Scott is licensed to practice in Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi. He represents business clients and professionals in a broad range of practice areas, including professional liability, labor & employment, healthcare, internal investigations, defense of corporate directors and officers, and defense of personal injury and wrongful death claims. He serves in an outside general counsel and risk management role for multiple business clients along the Central Gulf Coast. He has also served as lead counsel for clients in a diverse range of jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations, class actions hearings, and administrative hearings. Scott is also a registered Mediator on the Alabama State Court Mediator Roster.
Professional Recognition
•AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings.
•Rising Star for the State of Alabama by Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine.
•Recognized as a Leading Litigation Attorney under 40 years of age in Benchmark Litigation's annual Under 40 Hot List 2019.
•Name a Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation 2020.
•Graduate of the International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy.
•Board Member for CLM's Retail, Restaurant, and Hospitality Board.
•Certified Litigation Management Professional .
•Graduate of the CLM's Litigation Management Institute.
Experience
Highlights
•Obtained an order denying a class certification attempt against a major tourist development client in Northwest Florida that was alleged to be responsible for class allegations relating to violations of the Florida Deceptive & Unfair Trade Practices Act.
•Obtained a defense verdict for the Board of Directors of an Alabama condominium association in jury trial involving alleged failure to comply with the Alabama Uniform Condominium Act and Declaration of Condominium.
•Obtained complete summary judgment and affirmance and opinion by Eleventh Circuit on behalf of national grocery chain as to claims for negligence and wantonness arising out of personal injury sustained by Plaintiff in Alabama store.
•Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of marine construction company in federal district court by successfully proving that the defendant’s vessel was not in “marine peril,” where plaintiff had asserted a claim for maritime salvage award for saving vessel that was allegedly adrift.
•Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of gymnastics facility in Alabama in a personal injury jury trial wherein Plaintiff claimed the facility was unreasonably unsafe.
•Obtained summary judgment on behalf of national paper products manufacturer in Choctaw County on third-party claims for indemnity and insurance coverage arising out of personal injury incident at manufacturer’s plant in Choctaw County.
•Obtained recovery on behalf of marine services client after filing suit under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA”) for damages relative to an Oil Spill that occurred on the Mobile River during a tank-to-tank transfer on defendant’s property.
•Obtained a complete summary judgment and dismissal for a national insurance provider in a suit brought under Alabama’s Direct Action Statute. The judgment and dismissal were subsequently affirmed on appeal by the Alabama Supreme Court.
•Obtained complete summary judgment and affirmance from Eleventh Circuit on financial institution bond claim filed in federal court in Alabama.
•Successfully obtained writ of mandamus from Alabama Supreme Court on behalf of insurance company, directing Circuit Court of Dallas County, Alabama to transfer insurance fraud case to Circuit Court of Lee County on grounds that venue was improper in Dallas County.
•Obtained complete dismissal, with prejudice, of all claims against maritime port engineer in personal injury action arising out of an explosion on merchant vessel as it underwent repairs in a South Carolina shipyard. The federal district court agreed that the claims were time-barred, despite Plaintiff’s claims that equitable tolling and equitable estoppel should apply to extend the limitations period.
•Obtained complete summary judgment in purported class action suit brought against cable services provider for breach of contract and specific performance arising out of gas rebate promotion. The dismissal was subsequently affirmed on appeal by the Alabama Supreme Court.
•Obtained summary judgment on behalf of property preservation and inspection company on claims of trespass, conversion, invasion of privacy, defamation, outrage, and wantonness, arising out of preservation work performed on home that was in foreclosure.
•Obtained dismissal of claims against condominium developer based on argument that Mississippi Chancery Court lacked jurisdiction to revisit decision of arbitrator. The dismissal was affirmed on appeal by the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
•Obtained complete summary judgment on behalf of bonding company on bond claims asserted against it by subcontractor for nonpayment for construction work performed on public works project in Baldwin County, Alabama.
•Obtained complete summary judgment on behalf of home health care agency and certified nursing assistant, where Plaintiff alleged claims of medical negligence, assault, breach of contract, and negligent hiring, training, and supervision, arising out of alleged improper handling of mentally ill patient.
•Obtained defense verdict on behalf of cable services provider in state court action in Baldwin County, where Plaintiff alleged damages related to breach of contract and negligent installation of cable services, causing him lost rental value on his condominium unit in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
•Obtained complete summary judgment in federal district court on behalf of surety/bonding company, dismissing claims which alleged that surety was responsible for damages arising out of the nonpayment of various subcontractors by the owner of a condominium development on Gulf Coast.
•Obtained dismissal in federal district court, on behalf of horticulture corporation, of fraud and negligence claims, as well as 31 patent claims, based upon statute of limitations and laches arguments.
•Obtained a full dismissal of class allegations against a corporation alleged to have violated the Truth-In-Lending Act (“TILA”).
Presentations and Publications
•“Legal Brief: A Look at the Duties of a Premises Owner to Preserve,” Alabama Restaurant & Hospitality Association Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 1 (2018).
•Recent Development in Production & Preservation of Surveillance Video, 2016 CLM Restaurant, Retail, and Hospitality Conference, Tampa, Florida (2016).
•Handling Internal Employment Investigations, Florida (2015).
•Legal Overview and Update - Employment Law Issues (FMLA and ADA), Florida (2014).
•Defense of Restaurant and Retailer Claims in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, Kansas City, MO (2012).
•“Insurers Beware: Defending Claims Under Alabama’s Direct Action Statute,” Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA) Journal, 2012 Spring Edition
•A Comparative Look at Alabama’s Stance on Ethical Issues Faced by Insurance Defense Lawyers, 30 J. Leg. Prof. 159 (2005-2006).
News & Insights
•Mobile County Retailer Alert
•Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Business Interruption, Property Damage, and Other Insurance Coverage Issues
•COVID-19 PREMISES ALERT FOR BUSINESS AND PROPERTY OWNERS
•Labor & Employment News Alert - 2020: A New Year Full of New Rules
•THIRTY-ONE SDF ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2019 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
•SDF’s Labor & Employment Practice Group News Alert- September 2019
•Labor & Employment News Alert: Alabama Equal Pay Act
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked in the 2019 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
•THIRTY-ONE SDF ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2018 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
•Davis, Stevens, & Wells Named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List
•Twenty-Eight SDF Attorneys Named to the 2017 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
•Twenty-Six SDF Attorneys Named to the 2016 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
•SDF Attorney Scott Stevens Named To CLM Retail, Restaurant, and Hospitality Board
•Twenty-Six SDF Attorneys Named to 2015 Alabama Super Lawyers
•Stiff, Newton & Stevens Obtain a Favorable Appellate Ruling in Financial Institution Bond Case
•Thirty SDF Attorneys Named to Alabama Super Lawyers 2014
•Twenty-Six Starnes Davis Florie Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers 2013
•Starnes Davis Florie Announces Its New Partners
•Starnes Attorneys Butler and Stevens Obtain Defense Verdict in Maritime Case
•Twenty-Two Starnes Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers
