For more than 20 years, the lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP have represented thousands of individuals and businesses in different states in both state and federal courts, who have sought justice from insurance companies, corporations and governments who violate the law. Whether it is a situation where an insurance company has cheated thousands of its policyholders by charging illegal premiums or failing to properly pay an insurance claim, or a motorist that causes substantial injury from careless driving, or a drug company that manufactures harmful products, the lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP have been able to protect their client’s rights, give their clients’ a voice and level the playing field for their clients when going up against those entities that conduct themselves or their business in an unjust manner at the expense of others.

Our success is rooted in our desire to make sure that no one gets cheated or harmed as a result of the illegal actions of another. This brand of justice is not just a word for our lawyers, but it is the way we live our lives.

As trial lawyers, we bring our zeal for justice into the courtroom. The lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP have tried cases against some of the biggest companies in the world. In each of these cases, our lawyers bring commitment, determination and professionalism to the courtroom, as well as compassion for our clients and a profound respect for our judicial system. It is this mixture that sets us apart from many other lawyers.

Contact Zebersky & Payne, LLP today if you need legal assistance with any of the following:

Harmful Drug Cases

• Actos

Personal Injury

• Automobile Accidents
• Trucking Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Aviation Accidents
• Boating Accidents
• Construction Accidents
• Wrongful Death

Insurance Coverage Disputes/Bad Faith

Consumer Class Action

Product Liability

At Zebersky & Payne, LLP we not only zealously represent our client’s in the practice of law, but we also are involved in making the law. For years, we have been active participants in lobbying efforts in both state and national forums to ensure that the courthouse doors are kept open to children, families and small businesses, so that insurance companies and corporations are not allowed to cheat people they insure, manufacture unsafe products or illegally treat those with whom they do business. Our belief is that those who violate the law, should be prevented from doing so, and should be held accountable for their actions.

As members of our community, the lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP have also taken active leadership roles in local charities and community service. We believe that as lawyers, we have an obligation to help those less fortunate or who are just hit by hard times. Accordingly, lawyers and members of the firm financially contribute to and are involved in leadership positions in a variety of charitable causes and other civic organizations.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any legal matter where you or a loved one was hurt or fatally injured as a result of someone else’s negligence or a defective device or product, or taken advantage of or illegally treated by a corporation. We very much look forward to being able to help you!

If you or a loved one needs the help of an experienced Actos Attorney, call Zebersky & Payne, LLP today at 866-721-7908, or complete the contact form provided on this site to arrange your free initial consultation.

Professional Profile

If you or a loved one needs the help of an experienced Actos Attorney, call Zebersky & Payne, LLP today at 866-721-7908, or complete the contact form provided on this site to arrange your free initial consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Zebersky & Payne, LLP
110 S.E. 6th St., Ste. 2150
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Phone: 866-721-7908
Hours: M-F, 8:00AM-5:00PM
Serving all of Florida

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Attorney Edward H. Zebersky

Jurisdictions:

• State of Florida
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
• United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
• United States District Court, Northern District of Florida
• United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan

Education:

• Undergrad: University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.B.A. (Double Major in Finance and Marketing) - 1988
• Law School: University of Miami – 1991
  Juris Doctor cum laude

Admitted To The Bar:

• 10/29/91

Professional Memberships and Achievements:

• The Florida Bar (Chair’s Choice Pro bono Service Award)
• Florida Justice Association (President, 2006 – 07)
• Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (President, 2006)
• Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Insurance Committee Chairperson (1999-2005)
• American Assoication of Justice Board of Governors (2007- present)
• Broward County Trail Lawyers
• Association of Trial Lawyers of America
• POUND Civil Institute
• Broward County Bar Association
• Broward County Justice Association
• Public Justice Foundation
• TLFLA

Attorney Todd S. Payne

Jurisdictions:

• State of Florida
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
• United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
• United States District Court, Northern District of Florida

Education:

• Undergrad: University of Miami – 1984
• Law School: University of Miami – 1989
  Juris Doctor

Admitted To The Bar:

• 12/28/1989

Professional Memberships and Achievements:

• Florida Justice Association
• The Florida Bar (Judicial Nominating Procedures Committee, 2007-Present)
• Broward County Bar Association (Professionalism Committee, 2006-08; Business Law Committee, 2007, Judicial Evaluation Survey Committee, 2007 – 2008)

Attorney Bruce Botsord

Jurisdictions:

• State of Florida
• 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
• United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
• United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
• United States District Court, Northern District of Florida

Education:

• Undergrad: Florida State University - 1991
• Law School: Nova Southeastern University – 1994
  Doctor of Jurisprudence/Juris Doctor

Admitted To The Bar:

• 09/23/1994

Professional Memberships and Achievements:

• Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers

Attorney Lee Gill Cohen

Jurisdictions:

• State of Florida
• United States Supreme Court

Education:

• Undergrad: Tulane University (Philosophy and Communications) – 1986
• Law School: University of Miami – 1989
  Juris Doctor

Admitted To The Bar:

• 10/18/1989

Verdicts & Settlements

If you or a loved one needs the help of an experienced Actos Attorney, call Zebersky & Payne, LLP today at 866-721-7908, or complete the contact form provided on this site to arrange your free initial consultation.

Case: $40 Million Settlement After Verdict
This is a class action suit against out of state group health insurance company who decided to embark on pattern and practice of raising its insured’s premiums when they were sick and based on other health related factors. The company did this in the hopes of making it financially impossible for the sick people who had the health plan to afford to keep the plan. Most of the people affected by this scam were people who were near the age of 65 and Medicare eligibility. The insurance company defended the suit by saying that Florida law which protected insureds did not apply to it because it was an out-of-state group.

The lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP were involved in the class action suit where we were able to strip the company of its out of state group exemption and to have Florida law apply to its pattern and practice. After obtaining this judgment from the court, the parties settled with the company agreeing to reimburse all persons for the extra premiums that they paid which shouldn’t be paid, to provide people who could not afford the premium increases an insurance policy with reasonable premiums and reimbursement for insureds out of pocket losses.

Case: $18 Million Judgment For A Quadriplegic Injured From A Gun Wound
Our client was accidently shot by his cousin in his grandmother’s house. The grandmother’s homeowners insurance company refused to defend and/or pay for the claim asserted by Robert. An $18.5 million judgment was rendered against Robert’s grandmother. The grandmother assigned her right to sue her insurance company and others who were responsible to provide insurance coverage to our client.

The reason why the insurance company did not pay was because it claimed that the insurance policy lapsed when it did not receive a premium payment. These payments should have been made by the bank that held the grandmother’s mortgage through an escrow account. The bank received notice of nonpayment but did nothing and eventually the policy was cancelled.

The lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP brought a lawsuit against the insurance company and several banks that were involved with the mortgage. Ultimately, we were able to procure a confidential settlement which included a bad faith recovery from the insurance company for our client and his family.

Case: $13 Million Class Action Settlement Based On Auto Insurer's Wrongful Conduct
This class action arose out of the insurance company’s arbitrary reduction of payments for benefits incurred by victims of automobile accidents under their personal injury protection insurance. The lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP were able to settle this claim whereby doctors and insureds were able to obtain all of the benefits that they were entitled to for treatment which resulted from injuries sustained in an automobile collision.

Case: $3.15 Million Settlement Of Betterment Class Action
This is a class action where the insurance company was reducing the amounts that it was paying for damage done to a person's car in a car wreck for something called a betterment. The lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP were able to bring a lawsuit claiming that this betterment charge was not permitted under Florida law and/or the insurance policy.

Case: $2.7 Million Class Action Arbitration Judgment
This was a very interesting case where the lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP were able to convince an arbitration panel to certify a class in arbitration. This may have been the first class action certified in arbitration in the State of Florida. Ultimately, the lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP were able to obtain a multi-million dollar judgment against this company for its failure to follow Florida law with respect to the payment of interest on late paid Personal Injury Protection Benefits. Unfortunately, this judgment might have been the straw that broke the camels back and the insurance company soon was taken over by the State of Florida after the award was confirmed.

Case: $2 Million Class Action Settlement
This case was a class action that was based on the defendant’s failure to properly pay Personal Injury Protection benefits. It resulted in an award of 100 cents on the dollar for persons affected plus interest.

Case: $1.7 Million Class Action Settlement
This case was a class action that was based on the defendant’s failure to properly pay Personal Injury Protection benefits. It resulted in an award of 100 cents on the dollar for persons affected plus interest.

Case: $700,000 Settlement For A Church Damaged By Hurricane
Our client suffered considerable damage as a result of a hurricane. When its insurance company did not treat the church fairly, it turned to the lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP for help. The lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP were able to minimize the coinsurance penalty which was being applied to the claim and was also able to convince the insurance company that the church’s claim was worth a lot more than the insurance company was willing to pay.

Case: $620,000 Policy Limits Appraisal Award For A Motel Damaged By Hurricane
Our client claimed that a hurricane caused severe structural damage to its building. Citizens claimed that the hurricane caused no damage. The lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP were able to convince a neutral appraiser during the appraisal process that the entire structure of our client's building was rendered unsafe from a phenomenon called "uplift." The lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP also used sophisticated meteorological and engineering experts to establish that even though the hurricane did not cause much damage to buildings surrounding that of our client, the situation of the motel along the channel combined with the type of roof that was on the motel caused the damage.

Case: Confidential Settlement For A Wrongful Death Caused By A Car Collision—Bad Faith Settlement
This is a very sad case where two people were killed as a result of an automobile collision. The driver of one of the vehicles was a migrant farm worker who was driving a van with a license plate for one of his employer's vehicles. The lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP brought suit against the owner of van and the employer based on negligence. The owner of the van had a New Jersey insurance policy with $100,000 in coverage and the employer had a policy for another $300,000. The employer claimed that the driver was not operating the van during normal business hours and did not have permission to use the license plate. The employee did not deny these facts but was unable to convince a judge that the owner and the employer should not be responsible for the injuries.

At mediation the lawyers at Zebersky & Payne, LLP were able to convince the insurance companies that their respective insureds not only had insurance coverage for these incidents, but the insurance companies' failure to promptly pay the insurance policy proceeds was bad faith. Accordingly, this case was able to be resolved shortly after mediation.

Other cases:

• $22.5 Million Class Action Settlement
• $11 Million Class Action Settlement
• $4.5 Million Award Against Maker of Birth Control Drug for Causing Stroke
• $2.8 Million Appraisal Award for Hurricane Wilma Claim
• $2 Million Settlement for Person Injured on People Mover in Orlando International Airport
• $1.85 Million Settlement for Brain-Injured Motorcycle Crash Victim
• $1 Million Award on Behalf of a Pedestrian as he was Crossing the Street
• $950,000 Settlement: Products Liability Suit against Major Medical Device Manufacturer for Defective Hip
• $750,000 Settlement for Woman who Fell off Ramp
• $750,000 Settlement: Products Liability Suit for Woman who was Struck in the Arm by a Defective Marine Hook
• $700,000 Settlement for a Church Damaged by Hurricane
• $620,000 Policy Limits Appraisal Award for a Motel Damaged by Hurricane
• $600,000 Award Against Tobacco Company on Behalf of a Family of a Deceased Smoker
• Confidential Wrongful Death Settlement for Minor, Killed in a Car Crash by another Minor who was Served Alcohol at a Neighborhood Bar
• Confidential Settlement in Medical Malpractice Action for Negligence during Surgical Procedure
• Confidential Settlement for Victim of Rape at Jamaican Hotel