Harold Edward Patricoff

Mr. Patricoff counsels clients in Florida, elsewhere in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. He primarily defends and prosecutes claims for national and international businesses in U.S. courts, handles international arbitrations, and counsels multinational companies in foreign and domestic claims. Mr. Patricoff has developed a significant practice in the area of domestic and international fuel sales, supply and distribution. He is outside counsel for a global distributor of aviation, marine and diesel fuel and manages legal disputes for that company throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. Mr. Patricoff’s work in arbitration also has a broad geographic scope. He represents clients in arbitration and related claims through the American Arbitration Association, the International Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Securities Dealers, as well as all forms of international discovery and Hague Convention procedures. Mr. Patricoff travels frequently to Europe and Latin America and is fluent in Spanish.

Recent Matters

• Successfully handled seminal case under Florida’s fuel lien statute on behalf of aviation fuel supplier against finance company/owner.
• Successfully defended $100 million product liability claim involving a power generation facility located in Haiti.
• Obtained a  multi-million dollar arbitration award for a large European power generation firm against a Colombian boiler manufacturer for failure to comply with licensing obligations.
• Prevailed against the U.S. Department of Treasury and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on behalf of an aviation fuel supplier seeking to unblock funds from a Peruvian airline.
• Successfully defended a marine bunker fuel provider over alleged theft of trade secrets.
• Successfully coordinated defense of product liability claims against petroleum distributors involving aviation fuel exposure.
• Successfully resolved numerous claims against foreign broker dealers involving frozen trading accounts and alleged money laundering and/or black market pesos activities.

Business Litigation

A former Chairman of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Patricoff has extensive experience in general commercial litigation. In addition to his special focus on the electrical power, fuel sales and distribution and aviation industries, he has resolved cases in insurance, manufacturing, construction, banking, and real estate. Specific matters include product liability claims, corporate shareholder disputes, developer-contractor disputes, commercial foreclosures, and lender liability claims, among others.Civic Activities Mr. Patricoff actively participates in several organizations in the community. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Miami-Dade County Chapter of the YMCA and serves on its Development Committee.  He also currently serves on the Latin Builders Association Board, American Nicaraguan Foundation (including Audit Committee), and Ted Smallwood Store.  He is the past Chairman of the American Heart Association's Metro Miami Board of Directors and has served on the Board's Executive Committee for several years, and served on the Board for the American Red Cross.  He also served three 2 year terms on the Board of Directors for The Jay Malina International Trade Consortium (formerly known as the Mayor's Trade Mission Center of the Americas).

Clients

ABB Flakt, Inc.; Alstom Power, Inc.; American Founders Life Insurance Company; Asesores en Valores; ASR, LLC, exclusive Fisher Island contractor; Bank United; Berkshire Life Insurance Company;  Carvajal, S.A.; Combustion Engineering, Inc.; Corinthian Colleges, Inc.; Crispin Porter & Bogusky, LLC; Florida Career College; Florida Plumbing & Hardware Co.; Francisco A. Mendez, Jr.; Giorgio Balli, AIA; Guardian Insurance and Annuity Company; Guardian Life Insurance Company of America; H&W Petroleum, Inc.; Heitman Properties; James H. Stone; La Costeña, S.A.; Local Air Conditioning, Inc.; Merco Group, Inc.; Pacific Horizon Petroleum Services; Parbel of Florida; Park Avenue Securities; Streicher Mobile Fueling Services, Inc.; SunTrust Bank; SunTrust Securities, Inc.; Superior Pharmacy, LLC; Taubman Properties; Telex Chile; Toledo Iron Works, Inc.; Toyota Motor Credit Company; Trans-Tec; Union Planters Bank; and World Fuel Services, Inc.