Scott C. Black - Vernis & Bowling

Scott C. Black, Esq.
Department Managing Attorney
Vernis & Bowling of the Florida Keys, P.A. Islamorada Professional Center - 3rd Floor 81990 Overseas Highway Islamorada, FL 33036
Phone: (305) 664-4675
Email: SBlack@Florida-Law.com
Fax: (305) 664-5414
Website: www.national-law.com
V-Card Email

Verdicts and Dispositions

Jane Doe No. 53 et. al. v. The School Board of Monroe County, Florida
Dirk M. Smits, Esq. and Scott C. Black, Esq. (Florida Keys) (Government/Education – Title IX) won summary judgment on behalf of The School Board of Monroe County, Florida in Federal District Court in the Southern District of Florida. This high-profile claim was reported and followed in local newspapers, concerned allegations by a former elementary school student that school officials did not adequately respond to her complaints that she was being sexually harassed by another student. The Complaint included counts for Violation of Title IX/Education Amendments of 1972, Negligence, and Loss of Consortium. The Title IX count presented substantial exposure resulting from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals position that Congress abrogated state sovereign immunity caps, exposing the School Board to potentially unlimited/non-capped damages. The Plaintiffs were seeking more than $1 million dollars in damages, but reduced their demand to $575,000. The case was aggressively litigated and vigorously defended with twenty-three (23) depositions and numerous motions and hearings necessitated by plaintiff’s demands and posturing. We successfully developed the defense to establish that Plaintiff’s claims were largely unsupported. For example, while Plaintiff testified in her deposition that she was harassed every day, her well-documented prior inconsistent statements proved this testimony to be inaccurate. Given the weight of unfavorable evidence, their attorneys, a well-known sexual harassment/Title IX plaintiff’s firm, withdrew from the litigation. The Plaintiffs eventually notified the Court that they would proceed pro se. Thereafter, a comprehensive motion for summary judgment was drafted seeking dismissal of all counts. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman wrote a 23-page R&R that recommended granting summary judgment on all counts, and it was adopted by Judge Jose Martinez. Vernis & Bowling successfully obtained summary judgment for The School Board of Monroe County.
Rierson v. David Deveau, Latrice Pla and Abraham Baker
Scott Black and Matthew Francis (Florida Keys) (Auto Liability) obtained a defense verdict after a three week jury trial against Progressive insureds in Monroe County, Florida. Plaintiff, a 19 year old local female, sought $37 million dollars in damages as the result of being struck by two Progressive insureds while crossing US-1 at night in the Florida Keys. The undisputed medical evidence indicated Plaintiff, while lucky to be alive, sustained a traumatic brain injury and multiple life altering physical injuries to almost all areas of her body. The Plaintiff presented evidence of past and future economic damages totaling $17 million dollars. Defense experts estimated her past and future economic damages to range from $3-$5 million dollars. Although the damages were compelling and significant, the defense was able to establish the accident was unavoidable for the insureds. Mr. Black and Mr. Francis, while highlighting a lack of evidence in the Plaintiff’s liability case, presented testimony from Dr. James Ipser that seemed to control the outcome of the case. Dr. Ipser, based on the attending conditions, vehicle characteristics, and human factors, testified the insured could not have taken evasive action based on the short time frame and distance at which she first observed the Plaintiff in the roadway (1.5 – 2.0 sec). Plaintiff, utilizing the services of Rick Swope, unsuccessfully argued both defendants had sufficient time to observe and avoid striking the Plaintiff. In the end, Vernis & Bowling was able to successfully argue there was an absence of credible evidence of negligence on the part of the insured resulting in a finding of no liability. Motions for final judgment and costs are pending.
Jean Charles and Marie M. Charles, v. School Board of Monroe County,Florida
Scott C. Black (Florida Keys) (School Law/Premises Liability-Negligent Supervision) obtained a Summary Judgment which was recently upheld on appeal in the case styled Jean Charles and Marie M. Charles, v. School Board of Monroe County,Florida.

The claim arose out of a student on student assault that occurred on school grounds during school hours. Plaintiff’s theory of liability was negligent supervision.

Plaintiff argued the teacher was negligent in his supervision based on his brief absence from his class. Additionally, Plaintiff contended the offending student had a disciplinary history which should have placed the School Board on notice that the student posed a risk of harm to fellow students, and should have been communicated to the supervising teacher. While the offending student had a history of insubordinate behavior, he had no significant history of student on student violence. Based upon the age of the students involved, the short duration of the incident, and the lack of violence in the offending student’s record, the trial and appellate courts found the School Board had not breached a duty of care owed to Plaintiff.

Following an unsuccessful mediation the School Board filed its motion for summary judgment. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the School Board on December 23, 2013. Final judgment was entered in favor of the School Board on May 2, 2014. Plaintiff’s subsequently appealed the decision to the 3rd District Court of Appeals. The Court issued an order affirming the trial court’s ruling on July 8, 2015. The Parties recently reached a settlement agreement prior to the case being remanded to the trial court for the taxation of costs and attorneys’ fees in favor of the School Board.

Areas Of Practice

Admiralty/Maritime Law
Automobile Liability (PIP/PD/BI/UM)
Business and Real Estate Law
Condominium and Homeowners' Association Litigation
Construction and Construction Defect Litigation
Cyber Security & Data Privacy
Director & Officer Liability (D&O)
Errors & Omissions Liability (E&O)
First and Third Party Property and Casualty Claims
General Civil Litigation
Land Use and Code Enforcement Prosecution and Defense
Municipal/Government Liability Defense
PIP/Personal Injury Protection Litigation
SIU/Suspicious & Fraudulent Claims

Bar & Court Admission

Florida, 1999
U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida

Education

Graduate:
Stetson University College of Law, 1998, J.D., 1998
Undergraduate:
Florida State University, B.S. Degree in Criminology/Criminal Justice, 1995

Scott C. Black was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1973. For the past 35 years he has lived in the Florida Keys. He majored in Criminology/Criminal Justice and minored in Business at Florida State University, where he graduated in 1995. Prior to attending Florida State. Mr. Black earned a scholarship to attend his local Florida Keys Community College. Mr. Black graduated from FKCC in 1993 after making the Deans List and being named to Who’s Who Among American Junior Colleges. While attending Florida State University, Mr. Black was on the Deans List and was elected to the Golden Key National Honor Society.

Mr. Black graduated from Stetson University College of Law in December of 1998. During law school he participated in Stetson’s legal argument competitions and made the Honor roll. While at Stetson, Mr. Black received his Florida Bar certification and worked as a State Prosecutor for St. Petersburg State Attorney’s Office. After admission to the Florida Bar, Mr. Black began practicing with Vernis & Bowling of the Florida Keys. While practicing in the Florida Keys, Mr. Black has litigated in Federal, State and County Court. He has tried multiple cases both civil and criminal before the local County and Circuit courts. Mr. Black has also argued before the Third District Court of Appeals on multiple occasions and has argued before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Black is on the Monroe County School Board legal staff, as well as providing representation for the City of Layton and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. Mr. Black is currently a member of the Florida Bar, and the American Bar Association.

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