Background

Mr. Haas was raised in Lakeland, Polk County, Florida, in the 1950's and 1960's. He attended and graduated from Florida Southern College with a BS degree in 1968. He attended the University of Florida Law School where he was distinguished as a member of the 1969-1970 award winning Moot Court Team and awarded the William C. Gaither Recognition for Best Oral Argument in the Moot Court Competition. He was the recipient of seven book awards during his law school career for recognition of the highest grade among his peers in those courses.

Military Service

Prior to completion of his law school studies, Mr. Haas was commissioned as an Army Infantry Officer and rose to the rank of Captain as an Army aviator. Upon graduation from law school he transferred to the Judge Advocate General Corp of the U.S. Army. He was honorably discharged from the service in June of 1978.

Private Practice

Mr. Haas entered private practice in Daytona Beach with Clifford B. Gosney and the Honorable R. Michael Hutchinson, now Senior Judge retired from the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. The firm grew to have offices in Dayton Beach and Orlando, and became known as Gosney, Haas, Cameron and Parsons with the Honorable William A. Parsons, who also is currently serving as a Circuit Judge for the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Mr. Haas founded the law firm of Haas, Boehm & Brown, P.A. with offices in Daytona Beach and Orlando. That firm grew to be a nine office, fifty-five lawyer statewide insurance defense firm handling the defense of civil cases throughout central and north Florida, with offices in Ft. Myers, Cocoa, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, Ocala, Tallahassee, and Daytona Beach.

During this period of time Mr. Haas focused his practice throughout north and central Florida on the defense of personal and commercial litigation, including the defense of bad faith claims. When the firm split in 1991 he relocated to Tampa practicing throughout west central Florida since that time.

AREA OF PRACTICE:

During the early years on the east coast of Florida, his practice was primarily focused in areas of workers' compensation, products liability, arson and fraud, as well as the defense of other property related claims. This grew into a particular interest in property related fields, Mr. Haas becoming one of the founding members of the Florida Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention, otherwise known as FACAP.

In the late 1980's, the firm was retained by Lowe's Companies at the corporate level for the defense of products liability cases and was national coordinating counsel for Lowe's Companies in fire retardant plywood roof sheeting cases throughout the country including the defense of class actions related to that product. Later the firm became involved for Lowe's Companies in more recent pressure treated wood litigation in the defense of individual law suits and class actions nationwide with claims of arsenic related poisoning due to the pressure treatment formulas utilized in wood products sold by Lowe's Companies.

In the mid 80's, through the representation of personal lines insurors, Mr. Haas became involved in the defense of Bad Faith litigation primarily through the high volume representation of the State Farm Family of companies, including both Fire and Casualty, as well as State Farm Automobile Insurance Company, and through the representation of GEICO and its insurers. Through the personal lines litigation experience Mr. Haas grew into a bad faith litigator, and the litigation of personal and commercial lines bad faith and personal injury catastrophic injury cases presently predominates Mr. Haas' defense practice.

Mr. Haas has tried in excess of one-hundred jury trials as well as many non-jury cases involving the defense of self insurers, insurors and their insurers predominately. Additionally, Mr. Haas has maintained, and is proficient in, the litigation of domestic relations matters which arose from his involvement in the early years of his family as a licensed foster and crisis care parent, having cared for many abandoned children through those services in the family's home. Mr. Haas also serves as a presenter and instructor for the Florida Defense Lawyers Association at its annual Trial Skills Excellence in Advocacy Workshop.

RECENT LECTURES OF NOTE:

TRIALS AND APPELLATE DECISIONS:

Lorenz v. Lawson, 998 So2d 611, 2009 WL 105451, 34 Fla. L. Weekly D179, Unpublished Disposition, Fla. App. 2 Dist., January 16, 2009 (No. 2D08-3851.)

Geico General Ins. Co. v. McDonald, 315 Fed. Appx. 181, 2008 WL 4946211, , C.A. 11(Fla.), November 20, 2008 (No. 08-11973 Non Argument Calendar)

Macola v. Government Employees Ins. Co., 483 F.3d 1229, 2007 WL 1063258, 20 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 487, , C.A.11 (Fla.), April 11, 2007 (No. 04-10436.)

Government Employees Ins. Co. v. Ourso, Not Reported in F. Suppl.2d, 2006 WL 1995178, , M.D. Fla., July 14, 2006 (No. 8:06-cv-559-T-23TGW.)

Jacobs v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., 219 F.R.D. 549, 2003 WL 23126168, 58 Fed.R.Serv.3d 441, , S.D. Fla., July 16, 2003 (No.01-944-CIV.)

York v. Falasca, 794 So.2d 664, 2001 WL 871557, 26 Fla. L. Weekly D1892, , Fla. App. 5 Dist., August 03, 2001 (No. 5D01-474.)

Ross Dress for Less, Inc. v. Radcliff, 751 S.2d 126, 2000 WL 201831, 25 Fla. L. Weekly D166, , Fla. App. 2 Dist., January 12, 2000 (No. 99-00291.)

Schwenzer v. School of Visual Arts, 706 So.2d 941, 1998 WL 88296, 23 Fla. L. Weekly D634, , Fla. App. 2 Dist., March 04, 1998 (No. 97-02176.)

Pulte Home Corp. v. Osmose Wood Preserving, Inc., 60 F.3d 734, 1995 WL 420761, , C.A.11 (Fla.), July 18, 1995 (No. 93-2314.)

Henson v. Haslam, 644 So.2d 1031, 1994 WL 637668, 19 Fla. L. Weekly D2439, , Fla. App. 2 Dist., November 16, 1994 (No. 94-00016.)

Government Employees Ins. Co. v. Thompson, 641 S.2d 189, 1994 WL 445630, 19 Fla L. Weekly D1775, , Fla. App. 2 Dist., August 19, 1994 (No. 93-03704.)

Pulte Home Corp. Inc. v. Ply Gem Industries, Inc., 804 F. Suppl. 1471, 1996 WL 237386, , M.D. Fla., September 22, 1992 (No. 89-205-CIV-T-17A.)

Jones v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 579 So.2d 783, 1991 WL 21785, 16 Fla. L. Weekly 1074, , Fla. App. 1 Dist., April 16, 1991 (No. 90-853.)

Mutual Fire, Marine and Inland Ins. Co. v. Florida Testing & Engineering Co., 511 So. 2d 360, 12 Fla. L. Weekly 1654, , Fla. App. 5 Dist., July 09, 1987 (No. 86-1099.)

North American Catamaran Racing Ass'n, Inc. (NACRA) v. McCollister, 480 So.2d 669, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2665, Prod. Liab. Rep. (CCH) P 10, 828, , Fla. App. 5 Dist., December 05, 1095 (No. 84-1796.)

Hamm v. Ambassador Ins. Co., 456 So.2d 966, , Fla. App. 5 Dist., October 04, 1984 (No. 83-1438.)

Vermont Mut. Ins. Co. v. Bolding, 381 So.2d 320, , Fla. App. 5 Dist., March 19, 1980 (No. 00-383/T1-134.)

Marine Distributors of Virginia v. Kelly, 374 So.2d 592, , Fla. App. 5 Dist., August 14, 1979 (No. NN-446.)

Booth v. Basic Asphalt & Const. Co., 369 So.29 356, , Fla. App. 4 Dist., February 28, 1979 (No. 77-2116.)

Ellis v. Golconda Corp., 352 So.2d 1221, , Fla. App. 1 Dist., November 29, 1977 (Nos. CC-47 to CC-51.)

Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. V. Atkinson, 330 So2d 163, , Fla. App. 1 Dist., April 14, 1976, (No. Z-93.)

Brown v. Clifford Shover Bldg. Inc., 328 So.2d 838, , Fla., March 03, 1976 (No. 47404.)

Mae's Fabrics, Inc. v. Haddad, 312 So.2d 207, , Fla. App. 1 Dist., May 13, 1975 (No. V-288.)

Travelers Indemnity Company v. Fields, 288 So.2d 278, , Fla. App. 1 Dist., January 22, 1974 (No. T-170.)

Seabreeze Manor Verandah, Inc. v. Dominion Insurance Company, Ltd., 281 So.2d 568, , Fla. App. 1 Dist., August 14, 1973 (Nos. Q-300 to Q-303, and Q-310.)

Travelers Indem. Co. v.Pender, 264 So.2d 878, , Fla. App. 1 Dist., August 01, 1972 (No. P-218.)