The greater the complexity of the loss, the more frequent collaboration and sharing of resources is essential.  Lawyers who seek expertise in cases that compel punitive damages stemming from property insurance disputes should not hesitate to contact us at 813-258-4998.  Our seasoned, skillful insurance lawyers will show you why you need a trial lawyer who can successfully litigate these unique claims.  

A lot of firms can’t produce the same type of quality results when it comes to securing the permission required by the courts to sue insurers for punitive damages when they engage in bad faith practices.  As a result, these firms outsource or co-source the niche work related to litigating bad faith insurance disputes.  It is the best of both worlds.  Our goal is to provide seamless and efficient legal support services so other law firms can focus on their core legal activities.

Trials are fundamental to the administration of justice.  But not every lawyer is a trial lawyer, and not every trial lawyer has experience litigating bad faith cases or getting permission from the courts to sue insurers for lucrative punitive damages.  Repetitive conduct of forcing insureds into discounting or delaying claims by insureds can be challenging to collect and understand.  Examining the conduct of an insurer in multiple jurisdictions over years or even decades requires a strategy.  Many times, a case justifies hiring a data analyst who can gain access to behind-the-scenes activity by an insurer in the public record or through appropriately targeted Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests.  Only then can you demonstrate the necessary foundation to permit the court to allow you to seek punitive damages against an insurer, under Section 624.155, Florida Statutes, better known as the Florida’s Bad Faith Statute.

This synergistic model allows attorneys to outsource their work to external vendors like us who have subject matter expertise in a particular area of law.  It has become a popular concept for lawyers who are constantly trying to minimize their operating cost and maximize outside counsel’s competencies, putting their track record of success to the best use. 

Think of outsourcing as co-sourcing your legal services.  It is a collaborative process to increase profitability and maximize compensation and damages for the client. When other law firms hire us, they get more experience, better service, better quality, and their bad faith and punitive damage case’s value increases exponentially.  

With more than $500 million achieved in case results, Corless Barfield Trial Group can walk you through successes involving bad faith claims, insurance disputes, and punitive damages.  Turn to a trial lawyer who has the experience investigating and litigating these types of cases.  If you’re ready to speak to a member of our team, we encourage you to call us at 813-258-4998.  We look forward to assisting you. 

There is no bigger sporting event in the U.S. than the Super Bowl.  On Sunday, Feb. 7, Super Bowl LV will take place in our own backyard.  Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers, in Tampa, Florida.  

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the first NFL team to play the big game in their home stadium.  The Bucs will face-off against the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs.  Full disclosure:  CBTG Founder and Partner Ted Corless is a longtime, proud member of #ChiefsKingdom.  

Bucs quarterback Tom Brady looks to capture a seventh ring in his NFL-record 10th Super Bowl appearance while Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks to go back to back as the youngest QB to appear in consecutive Super Bowls.

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the first team in league history to host the Super Bowl, they won’t have a home-field advantage.  Raymond James Stadium, where the Bucs play, features a large pirate ship which fires off multiple rounds from cannons when the team scores a touchdown. However, in an effort to make the site as neutral as possible, the NFL has informed Tampa Bay that the team will not be allowed to fire cannons during the game. 

The Face Mask Rule

The big game is set against the backdrop of a raging pandemic with new strains emerging every day.  Tampa, a city of 388,000, has had more than 55,000 coronavirus cases. To stop the spread of COVID-19, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (D) issued an executive order making masks required outside Super Bowl event areas such as downtown, the Riverwalk, Ybor City, Channel District, and neighborhoods around Raymond James Stadium.  Face masks will also be required to attend the game, as well as for all those who pass through Tampa International Airport. 

Touchdown 

Corless Barfield Trial Group is a high-stakes insurance dispute and property damage law firm located in Tampa.  We advocate on behalf of insureds throughout Florida, and aggressively represent policyholders whose insurance claims have been underpaid, delayed or denied.  

We work as one team from the office and remotely in order to offer clients the best of both worlds in the age of coronavirus. With safety measures firmly in place, our office at 6812 W. Linebaugh Ave. remains a vibrant and vital space for collaboration, client meetings, Continuing Education classes, hearings, as well as mediation, arbitration, and trials.  Our goal is always the same:  Help solve your toughest and most complex legal issues …. wherever you are.

You can’t play today’s game with yesterday’s rules.  We are devoting the full breadth of our combined capabilities, skills, and experience to help clients through their insurance claims and lawsuits.  CBTG continues to adapt to a virtual courtroom.  If you believe you could benefit from speaking to a lawyer about your insurance dispute or property damage claim, please call us at 813-258-4998.   We’re open and available 365 days a year. 

Game Plan 

We want you to have a safe game plan for the Super Bowl.  The Super Bowl is the No. 1 at-home party event of the year but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has consistently warned against hosting large, indoor gatherings with people you don’t live with.  Remember to wear masks; stay 6 feet apart; use hand sanitizer; avoid crowds and poorly ventilated places; and wash your hands.  Taking precautions today can significantly help you tomorrow.  

Northwestern Mutual denied a life insurance claim, alleging that the decedent, Desmond Staple, took his own life, voiding a $1,000,000 life insurance policy.  Mr. Staple was found unconscious in his car in the middle of the afternoon in a Walmart parking lot with strong doses of acetaminophen and aspirin in his blood stream.  While Northwestern Mutual denies the claim and alleges suicide, Vernard Adams, MD, the former Chief Medical Examiner of Hillsborough County for 21 years, concluded that Mr. Staple’s death was the result of an accident. 

The parties are now being asked to make their case and any defenses remotely, via Zoom.  Courts, counsel, and clients have had to quickly adapt to new rules and policies for conducting legal proceedings remotely. 

CBTG Leverages Technology for Litigation Success 

Ongoing spikes of COVID-19 cases mean trials will look and feel different for the foreseeable future.  CBTG has been studying how the use of Zoom affects jury selection, jury behavior, motion hearings, sidebar conferences, evidentiary proceedings, trial testimony, and how our adversaries act. 

There are technology tools that CBTG utilizes to help clients – insureds and personal injury victims – proceed with cases in-person or virtually.  CBTG will gladly explain these options for in-person and Zoom trials.  Call us at 813-258-4998. 

Practice Makes Perfect

CBTG has prepared, practiced, and participated in a number of remote jury trials with tremendous success.  Preparation for a virtual or hybrid trial differs from an in-person trial.  We have learned that we can achieve efficiencies without sacrificing the persuasiveness and toughness for which we are nationally recognized.   

Team CBTG is constantly evaluating the impact of technology on witness credibility; best practices for examining witnesses; employing data-heavy science, medicine, and structural engineering reports; and presenting powerful exhibit displays or compelling demonstrations. Practice makes perfect, and CBTG practices and tests the impact of remotely trying cases a lot. 

Zoom Justice 

Court hearings on Zoom during COVID-19 can be challenging if you have not conquered video conferencing.  Our litigators, jury consultants, and appellate lawyers know the opportunities that exist with remote trials while being mindful of security and confidentiality concerns. 

We have noticed some law firms improvise with the new technology and courtroom proceedings.  That isn’t CBTG’s style or methodology.  

CBTG’s goal is to always achieve highly favorable outcomes for our clients at trial; that’s why we’re a trial law firm.  With regularity, we try and win cases. 

In fact, there is a reason why CBTG has a state-of-the-art recording studio in Tampa, FL.  We have embraced technology with unparalleled success.  If you build it, they will come. 

Not many law firms work closely with technologists, technical support specialists, and engineers to understand best practices of how to use camera angles, connectivity, and audio and video equipment to maximize victories in a virtual courtroom.  We do. 

Resilient or Resistant? 

The legal profession is filled with a variety of people with a range of talents and abilities.  Some lawyers are excellent with technology, and some are slowly learning or remain totally resistant to change.  Being skilled with technology is an unbeatable advantage in a remote courtroom. 

As we navigate the pandemic, our law firm has rapidly evolved to ensure that we are able to effectively use technology.  We aggressively pursue each client’s rights and interests. 

The trial lawyers at CBTG are available to discuss these issues further.  We can answer your questions about remote court hearings and trials or any other questions you have regarding insurance disputes, property damage cases, and personal injury law in Florida.  Find out how our firsthand knowledge of the law and technology can significantly benefit you.  Telephone: 813-258-4998.  Email: service@corlessbarfield.com.

In a case styled Sea Island South Condominium IV, Inc. v. Weston Insurance Company, currently set for a jury trial in Pinellas County, Florida, Weston Insurance Company representatives admitted to using adjusters with virtually no experience in handling hurricanes.  On its website, Weston Insurance Company describes itself as being “a focused windstorm specialist.” You would assume an insurer who claims to “specialize” in windstorm events, like hurricanes, would use claim adjusters with at least some degree of hurricane experience. 

Upon receipt of the claim, Weston Insurance Company sent out Patricia Childers a few weeks after the storm.  Ms. Childers testified that before Hurricane Irma, she had never previously adjusted a hurricane loss.  In fact, Ms. Childers was licensed in Michigan but had obtained a temporary, six-month license to adjust losses in Florida.  Unfortunately for insureds, any claim adjuster licensed in one state can apply to Florida for a temporary license, which lasts for only six months, regardless of their experience in dealing with hurricane claims.  Ms. Childers lacked any experience as a general contractor or as an engineer and was instead an experienced workers’ compensation adjuster.

Ms. Childers inspected the property in Clearwater Beach, Florida, in October 2017, and after taking a few photos, she immediately discovered that the loss was well outside her areas of expertise and experience.  “It was beyond my expertise,” she testified, “and I would feel better if my supervisor [Troy Winslow] just took it over.”  After sharing her concerns with Mr. Winslow about her inability to adjust the loss, he decided to take over the file. 

But, for reasons that remain unclear, Weston Insurance Company waited more than seven months until June 2018 before tasking Mr. Winslow to go back to the property to adjust the loss.  Unfortunately for the insured and the insurer, his six month temporary license had expired by the time he went back out.  Spoiler alert:  That’s very bad. 

Under Florida law, no person may be, act as, or advertise or hold himself or herself out to be an insurance adjuster unless the department currently licenses him or her. See Section 626.112(1)(a), Florida Statutes.  Any person who knowingly transacts insurance or otherwise engages in insurance activities in Florida without a license in violation of Florida law commits a felony of the third degree.

This case is set for trial by Ted Corless and Mary Catherine Lamoureux of Team CBTG against Weston Insurance Company for December 14, 2020, in Pinellas County, Florida.  Suppose you are an insured of Weston Insurance Company and had a clam adjusted by Troy Winslow during the timeframe described above. In that case, we’d like to hear from you, as Weston Insurance Company may have been using Mr. Winslow and other unlicensed adjusters in Florida for other claims. Call 813-258-4998 or email us at service@corlessbarfield.com.

We continue to live in unprecedented times, and as we approach 2021, there remains important questions about how to continue to move forward against our client’s adversaries.  Technological advancements have allowed us as trial lawyers to continue conducting court business and seek maximum compensation for our personal injury and policyholder clients for all accident and property damage claims.

The reality is, many civil jury trials will continue to go virtual for the foreseeable future.  The Florida Supreme Court is trying it out in several places, including Miami and Orlando.  The judge, clerks, attorneys, and jurors all gather in a virtual courtroom, listening to testimony remotely.  Florida courts are exploring various options to keep their dockets running smoothly but big questions remain.

Some courts are moving towards the restoration of in-person proceedings, but those will have a very different look and feel.  For example, only emergency matters, some criminal cases, and critical proceedings have been permitted to be conducted in-person.  Additionally, judges will have to identify metrics to monitor case backlogs and make recommendations on priorities while figuring out which proceedings should continue to be held remotely.

The Tampa Bay area’s circuit and county courts aim to resume having jury trials and grand jury proceedings.  All local courthouses require visitors to undergo basic wellness screenings and temperature checks.  Plans call for jury trials to resume in Hillsborough County starting October 19 and in Pinellas and Pasco counties on October 26. 

In our office’s insurance dispute arena, we are currently set for trials in mid-December, mid-January, and March of 2021.  In federal court, we have just received our first jury trial date for January 11, 2021, in the U.S District Court in the Middle District of Florida.  Whether there are enough jurors available for these trials remain to be seen. 

There will probably be a much higher percentage of no-show jurors after they receive their notices to appear for jury duty.  This is understandable, given that appearing for jury duty when you are already stressed at work raises the burden on each juror.

Suppose you receive a notice to appear for jury duty. In that case, if you have a material reason why you cannot serve, it is imperative you contact the court administrator and plead your case.  Do not be surprised if they listen but then tell you to show up anyway.  Then, at the initial conference in the courthouse, you can explain to the judge why you should be excused. 

Courts may consider whether you are responsible for another person (child care, elder care, etc.) but the excuse, “my boss won’t like me missing work” probably won’t persuade the judge, as the judge may then offer to call your boss and tell them the importance of this civic duty.  When judges make the offer to “call your boss,” most people decline and accept their fate for the week they will miss work.  If you must serve, it is against the law for your boss to fire you for that reason, but we all know, in a smaller work environment, it does not mean you won’t get pressured by your boss to attempt to avoid it. 

There are specific segments of the population who have been disproportionately impacted by coronavirus.  Reports show a higher percentage of people of color get COVID-19.  Much of this is believed to be because more African Americans than Caucasians have no choice whether to work from home or return to the workplace, where they have more regular exposure to the public. 

The new normal of civil jury trials raise questions about fairness, safety, and due process in a court system that, like everything else, is affected by the coronavirus.  There is substantial data to suggest that the juries selected during the pandemic would be less diverse and not truly representative of a jury of one’s peers. Our law firm intends to be extra vigilant on this point and protect our clients’ interests, even if it means delaying any trial. 

Corless Barfield Trial Group is here to answer your questions about personal injury and property damage cases, and how the COVID pandemic may impact the court system or your access to justice.  Call us anytime at 813-258-4998.