Miami Ultimate CEO Awards

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As founding partner of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton and co-chair of the firm’s bankruptcy practice, John W. Kozyak has earned a host of professional accolades.

He has been recognized in every edition of Best Lawyers In America since it was first published in 1983. For the past six years, he has been identified as one of its “Bet-the company” litigators in Florida. Chambers USA has ranked him as one of the top bankruptcy lawyers in Florida in its America’s Leading Lawyers For Business, and in 2011, he was selected as one of the Top 10 lawyers in Florida by Super Lawyers, and named to Florida Trend’s Legal Elite Hall of Fame.

Along with a shelf of other humanitarian and legal service awards, the firm received the Supreme Court Chief Justice’s Law Firm Commendation for providing free legal services, and Kozyak received both the Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award and the Florida Bar’s G. Kirk Haas Humanitarian Award.

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11th Circ. Told To Nix BofA $228M Force-Placed Insurance Deal

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By Emily Field
Law360

Two members of a settled class action accusing Bank of America NA of accusing the bank of overcharging homeowners for forceplaced insurance told the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday that the $228 million deal shouldn’t have been approved because the settlement amount is illusory.

Appellants Michael and Jill Trapasso told the Eleventh Circuit that a Florida federal judge shouldn’t have signed off on the settlement last year and the class counsel’s $16 million fees because there’s no common fund and no minimum payout. The Trapassos say that the $228 million valuation is “fiction,” only a small percentage of class members had filed claims before the deal was approved and there’s no evidence how many of those are valid claims.

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Allegedly abusive mortgage insurance deals lead to class action settlement

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By Kenneth R. Harney

Anyone who has taken out a home mortgage knows that one of the borrower’s key responsibilities is to pay hazard insurance premiums on the property and not let the policy lapse.

But are you aware that if you fail to keep the insurance current, or if the premiums aren’t paid from your escrow account, the lender or its mortgage servicer can obtain its own coverage, which may cost you more than the policy you originally chose?

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