Elizabeth Izquierdo focuses her practice on legal malpractice defense. She also has experience in the areas of complex commercial litigation, securities fraud, and professional liability with a focus on accounting malpractice defense, as well as appellate practice.
People
Elizabeth A. Izquierdo
Partner, Litigation
Notable Work
Professional Negligence Claim:
Successfully obtained summary judgment based on statute of limitations in negligence action for purported failure to procure liability insurance, in a case against an insurance broker seeking damages in excess of $16 million.
Class Action Litigation:
Successfully defended the trial court’s entry of final summary for the defendant in a class action suit in an appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Colombo v. Robertson Anschutz & Schneid, P.L. See the Fourth DCA May 4, 2022, decision, at 2022 WL 1397564.
Jury Trial:
Represented large law firm client in a challenging seven-year-old case that the team took over from prior counsel after a number of adverse rulings, including orders granting leave to pursue punitive damage claims against a major law firm and one of its lawyers. The team prevailed in a two-week jury trial on claims for conspiracy/usurpation of corporate opportunity, negligent misrepresentation, aiding and abetting fraud/theft of corporate opportunity, civil theft, and breach of escrow agreement. The court granted a directed verdict on the claims for civil theft and for punitive damages against the law firm, and the jury rendered a complete defense verdict on all remaining claims.
Securities Litigation:
Defended a multinational corporate fund administrator and individual directors of a $500 million offshore hedge fund in numerous lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions arising out of a complex valuation fraud scheme perpetrated by the hedge fund’s investment manager. The lawsuits included a securities fraud class action lawsuit brought by two individual investors (see Bruhl v. Price Waterhousecoopers Int’l Ltd. II, No. 03-23044-CIV, 2011 WL 13071116 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 7, 2011)); a federal securities fraud lawsuit brought by a large group of institutional investors (see Pension Committee of the University of Montreal Pension Plan v. Banc of America Securities, LLC, 592 F. Supp. 2d 608 (S.D.N.Y. 2009)); and breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and negligence-based claims brought by the hedge fund’s court-appointed receiver (see Court Appointed Receiver of Lancer Offshore, Inc. v. Citco Grp. Ltd., No. 05-60080-CIV, 2011 WL 1232986 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 30, 2011)).
Hedge Fund Litigation:
Defended a multinational corporate fund administrator and custodian of a multibillion-dollar hedge fund group in multiple lawsuits, including a federal securities class action lawsuit and shareholder derivative claims, arising out of the hedge fund’s losses caused by the Bernard L. Madoff Ponzi scheme. See Anwar v. Fairfield Greenwich Ltd., 2013 WL 662972 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 25, 2013); Stephenson v. Citco Group Limited, 700 F. Supp. 2d 599 (S.D.N.Y. 2010).