Media

Oct 04, 2023 | By Julius “Rick” Parker III

On September 13, 2023, the Third District Court of Appeal released its opinion in People’s Trust Insurance Company v. Banks.1…

Jul 05, 2023 | By Timothy Engelbrecht

A just machine to make big decisions, Programmed by fellows with compassion and vision …. Lyrics from the song I.G.Y….

Jun 08, 2023 | By Timothy Engelbrecht

Experts are key witnesses in any case.  They have the ability to testify about things that are usually beyond the…

Apr 26, 2023 | By Vincent Fernandez, Shaheen Nouri, Kristina Harris

A Review of Shiloh Christian Center v. Aspen Specialty Insurance Company The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that…

Mar 30, 2023 | By J. Blake Hunter

An issue that remains contentious is whether the Supplementary Payments provisions in the general liability policy provide coverage for attorney’s…

Dec 30, 2022 | By Shaheen Nouri

On December 16, 2022, Florida’s Governor signed Senate Bill 2A into law, bringing a number of changes to Florida’s insurance…

Dec 06, 2022 | By T. Nicholas Goanos

Bottom Line, Up-Front A recent South Carolina federal district court ruling interprets South Carolina law in a new and potentially…

Oct 24, 2022 | By Timothy Engelbrecht, William Collum

The adjustment of hurricane claims sometimes involve discrete issues regarding either special coverages under insurance policies or different types of…

Oct 10, 2022 | By Thomas Keller, Dericka Burke

The last week of September, 2022, the State of Florida braced for what was categorized to be one of the…

Sep 26, 2022 | By Barry Burkett, J. Blake Hunter

Generally, a case is not removable to federal court “more than one year after commencement of [an] action.” However, a…

Sep 06, 2022 | By Mihaela Cabulea

Every appellate attorney’s dream is a well-developed record on appeal without any unpreserved errors. But that is not always possible….

Jun 22, 2022 | By Adam Masef

Residency has long been the touchstone of insurability when it comes to homeowners insurance. Courts applying Pennsylvania law have held…

May 13, 2022 | By Barry Burkett, William Linero Jr.

On April 28, 2022, the Florida Supreme Court issued its decision in Dial v. Calusa Palms Master Association, Inc., which addressed…

Mar 07, 2022 | By Brian Hohman

Florida is replete with houses that contain cast iron pipes. After several years, those pipes deteriorate to the point that…

Feb 23, 2022 | By Barry Burkett

The effects of alcohol-impaired driving as it concerns life and limb are well-documented. Indeed, more often than not, the policy…

Oct 12, 2021 | By K. Clark Schirle

Hail damage is so typical in Texas that Chapter 542A of the Texas Insurance Code is known as the “Hail…

Sep 03, 2021 | By Jamie Combee Novaes

Does an insurer “open coverage” or “acknowledge coverage” for a claim by making a payment? No, it doesn’t. The Third…

May 26, 2021 | By Jonathan Barger, T. Nicholas Goanos

  The issue of whether labor can be depreciated when a property policy does not define the term “actual cash…

May 03, 2021 | By J. Blake Hunter

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage was first enacted in Florida in 1971.  PIP is also known as no-fault insurance, and…

Jan 25, 2021 | By John Garaffa

In a recent opinion, the UK Supreme Court has found coverage for business interruption as a result of business closures…

Oct 30, 2020 | By Vincent Fernandez

What Plaintiffs call a “confidential settlement negotiation”. By any other name would be an “other paper” and establish the amount…

Sep 24, 2020 | By John Garaffa

On September 8, 2020 the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued its decision in Port Consolidated,…

Sep 17, 2020 | By Julius “Rick” Parker III

On July 29, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Southern Owners Ins. Co. v. MAC…

Jul 22, 2020

A “Q&A” on Virtual Mediations in First-Party Property Lawsuits Q: Why is mediation used so frequently in insurance lawsuits?  A:…

Jun 29, 2020 | By Julius “Rick” Parker III

The standard ISO homeowners insurance policy contains an exclusion for damage caused by water which backs up through sewers or…

May 21, 2020 | By T. Nicholas Goanos

In the last 60 days, COVID-19 has affected us all. Federal and state governments have issued quarantine orders. Schools have…

May 15, 2020 | By Richard Gable Jr.

The Joseph Tambellini Restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania recently filed an Emergency Application for Extraordinary Relief to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court…

Apr 15, 2020 | By Matthew Lavisky

DOES THIS MATTER FOR INSURANCE POLICY INTERPRETATION? Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an Executive Order declaring a state of emergency…

Apr 13, 2020 | By K. Clark Schirle

States, counties and municipalities have issued “stay at home,” “shelter-in-place,” and other orders relating to COVID-19.  Many orders require the…

Mar 18, 2020 | By K. Clark Schirle

WILL ORDERS ISSUED BY GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES TO DEAL WITH THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS TRIGGER CIVIL AUTHORITY COVERAGE? Governmental authorities across the…

Nov 19, 2019 | By Roman Harper

INTRODUCTION Most first-party property coverage policies contain an appraisal provision that allows either the insured or the insurer to make…

Nov 14, 2019 | By Shaheen Nouri

A recent ruling in a U.S. District Court in Missouri may suggest a new path for policy exclusions based on…

Apr 26, 2019 | By Timothy Engelbrecht

The Florida Legislature just passed a bill that makes significant changes to the assignment of benefits (“AOB”) process in Florida….

Mar 07, 2019

In situations where a property insurer denies coverage, the insured often complains that it is faced with a difficult dilemma…

Jan 25, 2019 | By Matthew Lavisky

Ron DeSantis, the newly sworn Governor of the State of Florida, was given a unique opportunity to remake the Florida…

Sep 06, 2018 | By William Collum

Because there can be more than one individual or entity that holds an interest in the property, a property insurance…

Apr 18, 2018

It is not unusual for an insurance adjuster to arrive at a new loss to find that the insured has…

Feb 23, 2018 | By Timothy Engelbrecht

Florida first-party property insurers have seen a dramatic rise in the number of reported water loss claims over the past…

Jan 16, 2018 | By Timothy Engelbrecht

On January 12, 2018, the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill (HB 7015) that would dramatically affect the way…

Jan 08, 2018

Florida House Bill 911, “An Act Relating to Insurance Adjusters” became law on January 1, 2018. In large part, the…

Nov 06, 2017 | By Hudson Jones

Contingency fee multipliers increase attorney fee awards substantially. The general custom in American law is that each party is responsible…

Oct 24, 2017 | By Richard Gable Jr.

In a recent opinion, Judge Schmehl of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a forced placed insurer’s Motion to Dismiss…

Sep 25, 2017 | By J. Pablo Cáceres

The 2014 Florida Existing Building Code (the “Code”) contains what is conventionally called the “25 percent rule” (the “Rule”). The Rule…

Sep 12, 2017 | By Timothy Engelbrecht, T. Nicholas Goanos, L. Andrew Watson

Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have damaged large areas of Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, as well as brought heavy rain and…

Sep 08, 2017 | By John Garaffa

The number of claims arising from a significant wind event such as Hurricane Irma can create intense time pressure on…

Sep 07, 2017 | By John Garaffa

This weekend Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 Hurricane, is expected to subject South Florida to potentially catastrophic wind, rain and…

Jul 17, 2017

I begin this with the following caveat for all my grammar gurus out there: I understand that the word “any”…

Jul 05, 2017 | By K. Clark Schirle

Property policies typically include an exclusion for loss caused by or resulting from earth movement. Some insurers will provide coverage…

Jun 22, 2017

Background: For years, when a bad faith action was brought pursuant to a jury verdict in excess of policy limits in…

Jun 20, 2017

In Kendall South Medical Center v. Consolidated Insurance Nation, No. 3D16-926, 2017 WL 1908376, *1 (Fla. 3d DCA May 10, 2017),…

May 19, 2017

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in Pennsylvania recently issued a precedential decision that interpreted the definition of a…

Mar 21, 2017 | By Richard Gable Jr.

In the Ridgewood Group LLC v Millers Capital Insurance Company, No. 1138 EDA 2016, February 27, 2017, the Superior Court of…

Mar 14, 2017

The 2017 Florida Legislative Session convened on March 7. Of particular interest to property insurers are the following bills, which…

Jan 11, 2017 | By Timothy Engelbrecht, T. Nicholas Goanos

Insurance coverage litigation today is often time-consuming and expensive. Many cases include claims for “bad faith” damages, and some cases…

Jun 24, 2016

On June 14, 2016, the Department of Financial Services Consumer Advocate held a public forum in Boca Raton called, “Troubled…