Exhibit 5.3
[ITT Letterhead]
ITT Corporation
1133 Westchester Avenue
White Plains, NY 10604
Ladies and Gentlemen:
     I am the Vice President and General Counsel of ITT Corporation, an Indiana corporation (the
“Company”), and as such I have acted as counsel to the Company in connection with the Registration
Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) filed by the Company with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”),
relating to the registration by the Company of $30,000,000 of deferred compensation obligations
(“Obligations”), which represent unsecured obligations of the Company to pay deferred compensation
to eligible participants in the future in accordance with the terms of the ITT Deferred
Compensation Plan (the “Plan”).
     I have examined the Registration Statement, the Plan, the Company’s Articles of Amendment of
the Restated Articles of Incorporation and the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws. I also have
examined the originals, or duplicates or certified or conformed copies, of such corporate and other
records, agreements, documents and other instruments and have made such other investigations as I
have deemed relevant and necessary in connection with the opinion hereinafter set forth. As to
questions of fact material to this opinion, I have relied upon
 
 
certificates or comparable documents of public officials and of officers and representatives
of the Company.
     In rendering the opinion set forth below, I have assumed the genuineness of all signatures,
the legal capacity of natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to me as
originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to me as duplicates or
certified or conformed copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.
     Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications, assumptions and limitations
stated herein, I am of the opinion that if and when the Obligations are issued in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the Plan, the Obligations will be valid and binding obligations of the
Company, enforceable in accordance with their terms, except as enforcement thereof may be limited
by the effects of bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and
other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally or by general equitable
principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).
     I do not express any opinion herein concerning any law other than the law of the State of New
York and federal law of the United States.
     I hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as Exhibit 5.3 to the Registration
Statement.
    |   | 
      | 
      | 
      | 
      | 
    |   | 
    Very truly yours, 
  | 
      | 
    |   | 
    /s/ Frank R. Jimenez
  
  | 
      | 
    |   | 
    Frank R. Jimenez, Esq.  | 
      | 
    |   | 
      | 
      | 
    |   | 
2