777 S. Harbour Island Boulevard
Suite 500
Tampa, Florida 33602
Scott S. Katz
Scott S. Katz is a Partner at Butler Pappas. He served as the firm's Managing Partner between 1997 and 2001. Mr. Katz received his Bachelor of Arts with high honors from the University of Florida in 1984 and Doctor of Jurisprudence with honors from the University of Tennessee in 1987. He was also a member of the University of Tennessee Law Review. While in law school, Mr. Katz served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable David J. Torbett, ALJ, for the United States Department of the Interior.
Mr. Katz is admitted to practice in all Florida courts, as well as in the Federal Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida. In addition to practicing throughout Florida, Mr. Katz has handled cases in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
Mr. Katz's practice focuses on large, complex subrogation claims, where he represents both plaintiffs and defendants. Mr. Katz also works on insurance coverage disputes and casualty defense cases. He handles a wide range of matters including complex business disputes, general tort claims, professional malpractice, construction litigation, environmental damage, and product liability losses. Much of Mr. Katz's work involves multi-party litigation relating to significant property losses, contract disputes, construction mishaps, chemical contamination, and product failures. Mr. Katz has been lead counsel in over twenty-five jury trials involving such matters.
Mr. Katz frequently lectures on a variety of topics. Throughout the years, he has led seminars concerning all aspects of large loss subrogation; spoliation of evidence; the economic loss rule; professional ethics; and insurance coverage. Most recently, Mr. Katz has presented the following seminars: Get the Money: Ethically (Defense Research Institute's Property Law Seminar, Feb. 2000); Subrogation Ethics (National Association of Subrogation Professionals' Annual Meeting, Nov. 2000); The Yellow Brick Road to Recovering the Green: Handling Subrogated Windstorm Claims (Florida Windstorm Association's Annual Conference, Feb. 2001); Why Are They Taking My Deposition? (National Association of Subrogation Professionals' Annual Meeting, Nov. 2001); Insights Into What The Defense Is Thinking (National Association of Subrogation Professionals' Annual Meeting, Nov. 2001); Fire Scene Spoliation (National Association of Subrogation Professionals' Annual Meeting, Nov. 2002); Practical Advice for Handling the Complex Property Loss Within the Self-Insured Retention (ABA TTIPS Annual Meeting, Aug. 2003); Daubert/Frye: Be Afraid... Be Very Afraid... Or NOT, If You Are Prepared (National Association of Subrogation Professionals' Annual Meeting, Nov. 2004); Subrogating Hurricane Claims (National Association of Subrogation Professionals' Annual Meeting, Nov. 2006). He recently spoke at the following seminars: Direct and Cross-Examination of the Carrier's Damage Adjuster (Subrogation Litigation Skills Conference, March 2007); Daubert in the 21st Century and Computer Simulation (NASP Annual Conference, November 2007); Large Loss Subrogation Potpourri (ABA Property Insurance Loss Committee's 2007 Spring Meeting); The Inner Workings of the Subrogation Department: An In-Depth Symposium (NASP National Conference, November 4, 2008); Spoliation and Subrogation (FACAP's 31st Annual Training Seminar, November 12, 2008); and Subrogating Wind Damages (NASP 2009 Annual Conference, Subro Rocks, November 1-4, 2009).
Mr. Katz is a member of several professional organizations including the Defense Research Institute; the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TTIPS) of the American Bar Association; the National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP); and the Hillsborough County Bar Association. He was the Property Track Leader for the 2003 NASP Annual Convention, and he was the Conference Co-Chair for the 2004 NASP Annual Conference. Mr. Katz served as the Chair for the 2005 NASP Annual Conference in Austin, Texas. He recently served as the Specialty Track Leader for the 2006 Annual Conference.
Mr. Katz has also published the Subrogation portion of Insuring Real Property, Matthew Bender, 1989; Spoilage of Evidence - Crimes, Sanctions, Inferences and Torts, Tort and Insurance Law Journal, Fall 1993; Fire Scene Spoliation: Have We Gone Too Far? For The Defense, DRI Magazine, June 2002; Spoliation As Bad Faith, Mealey's Litigation Report: Insurance Bad Faith, September 2002; New Florida Law Changes Procedure For Making Claims Against Contractors for Construction Defects, NASP Subrogator, February 2004; Spoliation of Evidence Limiting the Duty to Preserve, NASP Subrogator, Winter 2005; Florida's Supreme Court Finally Brings Clarity to the Economic Loss Rule, NASP Subrogator, Spring/Summer 2005; Florida's Made Whole Doctrine: Returning A Portion of the Insured's Deductible Is Permissible For Now!, NASP Subrogator, Spring/Summer 2005; New Amendments to Florida Law for Making Claims Against Contractors For Construction Defects, NASP Subrogator, Spring/Summer 2005; Subrogating Hurricane Claims, NASP Subrogator, Winter 2007; Florida's Legislature Abolishes Joint and Several Liability, NASP Subrogator, Winter 2007; Florida Legislature AGAIN Changes the Requirements for Making a Construction Defect Claim, NASP Subrogator, Winter 2007; and Daubert in the 21st Century and Computer Simulation, NASP Subrogator, Spring/Summer 2008.