Francesco J. Palanda

Frank Palanda counsels clients in matters involving commercial litigation, first and third-party insurance coverage, and title insurance. He works with corporations from a variety of industries on cases involving breach of contract and business torts, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, securities violations, civil conspiracy, and civil theft actions.

An experienced trial lawyer, Frank represents some of the world's largest real estate developers in litigation. He has litigated bad faith and coverage actions and has broad experience advising and representing insurers on first-party and third-party coverage matters and issues arising under general liability, automobile liability, and property insurance.

Prior to entering private practice, Frank served as an assistant state attorney with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office, where he prosecuted misdemeanor and felony offenses, conducted jury and bench trials, and managed all aspects of case preparation and jury selection.

• American Bar Association
  • Business Litigation Committee, Co-Chair
  • Litigation Section
• Florida Supreme Court Certified County Mediator
• Certified Criminal Conflict Counsel, Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida
• The Florida Bar
• Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator

• Recognized on the Rising Stars list by Florida Super Lawyers magazine, 2009, 2011

• Villar v. Scottsdale Insurance Co., No. 22-cv-21362-BLOOM/Elfenbein, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150763 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 21, 2024): On behalf of the insurance carrier, secured a ruling that the plaintiff was not entitled to statutory attorney’s fees or costs where the carrier made an undisputed claim payment within 90 days, and thereafter attempted to resolve a dispute as to the amount of loss by making a settlement offer that was not responded to by the plaintiff prior to filing suit.

• Garcia v. Dumenigo, 46 So. 3d 1085 (Fla. 3d DCA October 27, 2010): Obtained successful reversal of a temporary injunction requiring a $37,500 distribution to a shareholder because it did not maintain the status quo before the final hearing.

• LeMcke v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., No. 2:24-cv-46-JLB-KCD, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33009 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 27, 2024): On behalf of an insurance carrier, secured ruling that the carrier’s decision not to invoke appraisal in response to a notice of intent (NOI) to litigate does not constitute waiver of the right to demand appraisal after having responded to the NOI.

• Guerra v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., No. 23-cv-22467-ALTMAN/Reid, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182900 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 7, 2023): Judgement on the pleadings obtained based upon roof exclusion of policy.

• Atain Specialty Ins. Co. v. T. Disney Trucking & Grading, Inc., No. 3:21-cv-01097-CRK, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164539 (M.D. Fla. Sep. 15, 2023): Summary judgment obtained as to excess carrier’s duty to defend and indemnify based upon auto and employee exclusion of commercial general liability policy.

• Ramirez v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 548 F. Supp. 3d 1318 (S.D. Fla. 2021): Summary judgment obtained based upon the application of the water damage sublimit of policy.
• Ramirez v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., No. 20-cv-22324, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209716 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 29, 2021): Summary judgment obtained based upon the insured's failure to comply with prompt notice requirements of the policy.

• Co-Presenter, "Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Wildfires, Oh My!: The Use of Experts in Catastrophic Natural Disaster Cases," 2025 Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE Seminar, American Bar Association, March 7, 2025
• Co-Presenter, "Business Losses from Hurricane Damage - Claim Preparation and Presentation," American Bar Association, Litigation Section, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, Virtual Event, November 11, 2024
• Panelist, "Issues with Tracking and Using Claims Data in Claims Handling: Uses and Pitfalls of AI in Claims Handling and Litigation," Extracontractual Claims & Litigation Meeting, Tampa, Florida, April 17, 2024