Maria Vernace
Partner
Maria N. Vernace, is a partner with the Firm. Her practice focuses on business litigation at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts. Ms. Vernace has vast experience in defending legal malpractice and malicious prosecution cases. She is admitted to The Florida Bar, and the District of Columbia Bar.
Ms. Vernace served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Gary M. Farmer of the Fourth District Court of Appeal from 2004 through 2005. She is a 2004 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center, where she earned a Family Law Book Award, and was a member of the Nova Law Review, serving as its Editor-in-Chief in 2003-2004. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College, where she played intercollegiate basketball and volleyball, earning Volleyball Player of the Year in 1994.
Ms. Vernace authored E-Mailing Service of Process: It’s a Shoe in! (36 UWLA L. Rev. 274), and co-authored two NBI Seminar articles, including Effectively Resolving Disputes (May 2006), and Avoid Complications When Filing Lien Claims or Notices (February 2006).
Ms. Vernace is AV Preeminent® rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, and was awarded the Rising Stars distinction from Super Lawyers® for 2010-2014.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
- One year before trial, Partners David Keller, Dena Sacharow, and Maria Vernace assumed the representation of an excess insurance carrier in a long-running insurance coverage dispute spanning a full decade. After a jury trial lasting over two weeks in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in September and October 2018, Keller Landsberg PA secured a defense verdict against an excess professional liability insurer, that was seeking to avoid and shift responsibility to our client, the prior excess insurer, for its share of a $10 Million settlement of a professional liability claim against a prominent mid-size Miami commercial litigation firm. The Plaintiff excess carrier employed a well-known, highly regarded jury consultant to assist before and during jury selection, and presented expert testimony from a nationally recognized authority on excess and surplus lines insurance coverage matters. The Keller Landsberg team and its client prevailed without the use of a jury consultant and without reliance on expert testimony. A confidential resolution was reached after the defense verdict and no appeal was taken.
- Successfully argued appeal affirming final summary judgment. Keller Landsberg won summary judgment and attorneys’ fees in Palm Beach County, Florida on claims of malicious prosecution, and conspiracy against an attorney and his law firm for his actions taken while representing a condominium association, establishing that probable cause existed for the attorney to bring the contempt proceeding against the condominium owner on behalf of the association to secure payment of the judgment awarded the association for unpaid association fees. Rivernider v. Steven Meyer, et al., Palm Beach County Circuit Court Case No. 2013CA005398XXXXMB., Summary Judgment Affirmed, Rivernider v. Meyer, __ So. 3d ___, 2015 WL 5244635, at *2 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 9, 2015).
