Dan is a Director at Coats Rose with more than twenty-nine years of experience in the practice of law. After receiving his degree from Georgetown University School of Law, he joined the firm of Butler & Binion. In 1985, he joined the firm of Cook, Davis & McFall and became that firm’s first new partner in 1986. In 1990, Dan formed Davis & Shank and subsequently joined the Coats Rose team in 2000.
During his career, Dan has successfully tried numerous cases involving a broad range of substantive areas of the law. He has prosecuted and defended cases involving substantial recoveries and significant exposures, and he has participated in a number of appellate matters on behalf of his clients. Dan has been named as a “Texas Super Lawyer” in the area of business litigation and recognized as a Texas Best Lawyer. He is Board Certified for Civil Trial by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Dan has also served the Houston Bar and community, acting as the Chairman of the American Diabetes Association, Houston Chapter, participating on other charity boards, chairing three HBA committees, volunteering as a member of one of the Texas Bar Association’s grievance committees, and contributing as a director of the junior bar.
Dan is married to Nancy Hiller Shank and has two children, John and Meredith. He is an avid swimmer and golfer.
Dan specializes in complex litigation matters in the areas of commercial, personal injury, real estate, environmental, energy and insurance litigation.
Cornell University (B.A., 1977)
Georgetown University (J.D., cum laude, 1980)
1980, Texas
1981, District of Columbia
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
U.S. Supreme Court
American Bar Association (Fellow, American Bar Foundation)
State Bar of Texas (Sustaining Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation)
Houston Bar Association (Sustaining Life Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation)
District of Columbia Bar Association
Houston Young Lawyers Association (Director: 1986-87, 1989-91)
Texas Association of Defense Counsel Ethics Committee (1998-1999)
Defense Research Institute Business Litigation Committee (1996-present)
College of the State Bar of Texas (various years)
State Bar of Texas District 4B Grievance Committee (1996-1999)
4EO9 Grievance Committee (2006-present)
Chairman: Houston Bar Association Tennis Tournament (1996-1998) (HBA Outstanding Service Award—1996-1997)
Chairman: Houston Bar Association Harris County
Law Library Committee (2003-2004)
Co-Chairman: Houston Bar Association IDEA Committee (2004-2005)
Christus Health: Gulf Coast Region Board (2008-present)
American Diabetes Association: Houston Chapter, Chairman (2000–2003); Vice Chairman (1999–2000);Board of Directors (1998–Present); National Award for Outstanding Community Service in Recruiting Volunteers (2003)
Member: Board of Directors – Young Audiences of Houston (1996–1998) Member: Steering Committee – The Regis School Capital Campaign (1999–2000)
Head Football Coach: Spring Branch Memorial Sports Association Football League (Tackle: 1999–2001)
Sports Commissioner: Regis Lower School (1998–2000)
Member: Board of Commissioners: West Houston Christian Athletic League (1998–2000)
- Weingarten Realty Investors v. Silvia, 2010 WL 1686194 (5th Cir. 2010).
- Chavers v. Morrow, 2009 WL 4609841 (5th Cir. 2009).
- GOM Shelf, LLC v. Sun Operating Ltd. Partnership, 2008 WL 901482 (S.D.Tex. 2008).
- Barasich v. Shell Pipeline Co., LP, 2006 WL 3913403 (E.D.La., 2006) (not reported).
- Gibson v. Dynegy Midstream Services, L.P., 2004 WL 1176553 (Tex. App. – Fort Worth 2004).
- Lester v. City of College Station, 103 Fed. Appx. 814, 2004 WL 1551618 (5th Cir. 2004) (per curiam) affirmed.
- Conroe Creosoting Company v. Montgomery County, Texas, 249 F.3d 337 (5th Cir. 2001).
- Berg v. AMF, Inc., 29 S.W.3d 212 (Tex. App. – Houston [1st Dist.] 2000, no pet.)
- Phan Son Van v. Pena, 990 S.W.2d 751 (Tex. 1999).
- Guaranty National Ins. Co. v. Vic Mfg. Co., 143 F.3d 192 (5th Cir. 1998).
- National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. v. CBI Industries, Inc., 907 S.W.2d 517 (Tex. 1995).
- Northbrook Indemnity Ins. Co. v. Water District Management Co., Inc., 892 F. Supp. 170 (S.D. Tex. 1995).
- Glauser v. State Farm Life Ins. Co., 1994 WL 470355 (Tex. App. – Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 31, 1994, writ denied).
- Pankhurst v. Weitinger & Tucker, 850 S.W.2d 726 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 1993, writ denied).
- Allied Bank-West, N.A. v. Stein, 996 F.2d 111 (5th Cir. 1993).
- Intercoastal Warehouse Corp. v. Clear Lake National Bank, 795 S.W.2d 294 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.] 1990, writ dism’d w.o.j.).
- Ramesh v. Johnson, 681 S.W.2d 256 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.] 1984, writ ref’d n.r.e.).
- Gibson v. Burkhart, 650 S.W.2d 185 (Tex. Civ. – Corpus Christi 1983, writ ref’d n.r.e.).
- Donovan v. Cunningham, 716 F.2d 1455 (5th Cir. 1983).
Obtained a $2.3 million jury verdict on behalf of First Interstate Bank of Texas (Allied Bank-West, N.A.) against Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, which was subsequently upheld on appeal and settled for $5.6 million including prejudgment interest and attorney’s fees. Allied Bank-West, N.A. v. Stein, 996 F.2d 111 (5th Cir. 1993)
Successfully represented the former president of Bay Area Bank & Trust and obtained a jury verdict rejecting a $5.2 million actual damages and $10.4 million punitive damages claim brought for breach of fiduciary duty and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act
Defended a Houston law firm and obtained a summary judgment dismissing a $36 million lawsuit involving allegations of fraud, defamation, misrepresentation, and due process violations related to the law firm’s investigation of theft charges within the Houston Independent School District
Obtained a summary judgment for a Houston law firm dismissing a $160 million legal malpractice claim arising from a lawsuit involving a $14 million note and guaranty
Won an arbitration award of approximately $3.6 million on behalf of a major oil field service company from a Fortune 500 Company for breaches of warranties in the Purchase and Sale Agreement involving the acquisition of the international operations of a division of the Fortune 500 Company
Recovered approximately $1.8 million on behalf of individual investors who had invested in a series of transactions involving an entity that the SEC subsequently had taken over as a Ponzi scheme
Participated in the seminal case in Texas holding that an absolute pollution exclusion in an insurance policy was unambiguous in excluding coverage for an occurrence involving the escape of hydrofluoric acid at a refinery. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. v. CBI Industries, Inc., 907 S.W.2d 517 (Tex. 1995)
Successfully defended Texas homebuilders from construction and sales claims brought under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Residential Construction Liability Act
Successfully obtained a summary judgment holding no duty to defend under a sudden and accidental pollution exclusion wherein the Fifth Circuit held: (1) the clause contains a temporal component; (2) the underlying petition described gradual pollutions in the regular course of a dry cleaning business; (3) to the extent the underlying pleadings were incomplete, extrinsic evidence could be considered; (4) the microanalysis approach of the insured relating to each discrete spill was rejected; and (5) numerous pollution discharges over a number of years are not “sudden and accidental.” Guaranty National Ins. Co. v. Vic Mfg. Co., 143 F.3d 192 (5th Cir. 1998)
Successfully defended the City of College Station in unconstitutional takings and state created danger cases
Successfully transferred to Canada personal injury claims based on the doctrine of forum nonconveniens for a large Texas oil field service company
Successfully represented a major independent oil company in the resolution of a substantial dispute involving Working Interest Owners in the West Hastings Unit
Handled and disposed of over approximately 500 toxic tort claims in Texas
Regularly handled warranty, environmental, business tort and intellectual property disputes arising out of mergers and acquisitions involving many resources in the seven figure range.
Successfully represented both condemnors and condemnees in eminent domain litigation
Obtained $2.8 million on kidnap and ransom insurance policy concerning oil field service company plant takeover by disgruntled current and past employees in Venezuela
Successfully handled oil spill indemnity claims arising out of Hurricane Katrina.
Allied Banks
AMF, Inc.
American Standard Companies, Inc.
Apache Corporation
City of College Station
Complete Production Services, Inc.
Dynegy, Inc.
Equifax, Inc.
First Interstate Bank of Texas
Franklin Bank
Genmar Holdings, Inc.
Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority
Minstar, Inc.
Perry Homes
Southern Pacific Transportation Company
Targa Resources, Ltd.
Trane Air Conditioning
Various Montgomery County, Texas Governmental Officials
National Oilwell Varco
ACE
Affiliated FM
AIG
Allstate
CIGNA
CNA Insurance Companies
Commercial Union Insurance Company
Coregis
DPIC
Fireman’s Fund
First State
Hartford
Highlands
Interstate Insurance Company
Kemper
Lexington Insurance
Liberty Mutual
Northbrook
Orion
St. Paul
Ranger Insurance Company
Royal
TLIE
Zurich
- Houston Business Journal, “Face to Face”, Vol. 40, No. 36, Week of January 15-21, 2010.
- A Primer on Eminent Domain (Condemnation) Law and Procedure (February 2008)
- Counsel to Counsel - Brief Advice re Dispute Resolution
- Damages and Burden Shifting in Trademark and Copyright Cases
- End Runs, Piggybacks and Independent Injury
- Seven Habits to Avoid Lender Liability
- 2007 TADC Trial Academy-Faculty
- DRI BUSINESS SUIT, Seven Effective Habits to Avoid Lender Liability, December 2005.
- DRI BUSINESS SUIT, Seven Effective Habits of Highly Successful Litigators, November 2005.
- Trial Tips in Insurance Cases, Texas Insurance Law Symposium, South Texas College of Law (January 28, 2005).
- Confusion and Ambiguity: Contortions of Contracts, Houston Bar Association Seminar (December 9, 2004).
- The Implied Duty of Best Efforts, FOR THE DEFENSE, October 2004.
- Injunctions, TADC Spring Seminar (1991).
- Editor, TADC Practice & Procedure Newsletter (1990-1998).
- DRI BUSINESS SUIT, Gulf States and Fifth Circuit Business Litigation Updates (1999 to present).