Collin D. Shellenberger

Collin D. Shellenberger was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. He has spent his entire legal career with Germer, PLLC in its Beaumont office defending businesses and individuals in civil litigation matters.

Practice Areas and Experience:

• Collin has successfully tried cases involving serious injuries and death to verdict as lead counsel throughout the state and federal courts of Southeast Texas and East Texas. He has consistently maintained a dynamic docket of high exposure litigation matters—often involving catastrophic injuries and death, commercial trucking and transportation litigation cases, first-party and third-party insurance defense cases, ATV and boating accidents, and premises liability cases.
• A significant portion of Collin’s practice is also devoted to advising insurance companies regarding the best strategies for addressing complex insurance issues, such as bad faith allegations, Stower’s allegations, and extra-contractual claims. Collin also defends insurance companies when these claims are asserted in a lawsuit. Additionally, Collin provides coverage opinions to insurance companies and prosecutes declaratory judgment actions on coverage matters when necessary.

Experience with Unique Issues and Claims:

• Collin’s experience handling insurance defense work over the years has provided him with the knowledge and skill to assist with certain matters that can often be difficult to resolve, such as complicated minor settlements, settlements of death claims with limited liability limits and numerous claimants, and disputes over liens/subrogation interests.
• Collin has experience representing local businesses and individuals in unique matters; he has successfully defended funeral homes in lawsuits alleging improper burial claims, nail salons in lawsuits alleging personal injuries following manicures and pedicures, fraternity members and officers in lawsuits relating to fraternity operations/injuries, pharmacies and pharmacists sued for negligence in medication distribution, homeowners sued for sexual misconduct, homeowners sued by contractors who claim to have been injured on their premises, restaurants for injuries allegedly caused by staff or property conditions, and plumbing companies facing mold claims by customers. He has also successfully defended claims involving dog bites, placement of bollards outside businesses, and slip and falls.

Post-Accident Investigations:

• Collin is frequently retained by companies and insurance carriers immediately after an accident to ensure that evidence is properly preserved, to conduct pre-litigation investigations (often with expert assistance), and to begin to build an aggressive defense early on.

Local Counsel:

• Collin’s strong ties to the community and experience with the local courts make him effective when serving as local counsel in the courts of Southeast Texas and East Texas.