Niva Harney-Hiller

Niva Harney-Hiller

Partner Miami, United States

T: +1 305 537 2027

E: Niva.Harney@kennedyslaw.com

Profile

Admissions

  • Florida
  • US Virgin Islands
  • US District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • US District Court, Southern District of Florida
  • US District Court, District of the US Virgin Islands

Education

  • University of Miami Law School, JD
  • Maritime and Admiralty Law, University of Miami School of Law, LLM
  • Florida International University, BBA, summa cum laude

Niva is a Partner in the firm’s Miami, Florida office. Niva dedicates her practice to defending premises liability and commercial liability claims. Specifically, her focus is on personal injury, wrongful death, negligent security, property damage, construction defect, product liability, medical and professional malpractice, product liability, and commercial litigation.

Niva’s clients include retail stores, major hotels & resorts, condominium associations, shopping malls, developers, the world’s premier cruise lines, and major insurance carriers. She also frequently represents foreign governments, individuals, and businesses in commercial disputes, including the government of Antigua & Barbuda and disputes involving international and local corporations. A large portion of her practice is devoted to representing condominium associations in premises liability, property damage, and negligent security matters.

Niva was born and raised in Antigua, West Indies. She earned her Juris Doctor and her LLM in Maritime and Admiralty Law from the University of Miami School of Law. During law school, Niva was an intern with the Florida Supreme Court. She completed her undergraduate studies at Florida International University, graduating summa cum laude with a BBA in Finance and Marketing and received the Outstanding Business Student Award for Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society.

Niva is an active member of the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), where she earned the CLMP designation. She is also a member of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC), Caribbean Bar Association, and the National Bar Association Commercial Law Section (NBA-CLS).

Market recognition

  • Florida Super Lawyers, Rising Star, Law & Politics, 2012-present
  • Top 40 Under 40, National Black Lawyers

Work highlights

  • Motion to Dismiss granted for large retail store where Plaintiff’s counsel attempted a fraudulent joinder of a store manager in a personal injury negligence case.
  • Motion for Summary Judgment granted when Plaintiff attempted to claim breach of condominium bylaws where Plaintiff was a resident and not an owner of said condominium; therefore, blocking Plaintiff’s entitlement to fees under Florida Statute 718.
  • Motion for Summary Judgment on board member’s allege breach of fiduciary duty to condominium owner.
  • Successfully defended condominium association against significant property damage claim where Plaintiff alleged seven figures worth of damages against condominium association for failure to maintain common elements.
  • Commercial litigation matter involving Antiguan government and multiple contractors and sub-contractors who performed construction services in constructing Antigua’s headquarters building in St. John’s, Antigua.
  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of the cruise line in a shore excursion case where Plaintiff claimed significant injuries while on a zip lining shore excursion in Jamaica.
  • Wrongful death matter involving an employee of a major company who was intoxicated while driving in the U.S. Virgin Islands resulting in death of two men. Successfully resolved pre-suit.
  • Defense of negligent security and wrongful death matter involving a mall in the U.S. Virgin Islands where a tenant was shot upon exiting the mall. Achieved successful result on behalf of the mall.
  • Successfully represented condominium association in a highly contentious multi-party matter involving substantial damages to a multi-million dollar penthouse unit.
  • Successfully represented a Trinidadian Security Company in a commercial matter involving complex business dispute between the company’s commercial suppliers located in South Florida.
  • Successfully defended a crane maintenance company when damage was caused to a ship’s crane and slewing bearing.

Presentations and publications

  • Co-Author, “Breaking Through Barriers: For a successful mediation, communication and preparation are keys,” CLM Magazine (January 2020)
  • Panelist, “Insurance PAC CLE Session: Partnering with Defense Counsel and Managing Your Legal Spend,” NAMWOLF Driving Diversity & Leadership Conference (2020)
  • Instructor, “Litigation Management: Partnering with Defense Counsel and Managing Your Legal Spend,” Claims and Litigation Management Alliance Claims College (2019)
  • "Special Handling of Hospitality Claims Involving Minor Children of All Ages” presented at CLM Business Insurance: Retail, Restaurant & Hospitality Conference (2018)
  • Author, “Special Handling of Hospitality Claims Involving Minor Children of All Ages,” HospitalityLawyer.com (July 2018)
  • “#TIMESUP: Striving for Equality in the Courtroom and C-Suite,” presented at 14th Annual General Counsel Summit Session (2018)
  • Author, “Premises Securities Litigation,” HospitalityLawyer.com (June 2018)
  • “Internal Investigations: Top Ten Lessons Learned from Real World Cases,” presented at NBA-CLS CLE Panel (2017)
  • “Defending Claims of Negligent Response to Medical Emergency,” presented at Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (2015)
  • “Identifying and Avoiding Contractor Fraud in Miami, FL and Beyond,” presented at CARICOM Consular Corps. General Meeting (March 2013)

Services

Sectors