Recent Publication:
From 2019 to 2022, the Florida Legislature enacted four separate property insurance reforms that sought to rein in abusive property insurance litigation fueled by one-way attorney’s fee shifting and an army of professional plaintiffs filing lawsuits pursuant to assignments of benefits. In its...
Chad represents insurers in coverage and bad faith litigation and provides coverage opinions and advice throughout the claim adjustment process. He focuses his practice on commercial property, large loss claims, general liability, and claims with extra-contractual exposure.
Chad has successfully defended numerous multi-million dollar lawsuits in federal courts in Florida, including suits involving commercial property coverage, yacht coverage, allegations of fraud, and the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Chad is experienced in advising clients on multi-party claims and in defending multi-party litigation. He also has significant experience with litigating claims by condominium associations.
Chad regularly speaks and publishes on claims handling practices and emerging issues in the insurance industry, including the impacts of legislative changes on claim handling and litigation.
Chad earned his bachelor’s degree from The College of New Jersey and his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law. Chad graduated from law school in the top 10% of his class and was elected to membership in the Order of the Coif. While in law school, Chad served as executive editor of the University of Miami Business Law Review. He also earned the Dean’s Certificate of Achievement in Torts and Federal Income Tax and received the George Paterson Endowed Scholarship and the Priscilla Jewett Schneller Scholarship.
News
March 20, 2023
Cozen O'Connor is proud to announce the promotion of 29 attorneys to member.
August 22, 2022
210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
July 11, 2022
Super Lawyers has named 10 Cozen O’Connor attorneys to its 2022 Florida Super Lawyers list.
August 19, 2021
Best Lawyers selected 210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
February 07, 2020
Chad Pasternack was recently a presenter at the University of Miami School of Law. He spoke during the course titled, "Representing a Professional Sports Franchise."
Publications
March 29, 2023
From 2019 to 2022, the Florida Legislature enacted four separate property insurance reforms that sought to rein in abusive property insurance litigation fueled by one-way attorney’s fee shifting and an army of professional plaintiffs filing lawsuits pursuant to assignments of benefits. In its...
February 03, 2023
Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal recently affirmed a summary judgment entered in favor of a property insurer, holding that there is no conflict between the policy’s three year limitation for reporting hurricane claims and the requirement that the insured give prompt notice. In Navarro v....
December 16, 2022
For the fourth time since 2019, the Florida Legislature has enacted property insurance reforms aimed towards stabilizing a beleaguered insurance market. The bill, S.B. 2-A, creates a reinsurance assistance program, establishes additional oversight for insurers with high volumes of hurricane claims,...
July 12, 2022
Michael W. Melendez and Chad A. Pasternack wrote the article “Top Bad Faith Cases of 2021” for Westlaw Today.
June 01, 2022
For the third time since 2019, the Florida Legislature has enacted broad property insurance reforms with the goal of stabilizing the insurance market and curbing litigation filed by unscrupulous contractors. The bill, S.B. 2D, creates a reinsurance program, amends certain prohibited advertisement...
February 14, 2022
A Florida appellate court recently interpreted a “Concealment or Fraud” provision that voids coverage where an insured makes “material false statements” as requiring intentional deception, extending the split amongst the Florida appellate courts. In Vargas v. SafePointe Ins. Co., No. 3D19-1656,...
June 14, 2021
Two years after implementing
meaningful assignment of benefits reform, Florida enacted broader property insurance
claim reform. On June 11, 2021, Governor DeSantis sign S.B. 76,
which takes effect on July 1, 2021. S.B. 76 focuses on reducing insurance claim
litigation by, amongst other things,...
April 19, 2021
In two recent cases, the courts
showed substantial deference to patients’ treating physicians in determining
the reasonableness of medical treatment. This deference appears to reflect a
reluctance of courts to decide what healthcare is appropriate for a patient.
In Peterson v. Western National...
April 12, 2021
The key issue in insurance bad
faith litigation is whether the claims professional reasonably handled the
claim. Throughout the claims-handling process, the claims professional should
constantly ask him-or-herself whether the investigation is sufficient to
support a coverage determination and...
January 22, 2021
In first-party breach of
insurance contract actions, the parties oftentimes dispute whether the
policyholder may seek damages that are not explicitly provided for in the
policy, with the policyholder arguing such indirect damages flow from the alleged breach of
contract. By doing so, policyholders...
September 24, 2020
As a general rule, an insurer’s duty to defend arises under Florida law when the allegations of the complaint against the insured “fairly and potentially bring the suit within policy coverage.” Jones v. Fla. Ins. Guar. Ass’n, Inc., 908 So. 2d 435, 442-43 (Fla. 2005). This general rule is often...
March 24, 2020
In the wake of the Coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic, countless businesses have reduced or closed operations—some
permanently. Flights have been canceled, hotels and restaurants have closed,
and employees have been told to stay home. Naturally, businesses will seek to
offset their financial losses...
November 21, 2019
In Part I of this series, we explored the differences between institutional and non-institutional bad faith. For claims of institutional bad faith, plaintiffs often attempt to demonstrate a pattern and practice by offering evidence of claims of other policyholders. Unlike claims of institutional bad...
November 20, 2019
In Part I of this series, we discussed institutional bad faith and best practices for insurers to minimize the risk of these costly and intrusive lawsuits. In Part II, we will focus on cutting discovery off at the pleadings—by narrowing the plaintiff’s claim, you limit the scope of relevance in...
November 19, 2019
In Part I of this series, we discussed institutional bad faith and best practices for insurers to minimize the risk of these costly and intrusive lawsuits. In Part II, we will focus on cutting discovery off at the pleadings—by narrowing the plaintiff’s claim, you limit the scope of relevance in...
November 14, 2019
Broadly speaking, there are two types of bad faith claims that may be alleged against an insurance company—traditional or non-institutional bad faith, and institutional bad faith. For the former, a policyholder would seek to hold an insurer liable for its acts or omissions that directly and...
November 14, 2019
Broadly speaking, there are two types of bad faith claims that may be alleged against an insurance company—traditional or non-institutional bad faith, and institutional bad faith. For the former, a policyholder would seek to hold an insurer liable for its acts or omissions that directly and...
June 19, 2019
John David Dickenson and Chad A. Pasternack discuss the Florida Legislatures new law that protects policyholders and levels the playing field for insurers that play by the rules.
June 13, 2019
Law enforcement in Miami-Dade County, Florida recently arrested nine individuals described by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis as the “ringleaders of an elaborate fraud scheme” led by Barbara Maria Diaz de Villegas,[1] owner of the public adjusting company The Rubicon Group.[2] The...
April 26, 2019
This week, after 7 years of failed efforts, the Florida Legislature passed a meaningful Assignment of Benefits (“AOB”) reform bill. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced yesterday that he would sign the legislation designed to cut back on abusive AOBs, a practice that has plagued the...
April 23, 2019
The Eleventh Circuit, in J.P.F.D. Investment Corp. v. United Specialty Insurance Co., recently affirmed a district court’s denial of statutory attorneys’ fees to a policyholder that, to resolve a disagreement over the amount of loss, filed suit against its insurer instead of participating in...
Events & Seminars
Upcoming Events
June 21, 2023
- Webinar
John David Dickenson and Chad A. Pasternack will present a Cozen O'Connor webinar titled "Florida Insurance and Bad Faith Reform Update."
Past Events
October 27, 2021
- Webinar