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Picture: Benjamin E. Stearns

Benjamin E. Stearns

Of Counsel

Tallahassee

850.425.3383 850.222.0398

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Picture: Benjamin E. Stearns

Benjamin E. Stearns

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Overview Areas of Focus Insights News Recognition Professional & Community Involvement Speaking Engagements Credentials

Overview

Ben Stearns provides counsel on regulatory, compliance, and licensing matters, with a focus on the insurance industry. He routinely defends insurers in coverage disputes and other litigation, and represents clients before the Florida legislature and executive agencies.

Ben regularly assists clients apply for licenses, respond to enforcement actions, and advocate for legislative or regulatory changes. With more than a decade of experience working with state and local governments, Ben analyzes complex statutory and regulatory schemes to guide clients’ compliance efforts and propose creative solutions to clients’ issues, including, where necessary, drafting legislation and lobbying state legislators or regulators.

In addition to the insurance industry, Ben routinely represents clients in the food service and alcoholic beverage industries, including providing advice on land use matters related to their facilities.

Areas of Focus

Practices

Industries

Property & Casualty Insurance

Insights

District Courts May Not Look Through Applications to Modify Confirm or Vacate Arbitral Awards

South Carolina Supreme Court Vacates Award Finds Arbitration Panel Manifestly Disregarded Statutory Law

Pennsylvanias One-Document Rule Invalidates Carvanas Arbitration Agreement

New Jersey Supreme Court Reinstates Arbitrators Decision Demoting School Official

Court Holds Federal Law Governs FAA Arbitration Dispute Related to Surplus Lines Insurance Contract Compels Arbitration Under Fifth Circuit Preemption of State Law

Reinsurer Permitted to Intervene in Affiliates Lawsuit Related to Breach of MGA Agreement

Second Circuit Affirms Schwab Victory in FINRA Arbitration

Broker Obtains Preliminary Injunction Enjoining FINRA Arbitration Initiated by Non-Signatories to Ar

Explosives Manufacturer’s Pollution-Related Claim Blown Up by State-Specific Endorsement

Eighth Circuit: Plaintiff Waives Right to Compel Arbitration by Filing Complaint and Litigating Dispute in Court

“Judicial Statements Privilege” Protects Statements in Court-Ordered Arbitration From Defamation Claims

FAA’s “Transportation Worker” Exemption Does Not Apply to Contracts Between Businesses

Court Follows Fifth Circuit Precedent in Enforcing Unsigned Insurance Arbitration Agreement Under New York Convention

Second Circuit Affirms Confirmation of Arbitration Award Issued Under Cyprus-Libya Bilateral Investment Treaty

New Hampshire Supreme Court Vacates Arbitration Award Based on “Plain Mistake” of Law

New Attestation for Florida Residential Property Insurers

New York Appellate Court Reverses Order Compelling Arbitration, Holds Collective Bargaining Agreement Arbitration Provisions Unenforceable

Florida Enacts Bill Imposing Regulatory Oversight Relating to Insurer Accountability

Court Enforces Nine-Figure Chinese Arbitration Award, Finding Notice Requirements of New York Convention Were Satisfied

Florida Overhauls Bad Faith Law, Repeals One-Way Attorneys’ Fee Statutes, Adopts Modified Comparative Negligence and Other Tort Reforms

Ninth Circuit Recognizes Precedent Restricting Arbitration-Favoring Rules, Compels Parties to Arbitrate Anyway

Ninth Circuit Dismisses Appeal of Denial of Motion to Compel Arbitration as Moot After the Complaint Was Amended While the Appeal Was Pending

Arbitration Provision Treated as Standalone Contract for Purposes of Determining Parties Capable of Compelling Arbitration

Florida Insurance Reform Special Session 2 – This Time Means Business

Is the Broken Florida Homeowners Insurance Market Finally Fixed?

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Notes That Review of Arbitration Awards Under the MPPAA is “Notably Less Deferential” than under the FAA

Schwab Wins Battle Over Confirmation of FINRA Arbitration Award Predicated on Alleged Discovery Abuses

Denial of Motion to Compel Arbitration Vacated by Second Circuit Due to Insufficient Record Evidence of Presentment of “Scrollwrap Agreement” to Users

Investment Advisory Firm’s Unlawful Copying and Distribution of Industry Publication to Firm Employees Not Covered by Professional Liability Policy

Seller Wins “Battle” to Apply FAA Over VUAA to Arbitration Dispute, but Loses “War” Over Award Confirmation

Alleged Witness Coaching via Text in Deposition Was “Discoverable” in Arbitration Proceeding and Could Not Support Vacatur of Arbitration Award

Pennsylvania Federal Court Transfers Suit Against Applied Underwriters Per Forum-Selection Clause in Unfiled Reinsurance Agreement

Federal Court Rules “Unauthorized Network Access Exclusion” Precludes Coverage for $1.3M Payment From Hacker’s Fraudulent Email

U.S. Supreme Court: FAA Preempts California Labor Law to Extent It Prevented Enforcement of Individual Arbitration Agreement

New Legislation From Florida Special Session on Property Insurance Reform

Florida Special Session on Property Insurance Reform: What Insurers Need to Know

State Court Disregards State Law Authorizing Award of Attorneys’ Fees in Arbitration Dispute Governed by FAA

Arbitration Provisions Delegating “All Disputes” to Arbitration Are Sufficiently “Clear and Unmistakable Evidence” of Parties’ Intent to Arbitrate Arbitrability

Two Property and Casualty Bills Headed to Fla. Governor: What Insurers Need to Know

First Circuit Clarifies Standard of Review and Evidentiary Proof Applicable to Motion to Compel Arbitration

Eleventh Circuit Finds Employer’s Liability Exclusion Ambiguous Under Alabama Law

International Arbitration Award Under the New York Convention and Against the Haitian Government Confirmed by Southern District of New York

Fourth Circuit Refuses to Create a Less Deferential Standard of Review for Arbitral Decisions That Implicate Res Judicata or Collateral Estoppel

Fifth Circuit Finds Coverage for Untimely Fraudulent Wire Instruction Claim Is Not Barred Under D&O Policy

Fifth Circuit Holds Prior Waiver of Right to Arbitrate State Law Claims Does Not Waive Right to Compel Arbitration of Newly Asserted Federal Claims

Chinese Arbitration Award Confirmed Despite US Company’s Claim of Unfair Treatment Stemming From US-China Trade War

Eleventh Circuit Denies Petition to Vacate Arbitration Award Based on Alleged Bias Where Arbitrator’s Prior Employment by Opposing Law Firm Was Disclosed

Court Compels Employment Dispute to Arbitration, Rejecting Defenses That Arbitration Clause Did Not Survive Termination and That Clause Was Unconscionable

District of Puerto Rico Holds Article II of the Convention on Foreign Arbitral Awards Preempts the McCarran-Ferguson Act

Court Holds the ACA and Implementing Regulations Do Not Preempt State Creditor Priority Laws in Reinsurance Debt Dispute

Texas Federal Court Finds Law Firm’s Alleged 40,000 Unauthorized Claims Related to Deepwater Horizon Disaster Were Not “Professional Services” Triggering Duty to Defend

Private Employment Arbitration Agreement Not Binding on Secretary of Labor When Bringing an Enforcement Action on Behalf of One Party to Agreement Against the Other

Ninth Circuit Compels Investment Banker to Arbitrate Statutory Employment Discrimination and Civil Rights Claims Despite Assumption That 'Knowing Waiver' Doctrine Applied to Claims

Fourth Circuit Enforces Arbitration Agreement’s Waiver of Appellate Review

Gov. DeSantis Signs COVID-19 Business Liability Protection Bill Into Law

Court Confirms “Baseball Arbitration” Award, Finds Party Alleging Unfairness Was Caught Looking When It Failed to Object

Gluing Feathers to a Phone Does Not Make a Turkey: Seventh Circuit Finds Mere “Negligence” Label and “Stitched Together” Factual Allegations Do Not Trigger Duty to Defend Aggressive Robocall Lawsuit

Ninth Circuit Affirms Removal to Federal Court and Order Compelling Arbitration, Construing Forum Selection Clause and Scope of Arbitration Agreement

COVID-19 Economic Stimulus Programs: Different Countries, Similar Programs

Business Law Today

Florida Legislation Protects Businesses From COVID-19 Lawsuits

Parsing the Sometimes Fine Distinction Between a Broad and a Narrow Arbitration Clause

California Federal Court Holds Professional Services Policy Issued to FedEx Covered Acts of Self-Service Kiosks’ Physical Printing of Receipts

Determination of Valid Arbitration Agreement May Be Dependent on “Outward Manifestations and Circumstances Surrounding the Transaction”

Court Denies Motion To Compel Arbitration and To Appoint Arbitrators Where Parties Had Agreed To Arbitrate and There Was No Impasse

Arbitration Award In Favor Of Major League Baseball Confirmed As Southern District Of New York Bats Telemicro’s Challenges Away

Court Affirms FINRA Arbitration Award to Charles Schwab, Finding No Evident Partiality or Other Arbitrator Misconduct

Fifth Circuit Holds That Ensuing Loss Provision of Builders’ Risk Policy Requires Two Separate Events to Qualify for the Construction Exclusion Carve-Out

Unopposed Motions to Confirm Arbitration Awards Are Treated As Motions for Summary Judgment

Denied: Pro Se Litigant’s Petition to Confirm Arbitration Award He Rendered Against Republican National Committee

€643 Million Arbitration Award Was Within Arbitration Panel’s Power to Award and Not a Result of Manifest Disregard of the Law

Ninth Circuit Finds No Coverage Under Advertising Liability Policy for Walmart’s Floor Display of Goods and Services Supplied by Insured Apparel Vendor

Determining Whether “Clickwrap Agreement” Provides “Reasonable Notice” of an Arbitration Agreement Is a Fact-Intensive Inquiry

Court Denies Vimeo’s Motion to Compel Arbitration of Purported Class Action Claims Under Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act

Split Decision in the Ninth Circuit: Two Non-Signatory Defendants Can Compel Arbitration Based on Equitable Estoppel, One Cannot

The Chronicle: American Adult-Use Marijuana Laws - Other Licenses

District Court Orders Insurer in Receivership to Arbitrate With Reinsurers, Rejecting Argument That Jurisdiction Rests With Receivership Court and That McCarran-Ferguson Act Preempts FAA

Conflict Within the Southern District of Florida: Should the Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine Be Applied to Stay Class Actions Relating to CBD?

The Chronicle: American Adult-Use Marijuana Laws - Retail Licenses

Eighth Circuit Enforces Contract Liability Exclusions to Bar Contract Claims, Regardless of Non-Contractual Cause of Action in Complaint

New Funds Available Under the Small Business PPP and EIDL Programs

Court Confirms Arbitration Award Against Parties Who Failed to Attend Arbitration

The Chronicle: American Adult-Use Marijuana Laws - Health and Safety

Federal Reserve Moves to Assist Larger Businesses

Small Business Administration Loans Summary Under the CARES Act

Second Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Arbitration Based on Prior Singaporean Judgment

Coronavirus State Insurance Regulatory Developments

The Chronicle: American Adult-Use Marijuana Laws - Cultivation Licenses

Who Is in Charge? A Pandemic Primer on Government Authority

“Grossly Excessive” Arbitration Award Overturned Due to “Evident Material Miscalculation”

The Chronicle: American Adult-Use Marijuana Laws - Licensing

Former Employees Not Bound by Their Former Union’s Arbitration Agreement

The Chronicle: American Adult-Use Marijuana Laws - Regulator

The Chronicle: American Adult-Use Marijuana Laws

Eighth Circuit Reinstates Arbitration Award Stemming From Federal Crop Insurance Policy

Court Stays CBD Class Action Until FDA Rolls Out Regulation

Court Finds No Manifest Disregard of the Law or Exceeding of Powers in Upholding Arbitration Award Related to Dispute Over Earn-Out Payment

Fifth Circuit Affirms Confirmation of Arbitration Ruling in Favor of Ameriprise Financial

Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Case Involving Foreign Arbitration Award Based on Comity for French Appellate Ruling and Quasi in Rem Jurisdiction

Ninth Circuit Affirms Confirmation of Arbitration Award, Finding Plaintiffs Failed to Show Prejudice From Denial of Discovery

First Circuit Affirms Denial of Vacatur of Arbitration Award, Rejects Arguments That Parties Opted Out of FAA and Arbitrator Erred

National Credit Union Administration Gives Credit Unions the Green Light to Serve Lawfully Operating Hemp Businesses

National Credit Union Administration Gives Credit Unions the Green Light to Serve Lawfully Operating Businesses

Five Federal Financial Agency Heads Issue Letters Regarding Provision of Financial Services to the Hemp Industry

Fifth Circuit Determines That Louisiana Nonresident Attachment Statute Allows for Attachment in Aid of Arbitration

Court Refuses to Treat Unopposed Petition to Confirm Arbitration Award as a Motion for Default Judgment, Reviews the Merits of the Petition, and Enters Order Confirming the Award and Legal Fees

Florigrown v. DOH: Florida’s Vertical Integration Requirement for Medical Marijuana Licensees Held Unconstitutional

Court Compels Arbitration Under the New York Convention and Dismisses Case in Windstorm Insurance Claim Dispute

Confidential Reinsurance Agreement Made Public After Party Failed to Show Good Cause for Maintaining Confidentiality

Eleventh Circuit Finds Removal Jurisdiction Is Included Within Federal Subject-Matter Jurisdiction Under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards

With All Eyes on "Implementation" of Amendment 4, Senate Bill 7066 Makes Significant Additional Changes to Florida Election Laws in Response to the 2018 Election

Court Finds Jurisdiction Over Petition to Confirm Arbitration Award in Dispute Between Liquidator and Foreign Reinsurer

Discovery Under Section 1782 Denied Based on Finding That Chinese Arbitration Organization Was Not a “Foreign or International Tribunal”

English Court Enjoins Washington State Court Action in Favor of Arbitration in London

SEC-ordered Disgorgement is an Uninsurable “Penalty,” not a Covered “Loss”

Florida Election Recounts – Again

Florida Insurance Commissioner Issues Hurricane Michael Emergency Order

New Mexico Adopts NAIC Credit for Reinsurance Model Regulation

Eleventh Circuit Reverses Sanction Imposed Against Party That Defaulted in Arbitration to Determine Whether Party Acted in Bad Faith

National Flood Insurance Program Extended to November 30, 2018

Minority Shareholders Utilize 28 USC § 1782 to Issue Subpoenas in Aid of Criminal Action They Plan to File Against Company Director in Luxembourg

Texas Department of Insurance Proposes Regulations Implementing Reduced Collateral Credit for Reinsurance Law Passed by Texas Legislature in 2017

New Federal Law Aims To Increase Transparency Of International Insurance Standard-Setting Bodies

Court Applies Arbitration And Continued Performance Provisions Of One Contract To A Separate Performance Guaranty Agreement

Minnesota Implements The 2011 NAIC Credit For Reinsurance Model Law And Regulations

Supreme Court Upholds Employee Individualized Arbitration Agreements Against Challenges Based On The National Labor Relations Act

Tax Counsel Ordered To Produce Documents Related To Odyssey Reinsurance’s Continuing Quest To Collect $3.2 Million Default Judgment Against Richard And Diane Nagby

Decade-Long Battle Between Policyholder, Reinsurer, And Retrocessionaire To Continue As Reinsurer Files Notice Of Appeal

West Virginia Amends Credit For Reinsurance Statute To Conform To NAIC Model, Effective January 1, 2019

Court Applies The “Intertwined-Ness Test” To Find That A Non-Signatory Could Invoke Equitable Estoppel To Compel Arbitration

Delegation Clause Must Clearly Contemplate Arbitrability of Disputes With Non-Signatories to Be Enforced in Those Disputes

The FAA’s Presumption in Favor of Arbitration Does Not Require Arguable Ambiguities in Arbitration Agreements to Be Interpreted as “Broadly as Possible”

Objection, Interrupted

Arbitration Agreement Selecting Maryland Law Held Unenforceable as to Private Attorney General Claims Brought Under California Law

Participation in Litigation to Avoid a Default Judgment Does Not Waive a Party’s Right to Compel Arbitration

When Relying on a Prior Acts Exclusion to Deny Coverage, Be Sure to Connect the Dots

Wyoming Enacts Legislation and Adopts New Regulations Governing Credit for Reinsurance and Term and Universal Life Insurance Reserve Financing

Insurance Receiver’s Preemption Argument Under McCarran-Ferguson Fails to Avoid Arbitration of Reinsurance Dispute

The Federal Arbitration Act Does Not Grant Arbitrators the Power to Compel Pre-Hearing Production of Documents From Non-Parties

Insurer’s Attempt to Shield Documents From Discovery Through Assertion of the Mediation Privilege and a Relevancy Objection Is Unavailing

Ninth Circuit: Unconscionability Arguments Directed Solely at Class Action Waiver Provisions in Arbitration Agreements Are Foreclosed by Concepcion

The Allegation of Non-Arbitrable Private Attorney General Claims Does Not Prevent Arbitration of Individual Claims Raised Simultaneously

Iowa and Virginia Insurance Regulators Adopt the NAIC’s Term Model Rules Governing Term and Universal Life Insurance Reserve Financing

Odyssey Reinsurance Obtains $3.2 Million Default Judgment and Injunctions Stemming From Fraudulent Transfers Made by Underwriter

Long-Time Reinsurance Attorney Ruled Not Qualified to Arbitrate 9/11 World Trade Center Reinsurance Dispute

Procedural Arbitrability Questions Are for the Arbitrator, Not the Judge, Unlike Substantive Arbitrability Questions

Applied Underwriters, Inc., Loses Argument to Enforce Mandatory Forum Selection Clause in Reinsurance Contract

Lender-Affiliated Captive Reinsurer Obtains Dismissal of Mortgage Insurance Lawsuit Brought by Illinois Director of Insurance

Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Post-Liquidation Reinsurance Claim as Time-Barred

State Contract Law Governs Which Parties May Enforce an Arbitration Agreement

CFPB Issues Final Rule Prohibiting Class Action Waiver Arbitration Agreements in Certain Consumer Financial Contracts

Georgia Revamps Law Governing Captive Insurance Companies

Eleventh Circuit Defers to Arbitrator’s Interpretation of Forum Selection Clause in International Dispute and Affirms Award

New Florida Law Addresses Time for Filing Corporate Tax Returns

In Florida, House Bill 805 Will Likely Allow Insurance Policy Transfers

SUN Trail-oriented Development: Capitalizing on Florida's Newest Attraction

Proposed Rule Changes to Florida’s Affordable Housing Allocation and Funding Process

SCOTUS Gives Landowners New Tools to Challenge Wetlands Permitting Decisions

News

Robert Shapiro and Benjamin Stearns Co-Author Article for Carrier Management: “Is the Broken Florida Homeowners Insurance Market Finally Fixed?”

COVID-19 Economic Stimulus Programs: Different Countries, Similar Approaches

Recognition

The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, Corporate Governance and Compliance Law, Insurance Law (2023–2025)

Professional & Community Involvement

American Bar Association
- Chair, Government Operations and Liability Subcommittee

Speaking Engagements

"Legal Protection for Practitioners," Eradicate Hate Global Summit 2022, Pittsburgh, PA (September 19–21, 2022)
"Legal Liabilities Series: The SAFETY Act and Civil Liability Principles," McCain Institute (April 13, 2021)
"Cannabis & Regulating Social Equity," ABA Section of State and Local Government Law Annual Meeting (July 22, 2020)

Credentials

Education

Florida State University College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2013)
University of Florida (M.A., 2010)
University of Miami (B.A., 2006)

Bar Admissions

Florida

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Close

Overview Areas of Focus Insights News Recognition Professional & Community Involvement Speaking Engagements Credentials