SA Conference (April 2015)
• Risk-Shifting - Indemnity and Insurance Issues, Client Presentation (December 2014)
• Speaker. Getting Around Statutory Prohibitions to Indemnity, Client  Presentation (October 2014)
• Speaker. Cargo Claims FAQ: Cleaning the Air (and Land) on Oft-Heard Freight Claims Issues, TLA Annual Conference (May 2014)
• Speaker. How to Handle Rejection: When a Consignee Says "No" to Cargo, TLA Webinar Series (September 2013)
• Moderator. Intermediaries: "A Cask of Thousands," TLA Annual Conference (May 2013)
• Speaker. Practical Cargo Insurance Considerations, 2011 TLA Annual Conference (May 2011)
• Speaker. Know Your Limits: Anatomy of a Multimodal Shipment; Beyond the Fine Print, 2011 TLA Annual Conference (May 2011)
• Moderator. Mediating a Complex Multi-Party Transportation Case, 2009 TLA Annual Conference (May 2009)
• Speaker. Are You Protected? Current Issues in Directors and Officers Liability and Insurance Coverage, Strasburger Corporate Counsel Series (November 2007)
• Speaker. Minimizing Liability in the Transfer of Real Property, Strasburger Corporate Counsel Series (October/November 2006)

Publications

• Whose Burden Is It to Ascertain the Value of the Freight for Insurance Purposes?, Strasburger's Transportation & Logistics Blog (March 2015)
• Once More Unto the Breach, Strasburger's Transportation & Logistics Blog (March 2013)
• Co-author. Employee Investigations Can 'Fuel' Defamation Lawsuits, The Transportation Lawyer (January 2010)
• Co-author. The Heightened Risk of Employing Undocumented Workers, The Transportation Lawyer (October 2008)
• Co-author. Honey I Shrunk the World! Personal Jurisdiction over Freight Intermediaries in the Global Internet Era, The Transportation Lawyer (October 2007)