Vincent Fernandez | Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

Vincent (“Vinny”) Fernandez is a Senior Associate in our Tampa Office.

Since joining the firm in 2018, Vinny has devoted his time to defending first-party property insurance coverage and extra-contractual matters during both the pre and post-suit stages.

Vinny has extensive experience aiding carriers with commercial and residential claims involving damaged property and business interruption due to hurricanes, collapses, earth movement, floods, termites, and theft filed by businesses, condominium associations, homeowners, and jewelers.

Vinny is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida and litigates cases in State Court and each of the three Federal District Courts.

Prior to joining the firm, Vinny graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of South Florida in 2013 and earned his Juris Doctorate from the Florida State University College of Law in 2017 (Go Noles!). While at FSU, he focused his course load on litigation, insurance law, alternative dispute resolution, trial advocacy, writing, and legal research.

After graduation, Vinny served as a Hearing Officer over a Medicaid Recipient Tribunal within the Agency for Health Care Administration’s Office of Medicaid Fair Hearings in Tallahassee, Florida. Just before joining the firm, he practiced criminal law as an assistant state attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in Hillsborough County, Florida.

Vinny also makes a point to educate his clients and peers. He has given presentations and has written several blogs regarding the changes that came with the first party property insurance and bad faith reforms. Those can be found under the Media tab. In 2023, Vinny was the recipient of Butler’s IMPACT Award, which highlighted his dedication to publishing exemplary and prolific scholarship.

With each file, Vinny demonstrates a level of competency, practicality, and commitment that has earned his clients’ continued confidence and trust.

Admissions

Florida

Education

University of South Florida
Bachelor of Science
Florida State University College of Law
Doctor of Jurisprudence

Memberships

The Florida Bar

Courts

United States District Court – Northern District of Florida
United States District Court – Middle District of Florida
United States District Court – Southern District of Florida

Media

Order Denying Motion to Dismiss under Florida’s Notice of Intent Statute Reviewable by Certiorari

Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal recently exercised its discretionary jurisdiction and granted review of an order denying a carrier’s motion to dismiss under Florida’s statute requiring notice of an intent to initiate litigation. In Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Walden, No. 3D24-196, 2024 WL 4031549 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 4, 2024), the Third District granted the carrier’s petition for...

The Main Event: Florida Supreme Court to Resolve District Court Split Over Retroactive Application of State’s NOI Statute

Tag-teaming with Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal, the Second District is also at odds with the Third and Fourth Districts on the issue of retroactive application of Florida’s litigation-intent statute. In Buis v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company, No. 2D2023-0655, 2024 WL 4096130 (Fla. 2d DCA Sept. 6, 2024), the Second District recently aligned with the Sixth Distr...

Federal Court has Jurisdiction over First-Party State-Law Declaratory Judgment Actions

Conversion of State-Law Declaratory Judgment Actions Concerning First-Party Coverage Disputes into Federal Declaratory Judgment Actions Is Not Required Upon Removal Addressing the thorny issue of whether a state-law declaratory judgment action had to be converted into a federal cause of action under 28 U.S.C. § 2201-2202 to defeat remand to state court, a federal court in Florida recently held...

Third District Court of Appeal Joins Debate Over Retroactive Application of Florida Statute 627.70152’s Presuit Notice Provision

On February 14, 2024, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal, in Fernando Cantens and Ana Marie Cantens v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, No. 3D22-0917 (Fla. 3d DCA Feb. 13, 2024), joined Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, in Cole v. Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 363 So. 3d 1089 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023), holding that the pre-suit notice requirement of section 627.70152...

Butler Presents the IMPACT Award for 2023

Butler’s Media Committee recently selected the recipient of the 2023 IMPACT Award. The word “IMPACT” stands for Insightful Marketing Promoting Attorney-Client Trust. Butler has a long tradition of legal scholarship. This award recognizes an Associate or Senior Associate with exceptional dedication to legal scholarship and outstanding contributions to Butler's scholarly content. We're ...

Insurers May be on-the-hook for Pre-Suit Attorney’s Fees, but Can Avoid Them by Considering Pre-Suit Settlement

Tendering policy limits to an insured in response to a Notice of Intent to Litigate, under section 627.70152, Florida Statutes (2021), precludes insureds from recovering pre-suit attorney’s fees from their property insurers in a subsequently filed litigation for the same claim. The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently held that plaintiffs are not entitled to attorney’s fees if a...

A Matter of Means and Methods: Florida Appellate Court Upholds Retroactive Presuit Notice Requirement

The presuit notice requirements of section 627.70152, Florida Statutes, are procedural in nature and, therefore, apply retroactively to insurance policies existing at the time the law was enacted (July 1, 2021). Herman Cole v. Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., No. 4D22-1054 (Fla. 4th DCA May 3, 2023). Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of an in...

Confined to the Four Corners by the Rules of Contract Interpretation

A Review of Shiloh Christian Center v. Aspen Specialty Insurance Company The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the plain text of an insurance policy trumps the parties’ subjective intent and expectations to the contrary, reversing the trial court’s entry of summary judgment. Shiloh Christian Center v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co., No. 6:20-cv-01774-CEM-LHP, 2023 WL 2920573, at ...

Attorneys Vincent Fernandez and Shaheen Nouri Published in Claims Journal

The Claims Journal recently republished a blog written by attorneys Vincent Fernandez and Shaheen Nouri discussing a Florida Supreme Court decision which answered the question of what it means to be a “disinterested” appraiser. You can read the Claims Journal article by clicking here....

Too Interested To Be Disinterested: The Florida Supreme Court’s Take on Disinterested Appraisers

“If you and we fail to agree on the amount of loss, either party can demand that the amount of the loss be set by appraisal. . . . [e]ach party will select a qualified, disinterested appraiser[,]” is a phrase known all too well by courts, carriers, policyholders, and their respective counsel across the State of Florida. On February 9, 2023, the Florida Supreme Court answered the question of...

Congratulations to our Newest Senior Associates!

We are excited to announce our latest Senior Associates: Stephen Udagawa, Dericka Burke, Vincent Fernandez, and Abraham Shakfeh. Click on their names to learn more about them....

Dodge’n Expert Bias Discovery Issues Raised in Worley

Expert witnesses are a critical part of litigation. A good expert can properly assess a case, help position a case for settlement and provide helpful testimony at trial. Like all witnesses, an expert witness’ bias may be discovered. This includes the frequency with which a firm uses a particular expert. See Allstate Insurance Co. v. Boecher, 733 So. 2d 993, 994 (Fla. 1999) (holding that ...

What’s in a name?

What Plaintiffs call a “confidential settlement negotiation”. By any other name would be an “other paper” and establish the amount in controversy. The Middle District of Florida recently considered the issue of whether Federal Rule of Evidence 408 and its Florida counterpart, section 90.408, Florida Statutes preclude a court from considering a confidential settlement communication as evid...

Butler’s Thursday Tips #2 | How to Keep Focus While Working From Home

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June – Welcome to our Newest Attorneys!

We extend a warm welcome to the newest attorneys to join our Butler family!...