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:

Geico General Insurance Company v. Otero et al, Case No.: 8:09-CV-1678-T-27AEP - Middle District of Florida

Miguel Huapilla-Paredes v. Tracy L. Mitchell Case No.: 09-CA-25419

Rick Dixon and Fredericka Dixon v. Gordon Adam, John Simpson and John Simpson Excavating, Case No.: 05-009352,

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 L. Weekly D179, Unpublished Disposition, Fla.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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jones v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 579 So.2d 783, WL 21785, 16 Fla. L. Weekly 1074, Fla. App. 1 Dist., (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., (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., (No. 84-1796.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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