Miguel J. Chamorro
Miguel J. Chamorro is a litigation attorney whose practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, domestic and international arbitration, and appellate matters.
PRACTICE AREAS
- Litigation/ADR
- Corporate
Overview
He represents businesses and individuals in disputes involving contracts, corporate governance, creditors and debtors, professional liability, and real estate disputes.
Mr. Chamorro handles matters in state and federal courts, administrative proceedings, and arbitration forums, including disputes involving cross-border transactions and international commercial relationships. His experience includes matters involving consumers, employee leasing companies (a/k/a professional employment organizations), government entities, hoteliers, insurance agencies and brokers, insurance company receivers, investors, real estate brokers, reinsurers, and residential and nonresidential lessors and lessees.
Among the significant matters in which Mr. Chamorro has been involved is his representation of the Florida Department of Financial Services, acting as court-appointed receiver for Guarantee Insurance Company, a workers’ compensation insurer that issued policies in 31 states, and the Poe Insurance Group, a property and casualty insurer often cited as one of the largest insurance company failures in Florida’s history. In connection with these receiverships, Mr. Chamorro evaluated and pursued claims on behalf of the receiver against the insurers’ officers and directors, outside professionals, and creditors.
Mr. Chamorro has also been active in the development of Florida’s procedural law. He previously served as Vice Chair of The Florida Bar’s Civil Procedure Rules Committee, where he evaluated and drafted proposed amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and presented them before the Florida Supreme Court. He later served on The Florida Bar’s Appellate Court Rules Committee.
He frequently writes on issues involving arbitration, civil procedure, and commercial litigation. His work has appeared in The Florida Bar Journal, The Florida Bar’s Florida Civil Trial Practice manual, the Daily Business Review, and JDSupra. Mr. Chamorro has also been interviewed by The Miami Herald on landlord-tenant law issues and has given presentations on landlord-tenant litigation matters.
Mr. Chamorro also serves as an arbitrator with National Arbitration and Mediation (NAM), a leading provider of alternative dispute resolution services. NAM administers arbitration and mediation proceedings for businesses nationwide and internationally and maintains a distinguished panel of neutrals serving thousands of commercial entities, including more than half of the Fortune 100 companies.
He is fluent in Spanish and has experience handling cross-border disputes involving financial transactions and collateral originating in Latin America, including matters involving restructuring agreements, guaranties, mortgages, and judicial decrees issued in foreign jurisdictions.
Background
Mr. Chamorro grew up in Nicaragua, which he frequently visits. He graduated from the American Nicaraguan School.
As an undergraduate student, Mr. Chamorro served as a research intern at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, where he studied the dynamics of counterterrorism and the operational methods of terrorist organizations in Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and Turkey.
In recognition of his research, he was selected in 2002 as an undergraduate fellow of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a policy institute formed shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The organization defends democratic values and works to counter the ideologies that drive terrorism. As part of this fellowship, Mr. Chamorro spent a month in Israel studying counterterrorism and meeting with civic and military leaders and personnel throughout the country.
Mr. Chamorro is married and has two children. His hobbies include scuba diving, soccer, and reading history.
Education
- Villanova University, B.A. 2003
- Florida State University College of Law, J.D. 2006
Admitted
- Florida
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Organizations
- Arbitrator, National Arbitration and Mediation (NAM)
- Civil Procedure Rules Committee of The Florida Bar, Vice Chair (2016–2019); Member (2013–2019)
- Appellate Court Rules Committee of The Florida Bar, Member (2019–2022)
- Rules of Judicial Administration Committee, Representative of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee (2017–2018)
- Federalist Society
Reported Decisions
- Chalpin Realty SC, LLC v. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Inc., 2026 WL 290460 (2d Cir. Feb. 4, 2026)
- Hull v. Spalding, 2025 WL 3551806 (N.D. Ga. Oct. 20, 2025)
- Synergy Trust Partners, LLC v. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of Florida, Inc., 422 So.3d 257 (Fla. 1st DCA 2025)
- Casa Express Corp. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 158 F.4th 1176 (11th Cir. 2025)
- Chalpin Realty SC, LLC v. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Inc., 2025 WL 588029 (S.D. N.Y. Feb. 24, 2025)
- Cruz v. Perez, 420 So.3d 629 (Fla. 3d DCA 2025)
- Universal Handicraft, Inc. v. Cohen, 393 So.3d 834 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024) (mem.)
- Real v. Woodspring Suites Fort Myers Southeast, LLC, 2019 WL 2211111 (M.D. Fla. 2019)
- In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure – 2018 Regular-Cycle Report, 258 So.3d 1254 (Fla. 2018)
- In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Form 1.983 (Prospective Juror Questionnaire), 211 So.3d 985 (Fla. 2017)
- Dep’t of Children & Families v. Lincoln Marti Community Agency, Inc., No. 16-6033 (Fla. DOAH Apr. 14, 2017)
Professional Involvement
- Civil Procedure Rules Committee of The Florida Bar, Vice Chair (2016-2019), member (2013-2019)
- Rules of Judicial Administration Committee of The Florida Bar, Representative of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee (2017-2018)
- Appellate Court Rules Committee of The Florida Bar, member (2019-present)
Representative Matters
- Represented a national real estate brokerage firm in appellate litigation arising from an arbitration award related to a property located in South Carolina. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed dismissal of a petition seeking to vacate the award, holding that the petition was untimely under the Federal Arbitration Act and rejecting arguments for waiver and equitable tolling.
- Represented the Florida Department of Financial Services, acting as court-appointed receiver for Guarantee Insurance Company, a workers’ compensation insurer that issued policies in 31 states, and the Poe Insurance Group, a property and casualty insurer often cited as one of the largest insurance company failures in Florida’s history. Responsibilities included evaluating and pursuing claims on behalf of the receiver against the insurers’ officers and directors, outside professionals, and creditors.
- Represented a factoring company in a contract action involving restructuring agreements, guaranties, and mortgage collateral originating in Colombia, addressing issues related to enforcement of international commercial obligations.
- Represented a financial institution in a foreclosure action involving restructuring agreements, guaranties, mortgages, and judicial decrees issued in the Dominican Republic, requiring analysis of foreign legal instruments and their treatment in U.S. proceedings.
Treatises & Books
- Florida Civil Trial Practice (LexisNexis/The Florida Bar)
- Chapter 3: Trial by Court or Jury (co-author, 11th–15th eds.)
- Chapter 6: Making a Proper Record (15th ed.)
Articles & Commentary
- Employment Litigation Update: Arbitration Agreements Cannot Eliminate Plan-wide Relief Under ERISA, JDSupra (Jan. 9, 2026)
- Undock That Appeal—The Federal Arbitration Act Doesn’t Apply to Workers Engaged in Interstate Commerce, JDSupra (Dec. 9, 2025)
- Note to Businesses with Arbitration Clauses in Their Consumer Agreements: Get the Clause Approved, JDSupra (Oct. 13, 2025)
- Twitter Arbitration Clash: Second Circuit Says Fight Over Ongoing Fees Is Not a Refusal to Arbitrate, JDSupra (Sept. 24, 2025)
- Florida Senate Bill 606: The End of Hotel Evictions?, Daily Business Review (June 11, 2025)
- Subrogees Beware—You Can Be Compelled to Arbitrate as Third-Party Beneficiaries to an Arbitration Agreement, JDSupra (Apr. 15, 2025)
- The Role of Delegation Clauses in Motions to Compel Arbitration When a Family Member Signs an Arbitration Agreement, JDSupra (Jan. 22, 2025)
- Does the Failure to Comply With a Pre-Suit Mediation Clause Result in the Waiver of the Right to Arbitration? Only the Arbitrator Knows!, JDSupra (Oct. 17, 2024)
- “Fourth-Order” Arbitration Disputes and Mandatory Stays During Arbitration—A Busy Month in the Supreme Court for Arbitration Case Law, JDSupra (July 2, 2024)
- Arbitration in Action: When Challenging an Arbitration Agreement’s Delegation Clause, Do So Specifically—and Challenge the Right Thing, JDSupra (Jan. 25, 2024)
- Navigating Unjust Enrichment Claims in Florida: Direct (and Indirect) Lessons from CFLB Partnership, LLC v. Diamond Blue Int’l, Inc., and Its Predecessors, JDSupra (Sep. 14, 2022)
- What Are You: A Hotel Guest, Tenant, or Transient Occupant? The Florida Bar Journal (September-October 2018)
- Testifying Remotely May Soon Be Easier if Proposed Rule Changes Are Approved, Daily Business Review (December 4, 2018)
- Legislature Changes Critical Deadlines in Construction Defect Litigation, (co-author), Daily Business Review (May 15, 2018)
- No Rachmones—The Dynamics of Florida’s Pay-to-Play Eviction Litigation (co-author), The Florida Bar Journal (September-October 2015)
