Brenton N. Ver Ploeg
Brenton Ver Ploeg, born in Cody, Wyoming, received his B.S. from Northwestern University in 1969 and his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1973, where he was a Note and Comment editor on the Hastings Law Journal. He is admitted to the Bars of Florida, California and the District of Columbia and to practice in Florida's Middle and Southern Districts of the U.S. District Courts, the 5th and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He was with Shutts & Bowen for over twenty years and is a seasoned trial attorney with extensive commercial and insurance litigation experience, including the representation of over twenty disability insurers in both individual and group cases. A well-known lecturer and author on insurance bad faith claims handling, unfair insurance practices, and extracontractual damages, he concentrates on complex civil matters, emphasizing representation of policy holders in all varieties of insurance coverage and bad faith disputes including ERISA and appellate practice. He also serves as corporate counsel to two not-for-profit organizations dedicated to educating the public about science and the scientific method.
Areas of Practice
- Insurance Law
- Bad Faith
- Litigation & Appeals
- Complex Litigation
- Federal Appellate Practice
- State Appellate Practice
- Federal Trial Practice
- State Trial Practice
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) -- Employee
- Health & Health Care Law
- Disability
- Ethics & Professional Responsibility
- Legal Malpractice
- Science & Technology Law
Litigation Percentage
- 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
Bar Admissions
- California, 1973
- Florida, 1974
- District of Columbia, 1981
Education
- University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, California
- J.D. - 1973
- Law Journal: Hastings Law Journal, Note and Comment Editor
- Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
- B.S. - 1969
- Honors: Communication Studies and Political Science - Robert Cumnock Debate Award
Published Works
- Avoiding the Byte of the Millenium Bug: Insurance Coverage for Y2K
- Insurance Bad Faith Battlegrounds: Not So Quiet on the Southeastern Front
- How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Punitive Damages
- Junk Science
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Dade County Defense Bar Association, Past Member, Board of Directors
- American Association for Justice, Member
- American Bar Association, Member
- Florida Bar, Member, Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, 11th Judicial Court
- California State Bar, Member
- District of Columbia Bar, Member
Past Employment Positions
- Shutts & Bowen, Associate, 1973 - 1977
- Shutts & Bowen, Partner, 1978 - 1995
- Shutts & Bowen, Hiring Partner, 1978 - 1983
- Shutts & Bowen, Risk Management/Claims and Ethics Counsel, 1984 - 1995
- Shutts & Bowen, Member, Executive Committee, 1992 - 1994
- United States Army, Republic of Vietnam, 25th Infantry Division, 1968 - 1969






