Dutton Law Group, P. A.

Mr. Dutton obtained his doctorate of law in 1984 from Ohio Northern University, Pettit College of Law, which is one of the oldest law schools in the United States.  During law school Mr. Dutton was honored on the Dean's List during his second and third years of legal study.  While in law school Mr. Dutton also received a diploma from the Institute of Comparative and International Law located at Oxford University in Oxford, England.

During Mr. Dutton’s course of study at Ohio Northern University, he was a member of the editorial staff of the Ohio Northern University Law Review.  While on the Ohio Northern University Law Review, Mr. Dutton published The Court Vetoes The Legislative Veto: Immigration and Naturalization Service vs. Chadha, analyzing a landmark United States Supreme Court decision on bicameralism, the separation of powers doctrine and the Presentment Clause of the United States Constitution.  Mr. Dutton was also selected to the Order of Barristers for having exhibited excellence and obtained high honor through the art of courtroom advocacy.  Mr. Dutton also served as a justice on the law school’s Moot Court Executive Board, and was the justice in charge of the First Year Appellate Advocacy Program.  While in law school, Mr. Dutton also participated in four national moot court competitions, including the Fall National Moot Court Competition, the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (Best Written Memorial), and the Benton Privacy Law Competition (Team Coach). 

Additional achievements by Mr. Dutton while in law school included the authorship and publication of articles on constitutional law which have been published nationally, selection as research assistant to Professor Paul Edwards, and participation on the faculty hiring committee. For Mr. Dutton’s outstanding academic achievement in law school, he was selected to Who's Who Among American Law Students.

Prior to law school, Mr. Dutton's Bachelor of Arts degree and graduate work was in the field of international relations and international affairs at Florida International University in Miami, Florida where he was born.

Prior to attending law school, Mr. Dutton was a firefighter and paramedic with the City of Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Florida.  While there Mr. Dutton became one of the first certified paramedics in the State of Florida.  He also received a Certificate of Compliance for State Firefighter awarded by the State Fire Marshal's Office.  While serving as a paramedic, Mr. Dutton was also selected to the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team for the City of Miami Beach Police Department where he received training from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Army Special Forces in Urban Warfare.  Mr. Dutton also received training in fire prevention and enforcement of fire codes and building codes during his education and experience as a firefighter.  Additionally, Mr. Dutton is a certified scuba instructor and has instructed scuba, including search and rescue, in the Florida Keys.

Professional organizations in which Mr. Dutton is a member include the American Bar Association, Defense Research Institute and the Florida Defense Lawyers Association where he serves as its Continuing Legal Education Chairperson.  Mr. Dutton is a charter member of the Medical Claims Defense Network and has served on its board of directors.

In addition to being admitted to the Florida Bar, Mr. Dutton has also practiced and been admitted to the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.     

Mr. Dutton has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Practice by The Florida Bar since 1992.  Having taken over fifty cases to jury verdict at trial, Mr. Dutton is widely regarded as a highly-skilled advocate in the courtroom.  Mr. Dutton is not only a respected trial attorney, he is also known as an outstanding appellate advocate.  Among the many cases Mr. Dutton has been involved in on appeal are MarElia v. Yanchuck, Berman, Wadley & Zervos, P.A., 966 So.2d 30 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007); Ellis v. N.G.N. of Tampa, Inc., 586 So.2d 1042 (Fla.1991); Baker v. Casualty Indem. Exchange, 561 So.2d 1314 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990); Chalfin v. Brandon Kendall Inv., Inc., 540 So.2d 926 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Italian American Club of Tamarac, Inc. v. Orenstein, 531 So.2d 430 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988); and Universal Sec. Ins. Co. v. Spreadbury, 524 So.2d 1167 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988).  

In addition to his legal practice today, Mr. Dutton also taught as adjunct faculty in business law, American government, political science, and state and local government at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida.  Mr. Dutton has also been invited on several occasions to judge both trials and moot court competitions at Stetson University College of Law.  Mr. Dutton has also instructed paramedical procedures, anatomy, physiology and pharmacology at Miami-Dade Community College in Miami, Florida, while employed with the Miami Beach Fire Department.

Mr. Dutton is highly sought after as a CLE guest lecturer and has lectured on many topics including but not limited to Uninsured Motorist (2000, 2001); How to Successfully Make and Manage Objections at Trial (2000); Premises Liability: Preparation and Trial of a Difficult Case (1997, 1999); Insurance Law: Third Party Coverage in Florida (1998); Insurance Coverage Law (1997); Winning the Battle of the Experts (1996); Powerful Expert Witness Strategies (1997); Trying the Automobile Injury Case (1996); Defending the Soft Tissue Injury and Disc Bulge Case (2000); Depositions: Strategies, Tactics & Mechanics (1995,1996,1997,1998); Discovery Tactics: Drawing the Line Between Clever and Unfair (1994); Florida Personal Injury Practice for Paralegals (1999, 2001); Defending the Bone and Joint Injury Claim: Shoulders, Knees and the TMJ (2000); Florida Liability Claims Conference: Current Trends in Handling Personal Injury Protection Claims and Litigation (2001); PIP: Hot Topics for 2002; Personal Injury Settlements in Florida: Practical Methods for Perfecting the Settlement of a Claim (2003, 2004); Handling the Automobile Injury Claim in Florida (2003); Damages in Florida Civil Trial Practice (2003); Litigator’s Guide to Liability Insurance (2003); Expert Witnesses: Effective Direct and Cross Examination and Expert Witness Testimony in P.I. Cases (2003); Trying Your First Premises Liability Case in Florida (2003); Personal Injury and No Fault Practice: Current Trends in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Litigation (2003); Insurance Bad Faith Claims (2003); Current Trends in Personal Injury Litigation (2003); Evaluating your Chances of Settling the Florida Personal Injury Case (2003); Discovery in Florida Bad Faith Litigation (2004); 2003 Amendments to the Florida Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Statute (2003); Automobile Insurance Update (2003, 2004); Personal Injury Settlements in Florida: Practical Methods for Perfecting the Settlement of a Claim (2004); Civil Trial From Start to Finish: A Practical Approach to Trying a Civil Case in Florida (2004); Current Trends in Florida Auto Law (2004); “Using What We Learned from PIP to Undermine the BI/UM Claim”(2004); PIP, BI and UM Fraud: Using What We Learned in PIP to Undermine the BI/UM Claim (2005); PIP Claim Handling, A Holistic Approach to Evaluating the PIP Claim (2005); Personal Injury and No Fault Practice: Current Trends in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Litigation (2006); Legal Assisting: The Short Course. Topics: Participating in Pretrial Discovery and Understanding Florida Civil Courts and Procedure (2006); The Definitive Guide to Settling Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claim in Florida (2006); Combating Attorney Fees (Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee, 2006, and Florida Farm Bureau 2007); Insurance Bad Faith Claims in Florida (2006); Bad Faith Insurance Claims in Florida (2006); Automobile Litigation: Strategic Issues and Answers (2007); Settling Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims(2007); Auto Insurance: Uninsured, Underinsured, and Accident Litigation  (2007); PIP Law Update (Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee, 2007); Insurance Bad Faith Claims (2007); Personal Injury Case Management for Seasoned Litigators (2007); Welcome to the Wild, Wild West: PIP Purgatory, and the Badlands Beyond! (Medical Claims Defense Network, 2007); PIP 2008: A Discussion of the History of PIP, and the New Statute; Attorneys Fee Hearings (2008); Insurance Law: Current Topics and Strategies (2008); Settling Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims (2008); The 2008 PIP Statute: Cure of Boondoggle? (Medical Claims Defense Network, 2008); Defending a Claim for Attorney’s Fees: Stopping or Slowing Down the Runaway Train (12th Annual Florida Liability Claims Conference 2008); Florida No-Fault Post-2007: New Beginning or Not (12th Annual Florida Liability Claims Conference 2008); PIP Purgatory and the Badlands Beyond: An Up Close Analysis of the 2008 PIP Statute (Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee, 2008); Florida PIP Litigation: Current Topics and Trends (2008); Insurance Bad Faith Claims (2009) Florida PIP Litigation: Current Topics and Trends (2009); Trends in Florida No-Fault Law and PIP Law Update (13th Annual Florida Liability Claims Conference 2009); PIP Law Update:, A Review of Case Law From the Past Year, and the Forecast of the Year Ahead (Including New Statutory Changes) (Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee, 2009); Handling and Litigation Fee Schedules under the “New” Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law: Constitutionality, Mandatory v. Permissive, Class Actions, and Recommended Policy Language (Medical Claims Defense Network, March 2010); Florida PIP Litigation: Current Topics and Trends (2010); PIP Law Update:, A Review of Case Law From the Past Year, and the Forecast of the Year Ahead (Department of Insurance Fraud, and the Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee, 2010); Trends in Florida No-Fault Law and PIP Law Update (14th Annual Florida Liability Claims Conference 2010); Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate Personal Injury Protection Roundtable (Office of the Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate, August; 2010); Handling and Litigating Insurance Bad Faith Claims (2010); Preparing and Trying the Personal Injury Case (2011); Florida PIP Litigation: Hot Topics, Trends, and the Future of PIP (2011).

In 2010, Mr. Dutton was honored as one of Tampa Bay’s “Super Lawyers” by Tampa Bay Magazine in the field of personal injury.  Mr. Dutton has attained an AV rating in The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, the highest rating available.  The “A” signifies the highest level of legal ability; the “V” denotes “very high” adherence to the professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence.  Dutton Law Group, P.A. is also listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register, which is limited to the most distinguished law practices.

Born on August 7, 1956 in Miami, Florida, Mr. Dutton is married to Kathleen and they have three children.