Practice Areas: Business Litigation, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury
Licensed in Florida since: 1983
Education: Florida State University College of Law
Languages Spoken: English, French
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2007, 2009 - 2024 Details
Thomas P. Scarritt, Jr. is founder and president of Scarritt Law Group and represents clients in Tampa, Florida. His practice includes personal injury cases involving products liability, negligence, police excessive force, wrongful death, automobile accidents, negligent security, motorcycle accidents, truck collisions, premises liability, malicious prosecution, false arrest, civil assault and civil battery. Business disputes such as unfair trade practices, breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, fraud, libel, slander, third-party beneficiary to contract, disputes between property owner associations and homeowners, and fee disputes are also included in his law focus.
In 1979, Mr. Scarritt graduated with honors from The University of the South with a Bachelor of Arts. On a Rotary Club International Graduate Fellowship scholarship, he then attended the Université Grenoble Alpes in France for one year. At Florida State University College of Law, he again graduated with honors, earning his Juris Doctor. While in law school, he was a student intern, staff editor of the school’s law review and the Student Supreme Court’s chief justice.
Mr. Scarritt is admitted to practice in the state of Florida and before the Florida Supreme Court, the United States Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. For his high ethical standards and long list of successful results, he holds the highest peer rating possible of AV Preeminent* from Martindale-Hubbell.
A member of both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Mr. Scarritt has received several prestigious awards, including the Freedom Fighter Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award as a Top 100 Attorney and a Top 100 High Stakes Litigator. He is on the Board of Legal Counsel for Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
* AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.
Practice areas
Business Litigation, Civil Litigation: Defense, Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff- 40% Business Litigation
- 30% Civil Litigation: Defense
- 30% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1983, Florida
Professional Webpage: http://www.scarrittlaw.com/Resume/Tom-Scarritt
- University of the South (Sewanee, TN), B.A. with honors - 1979, Wilkins Academic Scholarship
- London School of Economics, 1977, Institute of European Studies Academic Scholarship
- Master, ABOTA Masters in Trial
- Florida Super Lawyers, 2007, 2009 - 2016
- Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers
- Master, Inns of Court
- Florida Legal Elite, Florida Trend, 2006, 2012, 2015, 2016
- Graduate, Leadership Tampa 1994
- Highest Rating (A/V Preeminent) Martindale-Hubbell, 1993 - present
- The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, 2004 - present
- Strathmore’s and Madison’s Who’s Who, 2002 - present
- Recipient, Lifetime Achievement Award as a Top 100 Attorney, 2016
- Recipient, Mike Fogarty “In the Trenches” Award, given to top Civil Trial Lawyer for Excellence and Professionalism, 2016
- Recipient, Freedom Fighter Award, Hillsborough County Chapter of the NAACP, 2018
- Recipient, Paul Harris Fellow Award by Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, March 2017
- Recipient, Outstanding Public Service Award by Hillsborough County Democratic Party, September 2017
- Recipient, Award as a Top 100 High Stakes Litigator, 2017
- Student Intern, U.S.D.C. Judge William Stafford (N.D. Fla.), Florida State University College of Law
- Honorary Chairman, Hillsborough County Chapter of the NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner Gala, 2018
- Staff Editor, FSU Law Review, Florida State University College of Law
- Chief Justice, Student Supreme Court, Florida State University College of Law
- Board-Certified in Civil Litigation by The Florida Bar, 1989 - present
- Recertification in Civil Trial Law with the National Board of Trial Advocacy, January 2017
- Big Brothers/Big Sisters Board Legal Counsel, 1993 - 2005
- Volunteer Attorney, Bay Area Legal Services, 1983 - present
- With spouse Linda, Big Brothers/Big Sisters Couple of the Year, Hillsborough County, 1987, 1989
- President, Tampa Ybor City Rotary Club, 2018
- Appointment, FSU College of Law Alumni Board Emeritus Status, 2016 - 17
- Member, Multi-Million Dollar Advocate's Forum, 2010 - present
- Hillsborough County Bar Association, 1983 - present
- Secretary, Legal Network International (international network of law firms), 1988 - 1998
- President, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Tampa Bay Chapter, 1993
- Florida Bar Trial Lawyer's Section Executive Council, 1993-2003; Chairman, 2001-2002
- Chairman, Hillsborough County Judicial Campaign Practices Committee, 2004
- Commissioner, Florida Commission on Ethics, 2004 - 2008; Chairman, 2005 - 2006
- Member, Million Dollar Advocate's Forum, 2003 - present
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
- Member and Chairman, Valencia Homeowner's Association, 2011 - 2013
- Member, Board of Directors, Oakhurst Square Community Partnership (No/Low Income Housing), 2012 - present
- Member, Board of Directors, Southern Legal Counsel (Public Interest Law Firm) (Gainesville), 2013 - present
- Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
- Florida Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
- United States Supreme Court
- Speaker, Proving and Defending Damages (Florida Bar Seminar) 1996 - 2000.
- Lecturer, Florida West Coast Claims Association, Boy Scouts of America, Rotary Club, Lorman Business Seminars, ABOTA Speaker's Forum.
- Lecturer, International Law, University of South Florida.
- Lecturer, Litigation Skills, Florida State University College of Law, 1989.
- Instructor and Lecturer, Florida Bar Trial Advocacy School (Intermediate and Advanced), Bridge- the-Gap Seminars.
- Speaker, Civil Trial Board Certification Review (Florida Bar Seminar) 1995.
- Speaker, Taking Effective Depositions (Lorman Seminar) 1994 - 2007.
- Principal Speaker, Police Civil Rights Liability, Florida Municipal Attorneys' Assn. State Meeting (Amelia Island) July 2013
- Speaker, Premises Liability (PESI Seminar) 1997.
- Speaker, Professionalism (Florida Bar Seminar) 1998.
- Speaker, “The Application of Frye to Exclude Alcohol Evidence in Civil Cases,” The American Academy of Forensic Pathologists, Orlando Meeting, 1999.
- Speaker, Opening Statement, Hillsborough County Young Lawyer's Division Civil Trial Practice Seminar, 2000.
- Visiting Lecturer, Law Studies, Plant High School (Tampa) February 2011
- Visiting Lecturer, Court Procedures, Plant High School (Tampa) March 2011
- Teacher, Trial Law and Acting, Great American Teach-In, Eisenhower Elementary School (Clearwater, Florida) November 2017
- Teacher, Trial Law and Acting, Great American Teach-In, San Jose Elementary School (Dunedin, Florida) November 2015, 2016
- Master of Ceremonies, Fortieth Anniversary Southern Legal Counsel Banquet (Gainesville, Florida) October 2017
- Florida's Nursing Homes - Punitive Damages for Displaying Bad Manners?, 9 Fla. B.J. 63 (Oct. 1993).
- Handbook on Discovery Practice, Florida Bar Trial Lawyer’s Section and Conference of Circuit and County Court Judges, co-editor, 1996 - 2002.
- Florida's Seatbelt Defense Since Pasakarnis, 9 Fla.B.J. 53 (Oct. 1989).
- The Last Shot - Strict Liability for Manufacturers of Nondefective Handguns, The Advocate (Florida Bar Trial Lawyer's Section Magazine) (Feb. 1986).
- The Practical Considerations of Applying the Seat Belt Defense to a Wrongful Death Claim, Trial Advocate Quarterly (printed by Florida Defense Lawyers Association) (July 1990).
- Domesticating a Foreign State Judgment, The Lawyer (printed by Hillsborough County Bar Association) (November 1991).
- Defending the Sovereign in §1983 Police Misconduct Cases: An Overview, 2 Fla.B.J. 61 (Feb. 1992).
- "You the Jury" Video Premieres, (The Hillsborough County Bar Association Journal) (June 1992).
- The Frye Hearing in Florida: An Attempt to Exclude Scientific Evidence, Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2000.
- Pre-Trial Litigation Skills, Fla. Bar Civil Trial Board Certification Seminar, 1995.
- Florida's Law on Apportionment of Fault, The Business of Insurance in Florida, 1995.
- Defending Damages in the Substantial Personal Injury Case, Florida Bar Seminar, 1996 - 2000.
- Substantive Florida Law in Premises Liability Cases, PESI Seminar on Florida Premises Liability, 1997.
- Lay and Expert Depositions, Lorman Seminar on Taking Effective Depositions, 1994 - 2007.
- Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities–The Telltale Signs, Pinellas County Guardianship Newsletter, 1998.
- U.S. Sup. Ct. Extends Absolute Immunity to Local Legislators, The Agenda, Govt. Law Section, 1998.
- American Board Of Trial Advocates (Past President);Florida Bar Trial Lawyers' Section Exec.Council
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2007, 2009 - 2024
Certificates and credentials
Civil Trial
