Dear Ms. Bowman,
I am writing in my capacity as Responsible Partner at Calderwood & Harkness LLP, outside counsel to Verimark Hospitality Group Inc. ("VHG"), a Delaware corporation publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market (ticker: VMHG), with its principal offices located at 2400 Bayshore Boulevard, Suite 1100, Tampa, Florida 33629.
Calderwood & Harkness is writing on behalf of VHG in connection with the Employment Practices Liability insurance policy issued by Pinnacle Indemnity Corp. to VHG, Policy No. PIN-EPL-2025-44781, with a policy period of July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026 (the "Policy"). The purpose of this email is to transmit the attached formal Notice of Claim and Tender Letter, dated February 7, 2026, and to provide Pinnacle Indemnity Corp. ("Pinnacle") with timely notice of a potential claim under the Policy, as described below.
**Description of the Claim**
On January 14, 2026, VHG received a demand letter from the law firm Garza, Linden & Okafor LLP (600 Brickell Avenue, Suite 2200, Miami, Florida 33131), authored by Marco A. Garza, Esq., on behalf of a former hourly employee, Daniela M. Serrano. Ms. Serrano was formerly employed as a front-desk associate (hourly, non-exempt) at the Verimark Regency Tampa from approximately March 2022 through August 2025.
The demand letter alleges systemic wage-and-hour violations across seven Verimark-branded hotel and resort properties in the State of Florida and threatens a collective and/or class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 207(a), and the minimum-wage provisions of the Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 24. Specifically, the demand letter sets forth the following five categories of allegations:
1. Failure to pay overtime compensation at one-and-one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per workweek; 2. Illegal automatic meal-break deductions of 30 minutes per shift despite employees allegedly being required to remain on-call during those periods; 3. Failure to compensate employees for pre-shift and post-shift work, including donning and doffing uniforms, booting up point-of-sale and reservation systems, and attending shift-handover briefings, estimated at approximately 15 to 25 minutes per shift; 4. Failure to pay the applicable Florida minimum wage for tipped employees in certain front-desk and concierge roles participating in tip pools; and 5. Alleged misclassification of certain "lead" and "senior" hourly roles as exempt under the FLSA administrative exemption.
The putative class and collective is described in the demand letter as encompassing all current and former hourly, non-exempt employees at Verimark-branded properties in Florida from January 2023 to the present, with an estimated class size of 4,100 to 5,900 individuals. The demand letter seeks $18.5 million, inclusive of back pay, liquidated damages, and attorneys' fees, and sets a response deadline of February 28, 2026.
A copy of the demand letter is attached to this email for Pinnacle's review.
**Policy Details and Notice Compliance**
For ease of reference, the relevant Policy details are as follows:
- Policy Number: PIN-EPL-2025-44781 - Policy Period: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 - EPL Per-Occurrence Limit: $10,000,000 - EPL Aggregate Limit: $25,000,000 - Self-Insured Retention: $500,000 per claim
VHG's General Counsel, Devin K. Arroyo, received the demand letter on January 16, 2026. Pursuant to the terms of the Policy, written notice to the carrier is required "as soon as practicable" but no later than 60 days after receipt of a demand or claim, which places the contractual notice deadline at March 15, 2026. Accordingly, this notice is being provided well within the applicable notice period.
**Tender and Reservation of Rights**
VHG hereby tenders the above-described claim to Pinnacle and requests that Pinnacle (a) acknowledge coverage under the Policy, (b) confirm the applicability of the EPL coverage to the described claim, and (c) advise VHG of any reservations of rights or coverage positions Pinnacle may assert.
VHG reserves all rights under the Policy, including, without limitation, the right to defense-cost advancement to the extent applicable under the Policy's terms.
VHG does not admit any of the allegations contained in the demand letter. VHG is vigorously investigating the claims as part of the scoping phase of a pre-litigation audit and will continue to do so. VHG acknowledges its obligation under the $500,000 per-claim self-insured retention.
**Requests**
In light of the foregoing, we respectfully request the following:
1. That Pinnacle acknowledge receipt of this notice and the attached tender letter at your earliest convenience; 2. That Pinnacle assign a claim number to this matter and identify a coverage counsel contact, if applicable; 3. That Pinnacle provide its initial coverage position, including any reservation of rights, within a reasonable period; and 4. We remain available to provide any additional information or documentation that Pinnacle may require to evaluate this claim.
**Contact Information**
Please direct all correspondence regarding this matter to the undersigned at:
Calderwood & Harkness LLP 100 Southeast Second Street, Suite 3400 Miami, Florida 33131 Telephone: (305) 814-7200 Email: bcrawford@calderwoodharkness.com
VHG's General Counsel, Devin K. Arroyo, who is copied on this email, may also be contacted directly at VHG's headquarters. Please reference Calderwood & Harkness matter number 1021-00005 in all future correspondence concerning this claim.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to hearing from you.
Very truly yours,
Bernard Crawford Responsible Partner, Labor & Employment Calderwood & Harkness LLP 100 Southeast Second Street, Suite 3400 Miami, Florida 33131 Telephone: (305) 814-7200 Email: bcrawford@calderwoodharkness.com
**Attachments:** 1. Notice of Claim / Tender Letter, dated February 7, 2026 (executed) 2. Demand Letter from Garza, Linden & Okafor LLP, dated January 14, 2026
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