November 17, 2023 | Legal Alerts

Declaratory Judgment Actions in State and Federal Court in Florida

An insurance defense attorney has many tools at their disposal to address legal issues. One such tool is a declaratory judgment action, which can be utilized to define legal controversies before a matter becomes an entire lawsuit. Declaratory judgment actions allow parties to a potential action to determine their rights and responsibilities before a lawsuit is filed. This creates a helpful landscape of legal issues before any costly and time-consuming litigation commences.  

October 16, 2023 | Legal Alerts

Social Media Investigations – A Winning Strategy for Insurers

The cost of non-health insurance fraud each year is significant. This fraud results in increased premiums for customers and decreased profits for insurance companies. One of the best ways to identify insurance fraud is through surveillance, which can be used to verify or refute injury and loss claims. Investigations of social media platforms can provide valuable information about the legitimacy of a claimant’s assertions.

October 5, 2023 | Verdicts and Settlements

Fort Myers Attorneys Obtain Defense Verdict in a Construction Defect Case

Cris Casal, partner, and Glenn Gunsten, associate, from the Fort Myers office obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a grading subcontractor in a defense and indemnity jury trial on a construction defect claim in Collier County, Florida. The general contractor filed a third-party claim in which it sued all of the subcontractors whose scope of work was purportedly implicated in the underlying suit with the homeowner. The lawsuit was the culmination of six years of litigation in which all of the named subcontractors settled their claims against the general contractor prior to trial, except for the grading subcontractor. The jury deliberated for slightly more than an hour before returning with a defense verdict in favor of the grading subcontractor. The grading subcontractor will now seek to collect attorney’s fees and costs stemming from a rejected Proposal for Settlement that was served more than four years ago.