Biography
Dana Horton is an insurance litigation attorney with over 15 years of experience representing and advising insurance companies in large loss property subrogation matters, property insurance coverage disputes, and bad faith claims. Dana's experience includes handling proceedings from inception through resolution in state, federal, and appellate courts. She is a member of the firm’s Insurance + Reinsurance Group, and she serves as a co-chair of the firm’s Women’s Committee.
Large Loss Property Subrogation
Dana represents insurers who have compensated their customers for damage pursuant to their property insurance policies, and she pursues recovery from responsible third parties. She has handled numerous property damage subrogation claims, including damages caused by fire, water, roof collapse, sprinkler system failures, floods, marine losses and other miscellaneous causes. Her involvement begins at the outset of a covered event, which allows her to take a leading role assisting with and coordinating the origin and cause investigation, retaining necessary experts and consultants, and ensuring key evidence is preserved. She places potentially responsible parties on notice as soon as practicable and assists with all necessary joint inspections, examinations, and testing. Dana has successfully litigated and resolved large loss property subrogation cases in numerous states and federal courts throughout New England. She has also successfully resolved numerous subrogation matters for clients using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, including binding and non-binding arbitration and mediation.
Dana has obtained impressive results for her insurance company clients, including pre-suit resolutions, settlements as a result of ADR, and after trial.
Property Insurance Coverage Litigation
Dana also has extensive experience litigating and advising insurers on coverage issues. She has guided and defended clients throughout New England in various property coverage dispute matters. She has litigated numerous declaratory judgment actions where a coverage declaration was required and has been successful prevailing on dispositive motions in such cases. Dana also has used alternative dispute resolution strategies to assist clients with coverage disputes. In Indian Harbor Insurance Company v. Assurance Company of America, she successfully obtained summary judgment for a client from the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island for an insurer client in a case involving a builders risk policy coverage claim after a ramp collapse during a construction project. Dana regularly contributes to the firm's Property Insurance Coverage Insights blog.
Bad Faith Litigation
Dana defends insurance companies in extra-contractual claims and bad faith litigation throughout New England. Such claims include assertions that an insurer unfairly denied coverage or failed to promptly, fairly or adequately negotiate a settlement. Her work in this area includes property insurance and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
In a Rhode Island underinsured motorist/bad faith claim, where the plaintiff originally sought damages in the millions, she negotiated a dismissal of the bad faith claim, and ultimately the plaintiff only recovered a fraction of what was originally sought after a three-person panel binding arbitration proceeding.
Arbitration and Mediation
Dana was appointed as an arbitrator in the Rhode Island Superior Court-Annexed Arbitration program by the Honorable Alice Gibney, Presiding Justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court. Justice Gibney also appointed her to serve as a mediator during the Rhode Island Superior Court Settlement Week.
Pro Bono
Dana regularly does pro bono work, including helping an organization which provides residential and vocational services for developmentally disabled individuals. She handles guardianship-related legal services for the organization. She also frequently coordinates community food and holiday gift drives for the Providence, Rhode Island office through the various committees on which she serves.
Prior to joining Robinson+Cole, Dana was a litigation associate at a Connecticut-based law firm and was involved in a wide variety of litigation matters, including, but not limited to, insurance subrogation, insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, collections, creditors' rights, contracts, probate, property, personal injury, and municipal law. She is licensed and actively practices law in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire state and federal courts.
Upon graduation from New England School of Law, Dana served a one-year appointment as a judicial law clerk with the State of Connecticut Superior Court.
She has been honored as a 2021 Leader in the Law by Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly and recognized in Rhode Island Monthly’s Professional Excellence in Law awards in the area of Insurance from 2020 to 2022. Dana has also been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© in the area of Litigation - Insurance since 2016.
