Insurance Litigation Attorney J. Pablo Cáceres, Butler

Pablo, a Partner, joined the firm in 1997. He primarily litigates complex First and Third-Party Coverage matters in state and federal courts, including appeals. Pablo has successfully handled hundreds of hurricanes and other high-value property claims, totaling well into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and he has defended E&O claims asserted against multi-national insurance brokers. He also has significant litigation experience with first and third-party bad faith claims.

Pablo was raised in North Carolina and received his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is admitted to all Florida federal Courts and is a member of the bar in Florida and Texas. Pablo handles insurance matters in both Florida (through his home Tampa office) and Texas (through our Dallas office).

Before joining Butler, Pablo practiced in Virginia and Texas, handling a broad range of civil litigation matters. He is active in the Defense Research Institute and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He is fluent in Spanish. When he isn’t litigating, Pablo often gives presentations on insurance-related issues and spends time making authentic Neapolitan pizza in his backyard, wood-fired oven.

Admissions

Florida
Texas

Recognitions

AV Peer Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

Education

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bachelor of Arts
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law
Doctor of Jurisprudence

Memberships

Defense Research Institute (DRI)
Property & Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB)
State Bar of Texas
The Florida Bar
Virginia State Bar Association

Courts

Florida Federal Courts

Experiences

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

Castle Beach Club Condominium, Inc. v. Citizens Property Ins. Corp. 96 So.3d 964 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)

Citizens Property Ins. Corp. v. Admiralty House, Inc. 66 So. 3d 342 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011)

Citizens Property Ins. Corp. v. Cuban-Hebrew Congregation of Miami, Inc. 5 So.3d 709 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)

Citizens Property Ins. v. La Mer Condominium Assoc., Inc. 37 So. 3d 988 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)

DriRite of Cent. Florida Inc. v. Ironshore Ins., Ltd. 2009 WL 5171771 (M.D.Fla., Dec. 22, 2009)

In Re Sandell 2005 WL 1429746 (Bkrtcy.M.D.Fla., June 9, 2005)

Lane v. Westfield Ins. Co. 862 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)

Langhorne v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. 432 F.Supp.2d 1274 (N.D.Fla. 2006)

Palmer v. Westfield Ins. Co. 2006 WL 2612168 (M.D.Fla., June 30, 2006)

Terra-ADI Intern. Dadeland, LLC v. Zurich American Ins. Co. 2007 WL 2460744 (S.D.Fla., Aug. 24, 2007)

Terra-ADI Intern. Dadeland, LLC v. Zurich American Ins. Co. 2007 WL 675971 (S.D.Fla., March 1, 2007)

Terra-ADI Intern. Dadeland, LLC v. Zurich American Ins. Co. 2007 WL 778611 (S.D.Fla., March 7, 2007)

Tristar Lodging, Inc. v. Arch Speciality Ins. Co. 434 F.Supp.2d 1286 (M.D.Fla. 2006)

Media

Appraisals in Hurricane Alley

Partners Pablo Cáceres and Nicholas Goanos presented "Appraisals in Hurricane Alley" for the LEA Webinar Series on June 21, 2021. The Insurance appraisal law and tactics on the Gulf Coast and S.E. U.S. states can, at times, mystify the experts who have worked on these claims. These large exposure property losses have been subjected to appraisal demands as a matter of standard practice by public ...

Insurance Coverage Issues Arising from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma Webinar

Partner Pablo Cáceres and co-presenter Jay Jackter of Safeco Insurance Company will present a webinar titled "Insurance Coverage Issues Arising from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma" for the Defense Research Institute on November 7. This presentation will address the insurance coverage issues that have arisen following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida, respectively. It will discuss t...

First-Party Property: Bad Faith Allegations In Catastrophic Claims

J. Pablo Cáceres presented "First-Party Property: Bad Faith Allegations in Catastrophic Claims" at the DRI Insurance Bad-Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability seminar on June 7, 2019 in Westin Washington, DC. This presentation identified common problems associated with “CAT” claims and discusses how to avoid or mitigate exposure....

Butler Wins Dismissal of a First-Party Bad Faith Claim Involving a Civil Remedy Notice That Listed a Different Household Policy

In Florida, an insured cannot bring a first-party bad faith claim based on a claim for UM coverage unless the insured first files a Civil Remedy Notice (CRN) with the Florida Department of Financial Services. In Mathurin v. State Farm, Butler recently vindicated the importance of this step by winning dismissal of a first-party bad faith action where the CRN did not match up with the Complaint. A...

Florida Insurance Appraisals: Don’t Get Me Started!

This article is originally a publication of Southern Loss Association, Newsletter December 2017. Legal opinions may vary when based on subtle factual differences. All rights reserved. Since the start of my insurance coverage career, I have had a legal-philosophical interest in insurance appraisals. It has been a frustrating and fascinating roller coaster ride of appellate and Florida Supreme Cou...

A Primer on Florida’s “25 Percent Rule” for Roof Repair/Replacement

The 2014 Florida Existing Building Code (the “Code”) contains what is conventionally called the “25 percent rule” (the “Rule”). The Rule applies to roof repair of any commercial or residential building. In a nutshell, the Rule states that if more than 25 percent of a roof or section of a roof is “repaired, replaced, or recovered” then the “entire roofing system” or “roof sec...

Hurricane Hindsight is 20/20

It took years of depositions and other discovery to realize that that most of my 2004-2005 hurricane condominium association claims were much simpler to defend than I thought. The center of gravity of these claims was the proper calculation of Actual Cash Value (ACV). ACV is a concept used to describe an intangible and subjective value of physical damage. Compare that with Replacement Cost (RC...

Hurricane Harvey: Time Requirements

Butler stands ready to assist you with Hurricane Harvey's claims in Texas. Harvey’s CAT 4 winds devastated Rockport, TX, and the surrounding area. Flooding has been catastrophic. As the flooding and rains subside, insurers are receiving many thousands of property insurance claims. Throughout the next few months, Butler will send you information that may be useful to your handling of Harvey's c...

Florida Water Loss Claims: What’s Owed, And When?

This article is originally a publication of Law360. Legal opinions may vary when based on subtle factual differences. All rights reserved. Water loss lawsuits have spiked dramatically in Florida during the past few years. Insurers simply cannot resolve the unusually large differences in water damage estimates. Scope of estimated matching work usually explains the disparity. And litigation ens...

87th Annual Meeting & Educational Conference

Kathy Maus and Pablo Caceres presented at the 87th Annual Meeting & Educational Conference on January 26, 2017 at the Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina. On the topic of "Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Faith? Spotting the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing". The program compared elements of Florida’s unique 1st party insurance bad faith law with those of other states and perhaps show how the fea...

A “Top Ten” List for Handling Condominium Association Claims

Condominium association property claims can be contentious and confusing. Large condominium buildings often are the subject of multi-million dollar insurance claims, lawsuits, and appraisals. The “cookie-cutter” nature of condominium unit construction dramatically increases damage claims and requires prudent consideration and allocation of resources for proper and expedient claims handling. W...

Ensuing Loss: Chicken Or The Egg 2.0

Pablo Cáceres presented "Ensuing Loss: Chicken or the Egg 2.0" to a national client on Thursday, May 12th. The presentation was a "wipe the slate clean" discussion of ensuing loss coverage. What exactly does the concept mean? When does it apply to afford coverage for all or part of a loss? How important are slight policy language differences? What are the important cases you should know? This pre...

2015 Dri Insurance Coverage And Claims Institute

Pablo Caceres spoke at the DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute on March 25, 2015. Pablo's topic was, "Negotiating Skills for Coverage Attorneys." ...

Pablo Cáceres Featured in Hispanic Executive

The firm is pleased to announce that Pablo Cáceres is featured in the April/May/June 2014 edition of Hispanic Executive. READ THE ARTICLE...

Adta Webinar

Pablo Cáceres presented an ATDA webinar on November 18, titled, "Preparing Insurance Company Executives, Adjusters & In-House Counsel for Deposition." ...

Plrb Claims Conference

Pablo Cáceres spoke at PLRB's 2013 Claims Conference in Boston on March 17, 2013. Pablo's topic was, "Ensuing Loss."...

Ripe For Campbell Review: A Florida Uninsured Motorist Claimant’s Statutory Right To Recover Excess Verdict Damages In A Bad Faith Action

This is one of a series of articles under the by line “Butler on Bad Faith” originally published in Mealey's Litigation Report: Insurance Bad Faith, Vol. 21, #18, page 29 (January 22, 2008). [Editor's Note: J. Pablo Caceres is a partner with the law firm of Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP, with offices in Charlotte, Miami, Mobile, Tallahassee, and Tampa. He litigates a broad range of first a...

Recovery Of Damages For Emotional Distress In Tort, Contract And Statutory Bad Faith Actions

This is one of a series of articles under the by line "Butler on Bad Faith" originally published in Mealey's Litigation Report: Bad Faith, Vol. 12, #6, p. 22 (July 21, 1998). Copyright Butler 1998. Emotional distress damages may be the most significant aspect of any bad faith action in jurisdictions that allow them. This article outlines the several theories that justify the recovery of such dama...