Judd W. Goodall
Partner
Tampa Office
1410 N. Westshore Boulevard, Suite 200
Tampa, Florida 33607
Judd W. Goodall is a partner in the Tampa office of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. Mr. Goodall is an experienced trial attorney with extensive jury trial experience in state and federal courts. He manages a team of property insurance attorneys that focus their practice on first and third party insurance defense. Mr. Goodall has defended thousands of litigated insurance claims on behalf of insurance carriers and successfully defended many to defense verdict.
Mr. Goodall's depth of experience frequently has him advising and partnering with both Florida's largest and smallest property insurers in first-party property disputes arising from such diverse perils as hail, sinkhole, windstorm, fire, mold, water losses, fraud, Assignment of Benefits and liability matters. Mr. Goodall is often called upon to counsel on a wide variety of coverage issues important to the insurance industry and maintains his position on the leading edge of insurance defense strategies; including the development of proper strategies when adjusting claims to provide the greatest protections should litigation ensue. He routinely represents and defends insurers in coverage and "bad faith" actions and in litigation.
In addition to representing insurance companies in first-party actions, his career experience includes litigating and defending many complex liability cases on behalf of property owners, construction companies, medical professionals, health care facilities, claims of employment discrimination, violations of the Florida's Civil Rights Act, and various theories of medical malpractice, auto negligence, personal injury and wrongful death. Mr. Goodall is also involved in monitoring and analyzing proposed legislation, and advising clients on the potential impact of such proposed changes in the law.
As a lead trial attorney, Mr. Goodall routinely works closely with appellate counsel leading up to trial to not only work to preserve the record for potential appeal, but more importantly, to create a strong trial record for appeal on complex legal issues where his clients hope to create or clarify Florida law.
Mr. Goodall received his Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law, Florida, in 2003 and Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., with a major in Business Management and a minor in American Studies with an emphasis on History. While in law school, he earned a Certificate of Concentration in Advocacy and received the Book Award. He was also the recipient of the William F. Blews Pro Bono Service Award. He interned with the Pinellas County Attorney's Office and Hillsborough County Public Defender's Office.
Mr. Goodall is licensed to practice law in Florida and is a member of The Florida Bar; he is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Mr. Goodall's professional affiliations also include the Hillsborough County Bar Association and the Bad Faith Insurance Committee of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM).
Select Representations:
Appellate Matters
- State Farm Florida Ins. Co. v. Karen Colella, 95 So.3d 891 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)
- "Insurer" v. Justin Finley, 160 So.3d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)
- "Insurer" v. Hector Munoz, 1580 So.3d 671 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)
- "Insurer" v. German Alvarez, 2015 WL 6575711
- "Insurer" v. Michael Chmielewski, 2015 WL 3507493
Trials - Defense Cases
Niurka Simoneau & Jorge Perez v. "Property Insurer", 10-CA-13517, Hillsborough County, Florida (Tried May 2014)
- Defense Verdict - Plaintiff disputed amount of property damages for a covered loss and sought well in excess of the policy limits. Jury agreed with the amounts the carrier offered to fully repair the property.
Emad Hasan v. "Property Insurer", 12-CA-00169, Hillsborough County, Florida (Tried April 2014)
- Defense Verdict - In a breach of contract action, Plaintiff alleged that Defendant failed to pay full benefits due to repair the damages to the Plaintiff's structure and failed to approve proper repair protocol being advanced by the Plaintiff. The Defense demonstrated that the Plaintiff's estimates were grossly inflated and that the Plaintiff's repair protocol would not repair the property. Jury agreed with the Defendant on both issues.
Barbara McDowell v. "Property Insurer", 11-CA-00816, Hernando County, Florida (Tried March 2014)
- Defense Verdict - In a sinkhole case, Plaintiff alleged that the carrier did not conduct a statutory compliant investigation, the carrier breached the policy by not accepting to pay for a repair protocol being advanced by the Plaintiff's lawyers, and that the carrier did not pay all benefits due. The jury determined that the investigation into the Plaintiff's sinkhole loss complied with all provisions of the insurance policy and Florida Statutes. The Defense demonstrated that the carrier was very proactive in the adjustment of the Plaintiff's claim.
Alexa Llamosa v. "Property Insurer", 12-CA-04747, Hillsborough County, Florida (Tried February 2014)
- Defense Verdict - On a "Structural Damage" sinkhole denial case, the Plaintiff alleged that the carrier breached the insurance policy by failing to provide coverage for the Plaintiff's loss. The defense successfully argued that the carrier could not be in breach because there was no "Structural Damage" to the property.
Walter Bono v. "Property Insurer", 11-CA-06397, Pinellas County, Florida (Tried July 2013)
- Defense Verdict - Directed Verdict was granted by the Court at the close of the Plaintiff's case for failure of the Plaintiff to provide evidence to rebut the opinions of the experts retained by the carrier during the adjustment of the loss. The Court found that in the absence of contrary pre-suit evidence, the carrier's expert was presumed correct.
Sheila McNamara v. "Tower Hill Signature Ins. Co.", 11-CA-01018, Hernando County, Florida (Tried October 2012)
- Defense Verdict - Plaintiff alleged that Tower Hill wrongly relied upon its engineers when providing coverage to make repairs to the subsurface condition beneath the Plaintiff's home in a sinkhole dispute. The jury found evidence that the method of repair to stabilize the land, building, and repair the foundation by Tower Hill's engineers was correct.
Douglas Clark v. "Infinity Ins. Co", 09-CA-01448, Charlotte County, Florida (Tried May 2012)
- Defense Verdict - In this property damage case relating to a customized motor vehicle, Plaintiff alleged that Infinity breached the policy of insurance by failing to pay sufficient amounts under the policy to make the necessary repairs. Through the testimony of experts, photographs and argument, the jury found in favor of Infinity.
Alfonso Chechile v. "Nationwide Ins. Co. of Fl.", 08-CA-0140, Pasco County, Florida (Tried February 2010)
- Defense Verdict - This sinkhole case is regarded as the first of its kind to go to trial regarding the proper method of repair to Plaintiff's home and the amount of damages. Plaintiff alleged that Nationwide's engineer failed to design an appropriate plan to stabilize that land, building and repair the foundation. And, alleged that Nationwide failed to pay the full amount of benefits due to repair the building. The jury returned a complete defense verdict in favor of Nationwide on both counts.
Publications:
- Judd Goodall and Christopher Borzell, "Warfel v. Universal: The case of the Vanishing Evidentiary Presumption of §627.7073"
- Judd Goodall, "Bad-Faith is Back in Florida's Legislative Crosshairs"
Recent Presentations:
- "Help the Jury See the Truth!" presenting demonstrative trial aids in a 3D environment to clearly and efficiently showcase critical first-party property perils in a simple fashion to the jury that makes it easy for the jury to understand. (Tampa, FL - September 2012)
- "Florida's 2011 Legislative Insurance Reforms" presented at the 15th Annual Florida Liability Claims Conference hosted by Florida Liability Clims Institute and Florida Defense Lawyers Association. Discussion focused on the future of claims handling, coverage issues, risk management, first and third party actions, bad faith claims, and claims preparation. (Orlando, FL - June 2011)
- "Got that Sinking Feeling? Sinkhole Coverage from a Personal and Corporate Perspective." Presented at the Tampa Bay Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) meeting. Discussion of the enactment of SB 408, the recently passed Florida sinkhole law, passed during the 2011 Legislative Session and signed into law by Governor Scott. (Tampa, FL - June 2011)
- "Current Events in Bad Faith: The Gulf States" program co-presenter at the American Conference Institute (ACI) National Advanced Forum on Bad Faith Litigation. (Orlando, FL - November 2010)
QPWB Wins Property Insurance Trial