Firm Information

Be responsive, diligent, objective, timely and ethical. This philosophy efficiently and effectively meets each client’s goal – an early objective and realistic evaluation of a claim or lawsuit with a cost-effective result. Our firm understands that clients have unique needs. Our attorneys maintain the standards of quality and professionalism that we value and our clients expect.

General Tort Litigation and Transportation Law

Our firm defends insureds for a large number of insurance companies in a wide variety of personal injury and property damage cases. Our lawyers are experienced in handling cases ranging from minor automobile collisions to serious accidents involving catastrophic injuries and death.

Additionally, our lawyers practice extensively in the field of transportation law and represent transportation companies nationwide in lawsuits involving collisions, cargo losses, and environmental contamination. Our firm has vast experience and keeps up-to-date with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, as well as evidentiary issues involving the Safety Measurement System’s ratings for motor carriers.

We understand that catastrophic accidents require an immediate investigative responses. Evidence must be gathered, privileges preserved, and defensive strategies need to be developed. To meet those client goals and time-sensitive actions, we have access to accident reconstruction experts, photographers, and other experts to make a first response to accident scenes.

Coverage Opinions and Declaratory Judgments

Jack McKinley has three decades of experience writing coverage opinions about the spectrum of property and casualty risks. His expertise includes issues across CGL, auto, directors and officers, maritime, professional liability and specialty insurance policies. The firm’s coverage opinions are distinguished by an extremely high quality of work. Clients value our distinguishable attributes:

We give straight answers to tough questions, we are not fence-sitters.

We explain in understandable English our view about your issues and opinions for handling them.

We objectively identify and logically analyze what matters.

We offer computerized research on a national level and do not charge access fees.

We routinely draft reservation of rights and denial letters, letters to opposing counsel and other documents.

Our firm objectively assesses the basis and need for, and at client’s direction will initiate, a declaratory judgment lawsuit on any issue across the full spectrum of property and casualty risks. Declaratory judgment lawsuits are often unnecessary or impossible before judgment. We know when you can sue. Shareholder Jack McKinley has prevailed in many such lawsuits for insurers, sometimes making law to do so.

Premises Liability and Premises Defect

Our attorneys defend landlords, tenants and property owners from tort claims including rape, drowning, murder, criminal assaults, slip and falls, and construction defects, including foundation defects and mold litigation. Premises liability is a rapidly evolving area of the law and our firm stays abreast of these developments. In fact, we have established important law in this field. Our goal is the most cost-effective use of law to defend clients.

Products Liability

Our firm recognizes that its top priority is to protect the integrity of our clients’ products and reputations. Working closely with local, national and international manufacturers, sellers and suppliers, we develop sound strategies to present complex and technical issues in a manner that juries can fully understand that our clients’ products are designed, manufactured and marketed consistent with industry standards. By integrating the experience and abilities of our attorneys with the most modern technology, our attorneys provide sophisticated, efficient and effective defense for clients facing product liability cases of every type and size.

Construction Litigation

The firm has a long history of successfully representing clients in a wide array of both residential and commercial construction matters. Our attorneys regularly litigate, mediate and arbitrate claims relating to cost issues, construction defects, design errors and contract disputes. We represent owners, developers, general contractors, subcontractors, engineers and design professionals and, in each case, leverage our experience to provide aggressive representation focused on an efficient and cost-effective resolution.

Aviation Litigation

Nick Zito routinely handles aviation matters for the firm’s clients. In addition to handling tort claims, his work in this area also involves aviation related business disputes and large claims involving hull damage. He has successfully represented airlines in these matters including more complex cases involving the application of the Montreal Convention and federal preemption issues.

Professional Malpractice

Our attorneys have experience in defending professional malpractice cases involving medical, legal, insurance and corporate errors and omissions. Our attorneys have strong ties within the medical and legal communities, enabling us to find and retain the qualified experts needed in these cases.

Commercial Litigation

Our firm provides the full spectrum of litigation proceedings (jury trials, bench trials, binding arbitrations, mediations, alternative dispute resolution, writs and appeals). Whether in state or federal trial and appellate courts, our litigators bring a substantial depth of expertise and dedicated, results-oriented service to our commercial clients. We best serve our clients' interests by exploring resolution early in litigation. However, if an effective settlement is not possible, we aggressively take cases to trial. Our commercial litigation practice includes: Commercial contract disputes, business torts, breach of warranty, fraud, tortuous interference, Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Residential Liability Act issues.

Appellate Law

Our role is your call. A trial, no matter how successful, is often only half a lawsuit. The firm, through Jack McKinley has extensive expertise handling appellate issues, both before trial and on appeal. Jack’s three decades of appellate experience includes dozens of successful outcomes in courts of appeal and many in the Supreme Court of Texas. Additionally, the firm does pre-trial and in-trial appellate work, as well as appeals, for clients desiring outside appellate assistance for other trial lawyers. We offer second opinions about issues, when desired, work cooperatively with trial counsel on jury charges and briefs, and assume full responsibility for appeals at any stage.

Dram Shop Litigation

Our attorneys possess significant experience in the highly-specialized area of defending dram shop and liquor liability claims against alcohol providers and their employees. We aggressively identify defenses to these claims. Our approach involves fact-intensive discovery and then tie the facts developed to the TABC’s safe harbor provision. In addition, dram shop cases often hinge on highly technical factors such as the body’s rate of metabolizing alcohol. Our law firm has developed access to leading medical and industry experts who assist in developing and presenting winning dram shop cases for our clients.

Water Rights/Liability Under the Texas Water Code

In many areas of Texas, including the Gulf Coast region, issues regarding flooding and liability for the diversion and impounding of the natural flow of surface waters is a major issue. In 2013, lawyers at Ramey, Chandler, Quinn & Zito, P.C. successfully defended homeowners in a lawsuit filed against them by their neighbor arising out of water damage to the neighbor’s property. A Galveston County jury found in favor of our firm’s clients and the judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeals in 2014. Michaelski v. Wright, 444 S.W.3d 83 (Tex. App. Houston 1st Dist. 2014).

First Party/Weather-Related Litigation

Ramey, Chandler, Quinn & Zito, PC is a respected leader in insurance-related litigation, including disputes involving hurricane and other weather-related catastrophes. Our personal and commercial lines practice focuses on the representation of major insurance carriers as well as independent adjusting firms, adjusters, and insurance agents throughout the state of Texas. The attorneys at Ramey, Chandler, Quinn & Zito, PC possess the depth of experience to effectively represent and counsel their clients in a wide variety of matters ranging from residential property and automobile claims to complex commercial property damage disputes involving specialty and industry specific lines of property insurance. Ramey, Chandler, Quinn & Zito, PC has a proven record of successfully litigating such cases on behalf of their clients in both state and federal court, while also leading the way in the development of innovative strategies for the effective management of high volume litigation through the creation of Multidistrict Litigation Courts following Hurricane Ike and the 2012 Rio Grande Valley hailstorms.

Ramey, Chandler, Quinn & Zito, PC strives to understand the needs of its clients and provide an aggressive, yet cost-efficient defense that emphasizes results. Through this approach, our clients can expect that we will promptly and properly assess the risks they face as well as anticipate and aggressively defend claims for damages utilizing a proven strategy developed through years of trial-tested experience.