Abbey Adams Logo

Defending Liability, Employment Claims and Appeals Since 1982

  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Phone
  • Home
  • Locations
    • Where We Practice in Florida
    • Where We Are Available to Practice In Illinois
  • Practices
  • Blog
  • Attorneys
    • David J. Abbey
    • Jeffrey M. Adams
    • Robert P. Byelick
    • Jennifer J. Kennedy
    • John D. Kiernan (1947-2016)
    • V. Joseph Mueller
    • Elisabeth K. Eubanks
  • Links
  • Contact Us

David J. Abbey

David Abbey

Phone: 727-821-2080
Email: dabbey@abbeyadams.comcreate new email
vCard: Download Contact Info

The Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial

Meet David J. Abbey

Mr. Abbey has been defending organizations, governmental entities, insurance companies and individuals for over 40 years in personal injury, wrongful death, and coverage litigation. Mr. Abbey has tried in excess of 100 jury trials and participated in numerous appeals and arbitrations.

Practice Areas

  • Agriculture/Industrial Accidents
  • Bad Faith
  • Coverage Litigation Motor Vehicle Liability/Trucking Defense
  • Premises Liability
  • Products Liability
  • Uninsured Motorist Claims
  • Wrongful Death

Education

  • J.D., Stetson University College of Law, Gulfport, FL, 1977
  • B.S., Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 1973

Admissions

  • Florida 1977
  • Illinois 1977
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association (Commercial and Transportation Section; Tort Trial Insurance Practice Section)
  • Florida Defense Lawyers Association
  • Florida Trucking Association
  • Hillsborough County Bar Association
  • Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
  • Illinois State Bar Association (Tort Law Section; Insurance Law Section)
  • McLean County Bar Association
  • St. Petersburg Bar Association (President, 2003-2004; Secretary, 1987-1988; Executive Committee, 1996-1998, 2000-2002; Trial Lawyers Section)
  • The Florida Bar (Trial Lawyers Section; Civil Procedure Rules Committee 1994-2003)
  • Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA)

Community Involvement

  • First United Methodist Church of St. Petersburg; (Trustee; Staff-Parish Committee; Pre-school Committee; Usher)
  • HTR Foundation (American Civil War Heritage, Board Member)
  • Illinois State University: (Attorney Advisory Board, 2000-2022)
  • Legion of Honor Member Kiwanis Club of St. Petersburg (President, 2012-2013)

Publications

  • David J. Abbey and Kimberly A. Staffa, “Tactics to Combat Improper Comment and Argument by Plaintiff’s Counsel,” Trial Advocate Quarterly, Florida Defense Lawyers Association, Winter 1996, at 25
  • David J. Abbey, Clancey Bounds and Kimberly A. Staffa, “Florida Uninsured Motorist Law Since Shelby: Florida Supreme Court Decisions and Legislative Response,” Trial Advocate Quarterly, Florida Defense Lawyers Association, Winter 1994, at 13

Distinctions

  • 2023 Best Lawyers, Lawyer of the Year: Litigation-Insurance Law
  • Adjunct Professor, Stetson College of Law, taught courses in Insurance Law and Damages (1987-1991)
  • A-V® rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Board Certified in Civil Trial by The Florida Bar (1993-Present)
  • Florida Super Lawyers
  • Florida Trend’s Legal Elite
  • Wall Street Journal’s listing of the Top Attorneys in Florida

Presentations

Mr. Abbey has spoken to bar associations and firm clients on the topics listed below in
recent years.

  • A Defense Prospective on Offers of Judgment and Proposals for Settlement
  • Cases Most Likely to Proceed to Litigation and Trial
  • Comparative Negligence, Comparative Fault and Joint and Several Liability
  • Consequences on Civil/Insurance Claims of Attorneys’ Actions on Behalf of Criminal Defendants
  • Defending the Questionable Disc Injury Claim
  • Defending the TMD Claim
  • Discovery Issues Involving Adjusters and Carriers
  • Florida Bad Faith; Its History, Purpose and Development
  • Avoiding Bad Faith Traps and Set-ups
  • Florida Motor Vehicle Laws
  • Premises Liability
  • Renter and Owner Liability for negligent Use of Motor Vehicle
  • Scope of Expert Discovery in Florida: The Forest through the Trees
  • The Florida Casualty Claim: Accident to Appeal
  • Trucking Litigation in Florida from a Defendant’s Perspective
  • Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Personal Interests

  • Auto Racing: Attended each Indianapolis 500 since 1965 to present
  • Gardening and Farming: Maintained Florida backyard vegetable garden since 1980s to present
  • Owns property in Illinois, which is farmed by a brother, Jeff Abbey.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Insurance — Homeowners — All-risk policy — Coverage — Cracking damage to home caused by blasting vibrations from nearby rock quarry — Exclusions — Earth or soil movement — Wear and tear, marking, deterioration, settling, shrinking, bulging, or expansion — Concurrent causes — Trial court did not err in denying insurer’s motion for directed verdict based on policy’s exclusion of coverage for earth sinking, rising, or shifting or soil movement resulting from blasting — Insurer’s position was based upon mischaracterization of testimony by insureds’ expert, who was steadfast in his opinion that none of the damage to home resulted from soil or earth movement, but was instead the result of shock waves from blasting that caused the house to shake — Based upon competing expert testimony, jury could have reasonably concluded that it was shock waves, not soil or earth movement, that caused damage — Jury instructions — Covered and excluded perils — Concurrent cause doctrine — Trial court did not err by instructing jury that land shock waves from blasting in combination with wear and tear, marring, deterioration, settling, shrinking, bulging, or expansion was not excluded under policy — Although policy’s earth movement exclusion contained an explicit anti-concurrent cause provision, this provision would have come into play only if jury had first determined that one of the causes of damage was earth movement — Judgment in favor of insureds affirmed
  • Insurance — Homeowners — Discovery — Work product — Claims files — Appeals — Certiorari — Trial court did not depart from essential requirements of the law by compelling insurer to produce documents from its claims and underwriting files — Documents in claims and underwriting files are not automatically work product — Insurer’s assertion of work-product privilege was overly broad, and insurer did not argue or prove that the requested documents were prepared in anticipation of litigation
  • Wrongful death — Medical malpractice — Vicarious liability — Punitive damages — Amendment of complaint — Allegation that defendant, through its president, committed acts of intentional misconduct or gross negligence by assigning a nurse practitioner to provide after-hours care to a patient with highly complex problems that were beyond nurse practitioner’s permissible scope of practice — Trial court erred by granting plaintiff’s motion to amend complaint to assert claim for punitive damages — Plaintiff failed to demonstrate a reasonable basis for award of punitive damages based on intentional conduct where evidence was insufficient to show that defendant’s president either knew or otherwise intended for nurse practitioner to independently order medical treatment for patient outside the scope of nurse practitioner’s practice without consulting president — Furthermore, there was insufficient evidence demonstrating that defendant’s president condoned or ratified nurse practitioner’s independent treatment with actual knowledge of a high probability that doing so would result in additional harm or death to patient — Plaintiff failed to demonstrate a reasonable basis for award of punitive damages based on gross negligence where facts of case did not show that defendant, through its president or nurse practitioner, evinced a reckless or conscious disregard of or indifference to human life
  • Torts — Negligent hiring — Punitive damages — Trial court departed from essential requirements of law in granting motion to amend complaint to add claim for punitive damages against employer of driver who crashed company car into plaintiff’s vehicle — Proffered evidence was not sufficient to establish reasonable basis for finding that defendant was grossly negligent when it allegedly hired employee without conducting adequate pre-employment screening, obtaining a driving and criminal history, and confirming that employee held valid driver’s license — Proffered evidence was either not directly related to allegation that employer was grossly negligent or sufficiently refuted by defendant
  • Torts — Negligent hiring — Punitive damages — Trial court departed from essential requirements of law in granting motion to amend complaint to add claim for punitive damages against employer of driver who crashed company car into plaintiff’s vehicle — Proffered evidence was not sufficient to establish reasonable basis for finding that defendant was grossly negligent when it allegedly hired employee without conducting adequate pre-employment screening, obtaining a driving and criminal history, and confirming that employee held valid driver’s license — Proffered evidence was either not directly related to allegation that employer was grossly negligent or sufficiently refuted by defendant

Blog Archives

Footer

The materials available at this website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this Website or any of the e-mail links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between Abbey, Adams, Byelick & Mueller, L.L.P. and the user or browser. The opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of the firm or any individual attorney. opens in a new windowAbbey, Adams, Byelick, & Mueller XML Sitemap Index

Copyright © 2023 · Abbey Adams Byelick & Mueller, LLP · All Rights Reserved · Defending Liability, Employment Claims and Appeals Since 1982