Thomas H. Hearne

Graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1978;

Member of the Missouri Law Review;

Co-author of the "Actions on Policies" chapter (1995 Edition) of the Missouri Bar Association CLE Insurance Treatise;

Admitted to practice law before all Courts of the State of Missouri, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, and the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. 

Hearne & Pivac

The law firm of Hearne & Pivac was founded in 1996 for the purpose of representing individuals and businesses who have been underpaid or wrongfully denied insurance benefits for a personal or commercial loss.  It has successfully resolved by settlement or trial hundreds of insurance claims and is regarded as a leading firm in the area of first party insurance practice.  A substantial part of its practice consists of cases referred by other attorneys.  Other areas of law practice include estate litigation, business litigation, class actions, insurance coverage litigation, defamation, and election law.

Hearne & Pivac practices in state and federal courts throughout the southwest, central and eastern areas of Missouri.  It has obtained three of the largest defamation verdicts against insurance companies in Missouri history.  Hearne & Pivac fundamentally changed Missouri law when the Missouri Supreme Court held for its client and adopted strict standards requiring insurance companies to thoroughly investigate and honestly inform an insured of the basis of its reasons for denying a claim or be subject to damages for defamation and punitive damages.