Anthony Russo

A Partner at Butler, Anthony J. Russo is a Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice. He heads our Appellate practice group where he focuses on Liability Defense, First and Third-Party Coverage issues, and Insurer Bad Faith. He emphasizes coordination with trial counsel, the carrier, and where appropriate, the policyholder, in order to promote the successful and efficient resolution of these appeals. Anthony is based in our Tampa office. Anthony graduated from Stetson University College of Law, with honors, in 1985. There he served on the editorial board of the Stetson Law Review. Upon graduation, Anthony served as a judicial clerk at the Florida Second District Court of Appeal for two years. He then practiced law as a civil litigator for several years in St. Petersburg, Florida before joining Butler in 1992. Anthony practices in all five of Floridas district courts of appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal. His practice areas include both first- and third- party coverage issues, insurer regulation, insurer bad faith, and the defense of policyholders, including trial support. A substantial part of his practice includes petition proceedings related to discovery order and other pre-judgment rulings requiring immediate appellate resolution. Anthony has maintained his status as a Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice continuously since 2002. Active consultation, regular reporting, and open communication are hallmarks of his approach. Publications October 26, 2016 PUBLICATION Whats a Court to Consider After a Post-Suit Payment? Most first-party insurance lawsuits are accompanied by a claim for attorneys fees based on section 627.428, Florida Statutes. The operative language of this statute has been part of Florida law for over a century, and the cases interpreting that language are legion. On September 29, 2016, the Florida Supreme Court issued its decision in Johnson v. Omega Insurance Co., which addressed the following issue... September 08, 2015 PUBLICATION Judge John Badalamenti Joins the Second District As a boy, Judge Badalamenti occasionally took the train from his home in Brooklyn to lunch with his mother, a bookkeeper working in the Southern District of New York courthouse. May 29, 2013 PUBLICATION Certiorari Redefined: Would the Functional Restatement Function? Some pretrial rulings can impose unbearable pressures on a litigant, change the course of a case, and cause lasting harm. Sometimes, your client just cannot wait until the end of a case to appeal. Imagine that the trial court has just issued a non-final order adverse to your client that you think will likely be reversed on appeal. January 04, 2012 PUBLICATION The Stay of Judgments and Proceedings in Florida State Courts This column is submitted on behalf of the Appellate Practice Section, Matthew J. Conigliaro, chair; Kristin A. Norse, editor, and Chris McAdams, Brandon Christian, and Bretton C. Albrecht, assistant editors. November 01, 2009 PUBLICATION The Likelihood of Success (or Failure) -- The Evaluation of Judgments for Appeal This article was originally published in For The Defense magazine, November 2009. 2009 Reprinted with permission. Recognitions AV Peer Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Board Certified in Appellate Practice Media Webinars August 09, 2017 WEBINARS Insurers, Policyholders, and Defense Lawyers: The Ins and Outs of the Tripartite Relationship Join Partner Anthony Russo as he identifies and analyzes the nature of the relationship between the insurer and the policyholder, the policyholder and the lawyer, and the lawyer and the insurer. He will explain the recent history and development of these rules since the release of The Florida Bar Report on Insurance Practices Special Study Committee (June 2, 2000). Practical problems will be discussed in the context of three real world lawsuits, a personal injury defense action, an insurance coverage action, and a legal malpractice action. You dont want to miss this webinar! February 18, 2016 WEBINARS Florida UM and Bad-Faith Litigation: Trial Court Options/Appellate Remedies Florida UM and Bad-Faith Litigation: Trial Court Options/Appellate Remedies Posts May 14, 2020 POST Butlers Thursday Tips #5 What is Appellate Law? Partner Anthony Russo offers insights on the practice of Appellate law. Stay tuned to find out more helpful tips! #Butler Legal #Thursday Tips #Thursday Thoughts February 27, 2020 POST Black History Month Katherine Johnson and Charles Drew In the last part of our miniseries highlighting several prominent African-American figures in history, we take a look at the lives of Katherine Johnson and Dr. Charles Drew. May 21, 2018 POST This offer expires in 30 days! No automatic extensions says high court The new rule? The filing of a motion under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090 to enlarge the time to accept a proposal for settlement does not automatically toll the 30-day deadline for accepting the proposal until the motion is decided. August 22, 2017 POST INSURERS, POLICYHOLDERS, AND DEFENSE LAWYERS: THE INS AND OUTS OF THE TRIPARTITE RELATIONSHIP PODCAST Join Partner Anthony Russo as he identifies and analyzes the nature of the relationship between the insurer and the policyholder, the policyholder and the lawyer, and the lawyer and the insurer. He explains the recent history and development of these rules since the release of The Florida Bar Report on Insurance Practices Special Study Committee (June 2, 2000). August 04, 2017 POST Still Keeping Us Guessing: Florida Supreme Court Poised to Clarify The Daubert Standard in Florida. Maybe. Earlier this year, the Florida supreme court raised a red flag on the new Florida Statute section 90.702 in In re: Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code, SC16-181, 2017 WL 633770 (Fla. Feb. 16, 2017). In that opinion the supreme court only noted it had grave concerns that (unidentified) elements of the new section 90.702 Daubert statute are constitutionally suspect - it gave no substantive ruling on the matter. July 26, 2017 POST The Continuing Saga of Sebo v. American Home Assurance Company: The Second District Court of Appeal Rules on Remand On July 20, 2017, the Second District Court of Appeal issued an order that closed its books on the Sebo appeal. Mr. Sebo made a homeowners claim to American Home contending construction deficiencies had allowed water to enter the residence at multiple points, causing, eventually, a complete destruction of the residence. The trial court ruled the concurrent cause doctrine applied, and so that the combination of covered water damage and excluded faulty, inadequate and defective construction had resulted in coverage for the loss. April 14, 2017 POST Supreme Court says lawyers referral of client to a doctor for treatment is attorney-client privileged communication, and out of bounds in discovery The Florida Supreme Court declared that the attorney-client privilege shielded a motor vehicle accident plaintiff from being required to disclose that her attorney had referred her to a doctor for treatment. April 03, 2017 POST Florida Supreme Court To Consider Rule Change Allowing Immediate Review Of Orders On Settlement Agreements The Florida Bar Appellate Rules Committee has proposed to the Florida Supreme Court an amendment to the appellate rules that would allow immediate appeals of orders that determine if, as a matter of law, a settlement agreement is unenforceable, was set aside, or never existed. February 21, 2017 POST Supreme Court speaks on Daubert - says not much Last week the supreme court issued its opinion on the recommendations of the Florida Bar Rules committee regarding the new Daubert statute. The supreme court noted there are grave concerns that (unidentified) elements of the Daubert statute are constitutionally suspect. But, in the end, Floridas Daubert statute is still the law of Florida - the Florida statute was not struck down or deemed to be unconstitutional. Practitioners still must comply with it. November 22, 2016 POST Johnson v. Omega Ins. Co. The Florida Supreme Courts opinion in Johnson v. Omega Ins. Co. is important for two reasons: It modifies the allowable use of a presumption established in Floridas statutory sinkhole scheme; and it explains, and perhaps broadens what trial courts may consider when deciding whether to award attorneys fees under section 627. 428 when a payment is made after suit is filed. August 01, 2016 POST Second DCA Reaffirms Sinkhole Insurers Contractual Right to Withhold Payment for Subsurface Repairs Until the Policyholder Presents a Signed Contract for Those Repairs Two new opinions show the Second DCA continues to hold that if an insurance policy providing sinkhole coverage authorizes the insurer to withhold payment for subsurface repairs until the policyholder presents a signed contract for those repairs, the insurer may abide the policy. July 25, 2016 POST Second DCA Reaffirms Orders Allowing Assignment of Homeowners Insurance Claims to AOB Companies In Start to Finish Restoration LLC v. Homeowners Choice Property & Cas. Ins. Co., 2D15-2206 (Fla. 2d DCA June 10, 2016), the Second District doubled down on its holding in Bioscience West, Inc. v. Gulfstream Property & Casualty Insurance Co., 185 So. 3d 638 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016). July 18, 2016 POST Second DCA Refuses to Allow Insurer to Obtain Settlement Information from Settling Co-Defendant In Allen v. State Farm Florida Ins. Co., 2D15-3114 (Fla. 2d DCA June 10, 2016), a sinkhole plaintiff sued two insurers for the same damage, and then settled with one of them before trial. June 02, 2015 POST The Florida Supreme Court Endorses Citizens Immunity The high court declared that Citizens is shielded from statutory bad-faith suits, and that bad faith is not a willful tort, which is a statutory exception to the immunity granted by the Florida Legislature. The vindication was a long time coming for Citizens. The Legislature created Citizens with a broad immunity that seemed clearly intended to shield it from bad-faith actions... Events June 06, 2019 EVENT Harvey v. GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. - Where do we go from here? This panel of experienced bad faith attorneys will discuss the landscape of third-party bad faith claims in Florida following the Supreme Courts recent opinion in Harvey v. GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. June 07, 2017 EVENT Florida Liability Claims Conference 2017 Anthony Russo from Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig presented in Orlando, Florida at the Florida Liability Claims Conference on the topic of Insurers, Policyholders, and Defense Lawyers: The Ins and Outs of the Tripartite Relationship . News June 03, 2019 NEWS Super Lawyers 2019 The 2019 Super Lawyers List is here, and were excited to show you our latest Super Lawyers and Rising Stars at Butler! May 31, 2018 NEWS Super Lawyers 2018 The 2018 Super Lawyers List is here, and were excited to show you our latest Super Lawyers and Rising Stars! June 29, 2017 NEWS The 2017 Super Lawyers List is here! Super Lawyers, a rating service for outstanding lawyers that utilizes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations, has selected multiple Butler attorneys as Super Lawyers in their area of practice. View our attorneys who are on the 2017 Super Lawyers List: View More