Joseph Miele concentrates his practice in the representation of insurers in all aspects of complex insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. He has a broad range of experience in coverage and liability matters involving construction defects, environmental and toxic torts, directors’ and officers’ liability and intellectual property. He has substantial experience in litigation surrounding defective Chinese drywall claims, including coverage issues under first party property and third party liability policies.

Mr. Miele has represented many primary and excess insurers against both Fortune 500 companies and individuals. He has handled hundreds of these cases in Florida, New York and New Jersey, and successfully resolved multimillion-dollar coverage and bad faith actions by disputing coverage obligations and defending his clients’ claim handling practices.

Mr. Miele also represents insurers in Department of Insurance investigations. He counsels insurers on proper claim handling, reviews and drafts policy language and analyzes and suggests legislative reforms. Some of Mr. Miele’s significant representative matters include:

• Defense verdict representing a co-primary insurer in multimillion-dollar construction defect coverage arbitration based on trigger of coverage. Damage manifested itself outside of the period of coverage and there was no evidence in record of progressive damage during the policy period.
• Successfully argued that a workers’ compensation claimant does not have an individual right to sue the compensation carrier for his employer in breach of contract because he was not in privity of contract and had no contractual rights under the policy pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act.
• Successfully argued that a bad faith claim should be dismissed because of fatal flaws in the timing and content of the required Civil Remedy Notice of Insurer Violation.
• Successfully argued that a “line item” form of award was properly used in appraising a $10 million condominium hurricane loss.
• Successfully argued that “additional coverage extensions” did not apply where allegation was that disgruntled employee poured muriatic acid down a drain system in an apartment complex, leading to significant corrosion and leakage of the drain system.
• Successfully argued that damage caused on an insured’s disposal of waste product was barred by pollution exclusion and was not an occurrence.
• Successfully argued that an insured which sold its contaminated waste stream as a “product” was barred from recovery for clean up costs pursuant to a product exclusion in a liability policy.
• Successfully argued that strict liability imposed by environmental remediation statutes was akin to a judgment against the insured for purposes of triggering the statute of limitations.
• Successfully argued that extended PIP coverage did not apply to insured’s son because he was not a resident relative at the time of the accident and that PIP statute did not invalidate contrary policy provisions.

Mr. Miele joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in October 2009. Previously he was a partner and chair of the Florida Coverage Practice Group at Marshall, Dennehy, Warner, Coleman & Goggin in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

He began his legal career in 1991 as litigation counsel at American International Adjustment Company/AIG in New York. He entered private practice in 1993 as an associate at Purcell, Ries, Shannon, Mulcahy & O’Neill in Bedminster, New Jersey, and moved to St. John & Wayne LLC where he practiced in both their New York and Newark offices. In 2000 Mr. Miele became an associate at Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP, in Miami.

In 2002, Mr. Miele joined the Miami office of Arnstein & Lehr, LLP as a partner, and then moved to Adorno & Yoss, in Ft. Lauderdale in 2004, where he remained until joining Marshall, Dennehy in 2007.

He is a member of The Florida Bar and the District of Columbia Bar Association. Mr. Miele has prepared and delivered many seminars on insurance coverage and bad faith law in Florida. Joseph enjoys automobile restoration, modification and racing. He is also a performing musician.