mkeegan@jasilaw.com
Office: (561) 420-0583
Bar Admissions
Florida, 2001; Bar Number 503371
Massachusetts, 2002; Bar Number 651333
Education
J.D., cum laude, 2001, University of Miami School of Law
B.A., cum laude, 1998, University of Miami
Court Admissions
United States Supreme Court (2010)
United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit (2002)
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit (2002)
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (2002)
United States District Court, Southern District of Florida (2002)
United States District Court, Middle District of Florida (2002)|
United States District Court, Northern District of Florida (2002)
United States District Court, District of Massachusetts (2002)
Professional Experience
Mr. Keegan, a native of the Boston area and 20+ year South Florida resident, has spent his entire career representing a wide range of clients in complex litigation matters, trials, and appeals at all levels of Florida’s state and federal court systems. Mr. Keegan has collected millions of dollars for Florida condominiums, cooperatives and homeowners associations both in insurance proceeds following the 2004/5 hurricanes that ravaged South Florida and through the successful prosecution of over 6,000 assessment collection and lien foreclosure matters against delinquent property owners. He has provided guidance to these Florida community associations on insurance and general liability matters, defended those associations from actions brought by unit owners seeking money damages and injunctive relief, and initiated actions against unit owners for violations of Florida law or the association’s governing documents.
Mr. Keegan also has extensive experience in maritime law, where he defended vessel owners, major cruise lines, and marine insurers from catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death claims and prosecuted subrogation recovery actions on behalf of marine insurers.
Mr. Keegan has actively litigated multi-million dollar hurricane and other casualty cases, most of which are in Federal Court. The following are decisions in some of these cases:
Casualty and Insurance Litigation
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
2009 WL 5103606 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (denying insurers’ Daubert motion to exclude testimony of window/sliding glass door expert).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
674 F.Supp.2d 1333 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (adopting Florida’s “prevention doctrine”; denying insurer’s motion for summary judgment on issues of late notice, increased cost of construction/law and ordinance coverage, and purported failure to comply with policy’s no action clause).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
674 F.Supp.2d 1328 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (addressing an issue of first impression in the Southern District of Florida; denying excess insurer’s motion for summary judgment on exhaustion issue; holding that exhaustion of primary property insurance policy was a condition precedent to liability but not a condition precedent to litigation).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
674 F.Supp.2d 1321 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (denying insurers’ Daubert motion to strike Plaintiff’s expert who was initially retained by insurers to adjust claim on their behalf; discussing qualifications for expert testimony).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
2009 WL 4894322 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (denying insurers’ Daubert motion to exclude testimony of Hurricane Wilma causation expert).
- Florida Ins. Guar. Ass’n, Inc. v. Devon Neighborhood Ass’n, Inc.
33 So.2d 48, 34 Fla. L. Weekly D2484 (Fla. 4th DCA Dec. 2, 2009) (statutory amendment subjecting commercial residential policies to mediation provisions of statute was not an unconstitutional impairment of existing contract).
- El-Ad Residences At Miramar Condominium Association, Inc. v. Mt. Hawley Ins. Co. and Westchester Surplus Lines Ins. Co.
2009 WL 3019786 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (denying insurer’s motion to dismiss; applying Iqbal standard; holding that assertion that “[a]ll conditions precedent to the filing of this action have occurred and/or have been waived” satisfies Rule 9(c) and does not provide a basis for dismissal).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
,2009 WL 2746368 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (denying insurers’ motion to strike Plaintiff’s expert reports; finding ambiguity in Court’s Scheduling Order regarding deadline for expert disclosures).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
2009 WL 2477519 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (documents prepared by insurer before denial of a claim are presumed not to be protected by the work product doctrine; discussing standards for adequate privilege log).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
2009 WL 2477524 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (generalized assertions of privilege by insurer are not sufficient to meet the heavy burden for withholding documents from production).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
2009 WL 2482160 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (order compelling insurer to produce documents contained in files of insurer’s third party adjusting company).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
2009 WL 2482162 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (order compelling insurer to produce documents; finding that documents prepared by insurer or its agents in the ordinary course of business are not protected by the attorney-client privilege or work-product immunity).
- Vision I Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co. and James River Ins. Co.
643 F.Supp.2d 1356 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (surplus lines exclusion in Florida’s insurance code only applied to chapter governing rates and rating organization; once property insurance carrier offered deductible to homeowners association of five percent of insured value, carrier was required to also offer association deductible in amount of three percent of insured value).
- Page v. QBE Ins. Corp.
2009 WL 1025716 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (addressing issue of when claim for bad faith claims handling arises).
- Leitstein v. QBE Ins. Corp.
609 F.Supp.2d 1311 (S.D.Fla. 2009) (addressing issue of when claim for bad faith claims handling arises).
Collections and Foreclosures
Mr. Keegan has successfully handled thousands of collections and foreclosures on behalf of Florida condominium and homeowners associations. His experience includes the following appeals concerning collections and foreclosures:
- Stabak v. Tropical Breeze Estates, Inc.
6 So.3d 619 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (affirming trial court’s denial of homeowner’s motion for reconsideration of adverse foreclosure judgment).
- Stabak v. Tropical Breeze Estates, Inc.
997 So. 2d 420 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (affirming final judgment of foreclosure in favor of homeowners association).
Admiralty and Maritime
Mr. Keegan’s experience includes trials and appeals of admiralty and maritime cases. The following decisions arose from some of these cases:
- Pinder v. Moscetti
666 F.Supp.2d 1313 (S.D.Fla. 2008) (discussing doctrine of forum non conveniens; finding that Bahamas was more appropriate venue for wrongful death action).
- Coastal Towing & Salvage, Inc. v. One (41′) Morgan Sailing Vessel Named S/B WINDHORSE
2007 WL 6853977 (S.D.Fla. 2007) (granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to attorneys’ fees; finding that attorneys’ fees are not recoverable in a maritime salvage action).
- Larsen v. Carnival Corp., Inc.
242 F.Supp.2d 1333, 1337 (S.D.Fla. 2003) (granting cruise line’s motion for summary judgment on claim brought by passenger under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act).