Paul Scott is a partner in the Firm and
represents clients in a broad range of civil litigation, including
lawsuits involving commercial truck accidents, automobile accidents,
products liability, medical malpractice, negligent security, premises
liability, insurance-coverage matters, class actions, and general
liability. Paul represents both plaintiffs and defendants and has
successfully handled cases for individuals, families, insurance
companies, insureds, small businesses, multinational corporations,
publicly traded corporations, Judges, Sheriffs, and the State of
Georgia. Paul holds the Martindale-Hubbell “AV Preeminent” rating, the
highest possible rating in legal ability and ethical standards, which
was given to him by his peers. In addition, Paul has previously been
named a Super Lawyer Rising Star, a distinction given to less than 2.5%
of lawyers in Georgia, and holds a rating of 9.8 out of 10 on AVVO. Paul
is also a registered mediator and arbitrator with the Georgia Office of
Dispute Resolution. Please visit www.coastalmediationgroup.com for more information about Paul’s mediation practice.
Representative Matters
Medical negligence cases. Paul has significant
experience representing clients in medical negligence cases—such as
medical malpractice, nursing home, and EMTALA claims—across various
medical specialties, including brain surgery, labor and delivery,
infectious diseases, orthopedic surgery, chiropractic treatment, general
surgery, psychiatric treatment, and nursing care, and has recovered
millions of dollars working with his partners and co-counsel. The names
of clients and defendants are not disclosed to protect the privacy of
our clients and due to confidentiality agreements.
Trucking litigation. Paul has considerable
experience litigating claims related to trucking accidents on behalf of
both plaintiffs and defendants. His expertise extends to catastrophic
injury and wrongful death claims, including those involving multiple
deaths and serious injuries resulting from a single crash. Paul also has
extensive experience coordinating immediate responses to accidents and
the investigation of accidents.
Products liability / Defective Products / Multi-District Litigation.
Paul has successfully handled various cases involving personal injury,
product liability, breach of warranty, and lemon law claims. He has
represented clients in litigation related to a wide range of products,
such as pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices, automobiles, motorcycles,
recreational vehicles, consumer products, and even a zip line. Paul has
represented parties in the following multi-district litigation matters:
MDL 2804 (IN RE: National Prescription Opiate Litigation)(Ohio); MDL
2741 (IN RE: Roundup Products Liability Litigation (California)(most of
Paul’s client’s Roundup cases were in St. Louis state court); MDL No.
2885 (IN RE: 3M Products Liability Litigation)(Florida); MDL 2738 (IN
RE: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales
Practices and Products Liability Litigation)(New Jersey); MDL 2846 (IN
RE: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products
Liability Litigation)(Ohio); MDL 2782 (In RE: Ethicon Physiomesh
Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation)(Georgia);
MDL 2592 (IN RE: Xarelto Products Liability Litigation)(Louisiana); MDL
2753 (IN RE: Atrium Medical Corp. C-Qur Mesh Products Liability
Litigation)(New Hampshire); and MDL 2452 (IN RE: Incretin-Based
Therapies Products Liability Litigation)(California).
Spartan Race “Insurance Fee” Class Action.
Co-counsel for the plaintiff in this class action. The court approved a
nationwide settlement worth $25.6 million on behalf of over 800,000
consumers and a separate award of attorneys’ fees. Fruitstone v. Spartan
Race, Inc., United States District Court, S.D. Fla.
Commercial law. Representing the plaintiff in this
case, the defendants failed to file a timely answer, and a $1.6 million
default judgment was entered. The defendants, through counsel, tried to
get the default judgment set aside. The Court of Appeals for the
Eleventh Circuit affirmed the default judgment, holding that the
judgment was not void because the interest rate was allegedly usurious.
The judgment was subsequently satisfied. HRB, LLC v. Alexander, 440 Fed.
Appx. 781 (11th Cir. 2011)
ERISA and federal and state tax law. Represented the
ex-wife of a Decedent in a dispute with the Decedent’s son regarding
the beneficiaries of the Decedent’s ERISA and non-ERISA deferred
compensation plans. The client recovered over $2.5 million of the $3.1
million at stake. Following the resolution of that case, the Estate of
the Decedent paid almost $1 million in state and federal estate taxes on
certain assets received by our client; thus, the son of the
Decedent—acting as the Executor of the Decedent’s estate—filed a lawsuit
against our client seeking reimbursement under 26 U.S.C. § 2206 of the
taxes that the Estate paid to the IRS attributable to those assets
received by our client. After prevailing on certain federal and estate
tax issues that intersected with probate and family-law issues, the
client’s tax liability was reduced to $493,939.
A case of first impression involving the RICO Act and appellate practice.
The plaintiff sued several employees of the Georgia Department of
Transportation (GDOT) and two testing companies, alleging a violation of
the RICO Act, among other things. The district court dismissed the RICO
claims, due to the plaintiff’s failure to establish first-party
reliance. The case proceeded to trial against one of the testing
companies, which was represented by a different law firm. However,
before the final judgment was entered, the United States Supreme Court
issued an opinion stating that a RICO plaintiff does not need to prove
first-party reliance. The plaintiff appealed the dismissal of the RICO
claims, arguing that the Supreme Court’s opinion revived their claims.
Faced with this change in the law, Special Assistant Attorney General
Todd Carter and Paul argued that the plaintiff waived its right to rely
on this new decision because the plaintiff failed to bring it to the
district court’s attention before the final judgment was entered.
Notably, our clients were the only parties to make this argument in this
appeal. In a case of first impression, the Eleventh Circuit Court of
Appeals agreed with our clients, holding that when there is a
significant change in the law before the final judgment, a party usually
needs to inform the district court; if they fail to do so, they waive
any arguments on appeal based on that change in the law. Therefore, all
of the RICO claims were dismissed. Douglas Asphalt Co. v. QORE, Inc.,
657 F.3d 1146 (11th Cir. 2011)
A case of first impression under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.
Along with John Bumgartner, represented a whistleblower in a False
Claims Act action who alleged that certain services provided to Medicare
and Medicaid beneficiaries by a physician constituted false claims
because the services were worthless. The United States Department of
Justice intervened and the hospital subsequently settled. This case
received significant press coverage (Bloomberg and Forbes online), and
also in legal trade publications. Both Health Lawyers Weekly and
Credentialing & Peer Review Legal Insider noted that this case was a
case of first impression. U.S. ex rel. Rogers v. Azmat, et al., United
States District Court, S.D. Ga.
Burn injury / maritime law. The plaintiff sustained
burns to over 90% of his body after his boat caught fire. The plaintiff
sought to recover $3.2 million in past medical bills, over $450,000 for
future medical care, and pain and suffering damages. Through an
extremely vigorous defense, the plaintiff agreed to dismiss the case
against our clients in exchange for $25,000, representing 0.68% of the
plaintiff’s past medical bills. Muhs v. River Rats, Inc., S.D.Ga.
Lemon Law / Regulatory Compliance. Represented
automobile manufacturer in numerous lemon-law arbitrations before the
Georgia Department of Law’s Consumer Protection Unit. Paul also advises
an international automobile manufacturer regarding certain regulatory
compliance issues.
Personal Information
Paul is a fourth-generation resident of Brunswick / St. Simons
Island, attended elementary through high school in Brunswick, is married
(Paul’s wife is heavily involved with non-profit and school functions),
and has one son and one daughter who attend public school. Paul is one
of the founding Board of Directors for HelloGoodbuy! (a non-profit that
has given over $1.9 million to fund community projects for more than 140
organizations), and previously served on his church board. Before law
school, Paul worked as a concert promoter where he promoted and/or
funded live-music events by touring artists, such as John Mayer and
Neyami Road featuring Luke Bryan, among others.
