PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Brett Divers is one of the founding shareholders of the Firm. His practice is primarily devoted to complex commercial litigation, which includes business disputes, construction, fidelity and surety matters, professional liability, and appellate law. In addition to an active trial practice, Brett is also the Chair of the Firm's Appellate Practice Group.

Brett graduated from Dartmouth College in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in English. He graduated with honors from the University of Florida College of Law in 1992. Brett is a lifelong resident of Tampa and graduated from the Berkeley Preparatory School.

Brett's litigation experience has involved a variety of business-related disputes. These disputes have dealt with corporate fraud or theft, tortious interference with contracts, violation of restrictive covenants and non-compete clauses, and the dissolution of corporations and partnerships. In his construction and surety practice, Brett has handled garden-variety construction claims as well as contract and commercial surety claims. These claims have dealt with disputes on public and private projects of varying types including apartment and condominium complexes, office buildings, electric power plants (both domestically and in the Republic of Panama), wastewater treatment plants, subaqueous sewer pipelines, movie theatres, hospitals, public roadwork and schools. He has also handled claims involving allegations of insurer bad faith and unfair claims settlement practices. The construction disputes Brett handles include technical constructability, scheduling, and payment disputes, and have ranged in size from thousands of dollars to several million dollars. Additionally, Brett handled claims against indemnitors to recover losses suffered by the surety. Brett has handled a variety of fidelity matters as well, ranging from employee dishonesty and forgery to commercial crime claims.

In his appellate practice, Brett has advocated not only on behalf of the parties to the particular dispute, but has also written amicus curiae briefs to the Florida Supreme Court on behalf of the Surety Association of America (SAA). Brett also serves as a mediator in select business and construction-related litigation cases.

Brett is a Vice-Chair of the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee of the ABA's Tort and Insurance Practice Section. He is a member of the Litigation Section of the ABA and the ABA's Forum on the Construction Industry. He is a member of the Trial Lawyers Section and Construction Law Section of the Hillsborough County Bar Association. He is a founding member of the Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute and belongs to the National Bond Claims Association.

In 2009, for the sixth consecutive year, Brett was named to the Florida Trend Magazine's prestigious listing of Florida's Legal Elite. This distinction is reserved for the top 1.8% of all attorneys practicing within Florida and is the result of an extensive attorney peer voting and review process by this publication. Brett was one of only 24 lawyers in Florida designated as Elite in the Construction specialty in this publication. In 2009, Brett was again named in Law & Politics' publication of Florida's SuperLawyers.

A lifelong resident of Tampa, Brett is active in several civic, charitable, and social organizations. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Berkeley Preparatory School and is currently the Chairman of that Board. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the University Club of Tampa.

MEMBERSHIPS AND CERTIFICATIONS

Admitted to Practice in all state courts in Florida, U.S. District Court for the Middle, Southern, and Northern Districts of Florida, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

American Bar Association

• Tort and Insurance Practice Section
• Fidelity and Surety Law Committee
  Vice-Chair Co-Chair,
  Membership Involvement Division (August, 2002 to August, 2009)
• Litigation Section
• Forum on the Construction Industry

The Florida Bar

• Trial Lawyers Section

The Hillsborough County Bar Association

• Trial Lawyers Section
• Construction Law Section

National Bond Claims Association

Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute

Dartmouth Lawyers Association

Florida Trend's Florida Legal Elite (2004-2009).

Law & Politics - SuperLawyers (2006-2009)

Berkeley Preparatory School

• Board of Trustees (1999 to present)
  Chairman (2009 to 2011)
  Vice Chairman (2007-2009)
  Treasurer (2005 to 2007)
  Secretary (2003-2005)
  Alumni Association President (1999-2001)

The University Club of Tampa

• Board of Directors (2002 – present)
  Membership Chairman (2005-2006)
  Secretary (2008 - 2009)
  Vice President (2009 - 2010)
  President (2010 - Present)

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

Frequent author and/or speaker regarding current topics affecting the construction and surety industries.

The Surety’s Rights to Reimbursement and Recovery, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Spring Meeting (May, 2009, La Jolla, CA).

Co-Author, Chapter V, THE LAW OF PERFORMANCE BONDS (2d Ed. 2008)

The Surety’s Right to Settle, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Spring Meeting (May, 2008, Kansas City, MO).

Co-Author, Chapter VII, The Indemnity Agreement and the Handling of Surety Claims, in THE SURETY'S INDEMNITY AGREEMENT (2d Ed. 2008).

Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat: Salvage against the CGL Carrier, Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Conference, June, 2006.

Expanded CGL Coverage For Defective Construction, Insights, Fall, 2005.

Common Law Public Payment Bonds: The Last Chapter, Insights, Summer, 2005.

Stormy Seas Ahead? Bad Faith Claims against Sureties after Dadelend Depot, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company," Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Conference, June, 2005.

Court Rejects Effort to Convert Statutory Payment Bond into a Lien Transfer Bond, Insights, Fall, 2004.

Cardinal Change and the Surety, Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Conference, June, 2004.

Check the Rear View Mirror: The Retroactive Application of the Contractor Licensing Statute, Insights, 1st Quarter, 2004.

Court Gives Strict Meaning to Statutory Notice and Limitations Requirements, Insights, Fall, 2003.

Court Refuses to Find Contractor's Lien Fraudulent, Insights, Fall, 2003.

Common Law – Uncommon Results: Payment Bond Claims on Public Projects in Florida, Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Conference, June, 2003.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act Does Not Preclude the Enforcement of the General Agreement of Indemnity, Insights, Spring, 2003.

Florida Court Rules Subcontractor Entitled to Foreclose on a Lien Based on an Oral Contract, Insights, Spring, 2003.

Till Death Do Us Part: Enforcing the Collateral Security Clause Against the Principal's Spouse, Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Conference, June, 2002.

Getting Your Money: Enforcement of the Collateral Security Clause, Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Conference, June, 2000.