Rob Ureta handles complex civil litigation matters in state and federal courts involving insurance and general liability defense of matters including professional liability, premises liability, negligent security, personal injury, product liability, wrongful death, automobile/trucking liability, contract disputes and indemnification disputes.
Rob also has represented large and small corporations in a wide range of business law matters including business litigation, commercial and contractual disputes, business formation, business planning, and mergers and acquisitions. In addition, Rob has extensive experience in the areas of commercial and residential real estate transactions involving purchases, sales and financing transactions.
In combination with his extensive litigation experience in the business arena, Rob brings a unique perspective to the practice of law, enabling him to anticipate issues that may arise in contractual documents he prepares for clients.
Areas of Focus
Professional Liability
In his professional liability practice, Rob has successfully defended attorney clients and other professionals against claims brought under errors and omissions (E&O) policies. In addition to representing lawyers, his E&O experience extends to the defense real estate appraisers, real estate brokers, title insurance agents, title abstractors, home inspectors, surveyors, architects and engineers, and other professionals.
Commercial Litigation
Rob has represented clients in a wide variety of complex commercial, contract and corporate litigation matters, including shareholder and partnership disputes, business “divorce” and corporate/ LLC/ partnership dissolution proceedings, employer unfair competition claims involving non-compete agreements, trade secrets, trademarks, confidentiality agreements and business defamation.
Insurer Litigation: Coverage/Extra-Contractual
Rob handles all aspects of coverage and extra-contractual cases – first and third party − from inception to resolution. In addition to litigating matters, Rob analyzes coverage, issues coverage opinions, and prepares reservation of rights and disclaimer letters.
Representative Matters
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. v. B.G. Phillips – obtained summary judgment in favor of a real estate appraiser in a negligence action brought by Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (LBHI). LBHI was forced to repurchase a first and second mortgage it sold on the secondary mortgage market after the purchaser of mortgages determined that the borrower had misrepresented his income and that Phillips had allegedly overvalued the property when she performed a real estate appraisal in connection with the origination of the mortgages. After extensive discovery, it was discovered that LBHI had notice of Phillips’s alleged negligence when it was forced to repurchase the first mortgage more than four years prior to filing suit. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida agreed with Phillips that even though the specific amount of damages was unknown at the time, LBHI had notice of the right of action no later than December 19, 2007, the date on which it repurchased the first mortgage, more than four years before it filed the complaint; affirmed on appeal by U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit.
Llano Financing Group, LLC v. Petit – obtained dismissal of action alleging professional liability of real estate appraiser based on Statute of Limitations, where issue was date cause of action accrued; affirmed on appeal by Fla. 1st DCA.
Llano Financing Group, LLC v. Martin – obtained dismissal of action alleging professional liability of real estate appraiser based on Statute of Limitations, where issue was date cause of action accrued; affirmed on appeal by Fla. 2nd DCA.
Llano Financing Group, LLC v. Kanzki – obtained dismissal of action alleging professional liability of real estate appraiser based on plaintiff’s lack of standing, where issue was whether secondary market purchaser of mortgage had standing to maintain action against real estate appraiser involved in the original lending transaction, and on Statute of Limitations, where issue was date cause of action accrued; affirmed on appeal by 3rd DCA.
Pelican View Project, LLC v. Boyle & Drake, Inc. – obtained summary judgment in favor of real estate appraiser retained by lender to perform periodic inspections of property pursuant to plaintiff’s construction loan agreement with lender; the court agreed with defendant that appraiser did not owe a duty to plaintiff/mortgagor; affirmed on appeal by Fla. 4th DCA.