Derrevere, Hawkes & Black is a civil litigation law firm located in West Palm Beach, Florida. Our legal representation ranges from Orlando to Miami, and extends throughout the State of Florida and across the United States, including the State of Hawaii.

Our civil litigation law practice concentrates in the areas of complex construction defects, products liability, subrogation, and general business law. Our lawyers and staff have extensive experience in representing architects, engineers, contractors, construction material suppliers and the preeminent insurance carriers of today’s market.

As experienced West Palm Beach Florida Construction Lawyers, we are committed to providing our clients with highest quality legal services with an emphasis on personal attention to client needs and professionalism. We are aggressive in pursuing client goals with sensitivity to the economic realities of the prevailing legal environment, having developed an effective system of litigation cost control and early evaluation of potential exposure.

We focus on complex civil litigation before State and Federal Courts at all trial and appellate levels, in a wide range of practice areas, including:

• Construction Law
• Commercial Litigation
• Products Liability
• Insurance Defense
• Contract Negotiation
• Insurance Subrogation

Both principals of our Firm, Jon Derrevere and Skip Hawkes, have more than twenty years experience as insurance defense and subrogation litigators specializing in complex construction and products liability claims. Our client base includes many prominent professional and general liability carriers along with product manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as architects, engineers, general contractors and product suppliers.

As skilled West Palm Beach Florida Construction Lawyers, we have superb expertise in all aspects of Construction Law and the various areas affected by it, including:

• Design Deficiencies
• Poor Workmanship Lawsuits
• Contractors State License Board Hearings
• Construction Defect Insurance Coverage Issues
• Construction Defect Mediation and Arbitration
• Breach of Contract
• Mechanics’ Liens
• Fraud
• Business Litigation
• Real Estate Matters
• Conflicts with Governmental Agencies
• Jury Trials
• Appeals

Our expert team of lawyers and paralegals is dedicated to providing clients with exceptional legal services, emphasizing personal attention and aggressive representation, balanced with attention to the careful management of litigation costs.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced West Palm Beach Florida Construction Lawyer, call Derrevere, Hawkes & Black today at 866-739-0005, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

Landslide and Geotechnical Defects:
Much of the land in central Florida consists of expansive soils -- clay soils that contract when dry and expand when wet, resulting in severe damage to foundations and other problems when heavy summer rains saturate the ground. If expansive soil building lots are not properly compacted and prepared for drainage, a variety of serious problems may result, ranging from vertical and horizontal settlement, actual slope failures, flooding and landslides, just to name a few. The end result may be a cracked foundation slab and related damage to the structure itself. Sometimes the damage is so severe that the structure simply becomes uninhabitable.

Design Deficiencies:
Sometimes serious construction defects result from fundamental flaws in the design of the structure. Unduly complex roof structures may result in leakage and water damage. The use of inappropriate building materials may have the same effect and many serious construction defects are caused by inadequate or improper provision for drainage.

Poor Workmanship:
Of all the potential causes of construction defects, poor workmanship may be the most common, although this may not be immediately apparent. However well-designed the roof structure, and however appropriate the building materials, poor workmanship will often cause the roof to fail. Serious electrical and plumbing problems, termite and other pest infestation, ineffective sound and heating insulation – any one or all of these may be the consequence of shabby construction work.

Registrar of Contractors Hearings:
Under Florida law, it is a crime to engage in the construction business unless you are licensed by the state to do so. If you are the victim of shoddy workmanship on your construction job, you can bring a civil action against the contractor. You can also file a formal complaint with the Florida Registrar of Contractors (ARC), and if warranted, the ARC may initiate disciplinary proceedings against your contractor. The agency also administers a “recovery fund” from which you may seek reimbursement for the repair of defects caused by the poor workmanship of a licensed contractor. The cost of providing this recovery is borne by all licensed contractors within the state.

Construction Defect Insurance Coverage Issues:
Whether you are a general contractor or a consumer, one of the most complicated areas of Florida construction defect litigation is the identification of available and applicable insurance coverage in force. Insurance carriers are seldom enthusiastic about volunteering to cover a particular claim.

Contractors State License Board Hearings:
Under Florida law, it is a crime to engage in the construction business unless you are licensed by the state to do so. One of the licensing requirements is that each General Contractor posts a bond. If you are the victim of shoddy workmanship on your construction job, you can bring a civil action against the contractor and you can also make a claim against the bond. You can also file a formal complaint with the Florida Contractors State License Board, and if warranted, the ARC may initiate disciplinary proceedings against your contractor. Licensed General Contractors are entitled to be represented by a lawyer in any disciplinary hearings, and those who fail to do so risk forfeiture of their licenses.

Construction Defect Mediation and Arbitration:
The litigation of Construction Law civil actions is always complex, and it can be extremely expensive, particularly once it becomes necessary to engage the services of expert witnesses to give testimony at the trial. The litigation process is often lengthy and tedious. The issues are often extremely technical and can be very confusing to a judge or a jury lacking in actual construction experience. For these reasons, it is often advantageous to consider mediation or arbitration of your claim. The court is not involved in the arbitration and/or the mediation process, so there is neither judge nor jury. Instead, a highly experienced and knowledgeable Construction Law attorney (chosen by both sides) acts as mediator or arbitrator.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced West Palm Beach Florida Construction Lawyer, call Derrevere, Hawkes & Black today at 866-739-0005, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced West Palm Beach Florida Construction Lawyer, call Derrevere, Hawkes & Black today at 866-739-0005, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Derrevere, Hawkes & Black
470 Columbia Drive, Building B
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
Telephone: 866-739-0005
Fax: 561-640-3050

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Jon D. Derrevere
Jon Derrevere graduated from the University of Florida with Highest Honors in 1978 and earned a Juris Doctor from Cornell University in 1981. Since being admitted to the Florida Bar at age 23, Mr. Derrevere has tried more than 100 cases to jury verdict. Mr. Derrevere specializes in complex litigation with an emphasis on construction, product liability, professional liability and large-loss recovery claims. He is admitted to practice before all State and Federal Courts in Florida and has represented clients throughout the United States. Mr. Derrevere is a member of the American Bar Association section on Construction Industry Practices and has published articles relating to construction litigation.

Winslow D. Hawkes, III
Winslow “Skip” Hawkes received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Magna cum Laude, from Tufts University in 1970, and a Masters from Tufts University in 1971, while a teaching assistant in surveying and soils testing. Mr. Hawkes earned a second Masters degree in Civil Engineering in 1975, from MIT while a research assistant in geotechnical engineering. Mr. Hawkes’ engineering practice included structural and geotechnical assignments in England, Canada, the Pacific and New England states and Florida. He has been a registered professional engineer in Florida since 1977. Mr. Hawkes received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida in June 1979 and was admitted to the Florida Bar later that year. He is also admitted to practice in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Hawkes has extensive experience in representing architects, engineers, contractors, and construction product manufacturers for over twenty years. His appellate work has included Easterday v. Masiello which extended the Slavin defense doctrine to licensed architects and engineers.

Bryan W. Black
Bryan W. Black obtained his Juris Doctorate in 2002 from Nova Southeastern University. He is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida and the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. He is also a member of the Palm Beach County Bar Association. Mr. Black's areas of practice include Civil and Commericial litigation and appellate work.

Shirley Jean McEachern
Shirley Jean McEachern is a 1974 graduate of DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, graduating in the top 10%. She received her Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1979 from Indiana University School of Law. Ms. McEachern began her legal career as a Senior Staff Attorney to the Honorable James H. Walden at the State of Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, Florida where she was a recipient of a Certificate of Outstanding Contribution. Ms. McEachern has extensive legal background in appellate practice, complex construction and products liability litigation, insurance coverage litigation, premise liability and medical malpractice. She also has an extensive legal background in land use, code enforcement, eminent domain and water/wastewater utility law, having worked approximately ten years in public service as an Assistant County Attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida as well as for Collier County, Florida and as an Assistant City Attorney for West Palm Beach, Florida, prior to entering private practice in the area of insurance defense litigation. Ms. McEachern is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, Georgia, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the Florida Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal of Florida as well as the State and Federal Courts in Indiana.

Jeffrey Burnside
Jeffrey Burnside is a lifelong Florida resident and in 1998, received his Bachelors degree in Political Science from the Florida State University where he worked extensively with the Student Government and the Florida Legislature. Before earning his Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University in 2005, Mr. Burnside worked professionally in the construction administration and finance industries. Mr. Burnside has been a member of Derrevere & Hawkes since 2004 and focuses his practice on all areas of Civil Litigation, specifically Products Liability, Construction Defects, and Insurance Subrogation.

Charles D. Straub
Charles "Chuck" Straub received his B.A., in Political Science, Cum Laude, from Ohio University in 1989. Mr. Straub received his Juris Doctorate Degree from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center, in 2005. He was Chief Advocate of Nova Southeastern University Moot Court Honor Society in 2004-2005. Prior to entering law school he worked in the securities industry as a Series 7 registered representative. Mr. Straub is admitted to all courts in the State of Florida and the Southern District Court.