BIOGRAPHY                                      

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ROBERT D. PELTZ has been recognized by his peers for his broad expertise in general civil trial litigation. Board certified by both the Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy, he has also been elected President of the Dade County Trial Lawyers Association, selected as a founding member of the American Board of Trial Advocates' Miami Chapter, qualified as a Proctor in Admiralty by the Maritime Law Association, earned an "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell and appointed to the College of Diplomates of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. Mr. Peltz has also been elected to several terms as a Port Director for the Southeast Admiralty Law Institute and was the Founder and First President of the Florida Maritime Lawyers Association. He has been selected to serve on the Florida Bar's Admiralty Committee.

 

After graduating from Duke University ('73) and the University of Miami School of Law ('76), where he served as an Editor on the Law Review, Mr. Peltz has represented a wide range of clients in many diverse matters, covering the fields of admiralty, commercial, product liability, professional negligence and general tort litigation. Over the past decade, a significant portion of Mr. Peltz's practice has been devoted to various aspects of the maritime field, including extensive experience in litigating both Jones Act and passenger suits, maritime product liability actions, medical negligence claims involving ship's physicians, cargo loss and physical damage to vessels and their equipment. He has also successfully handled a variety of maritime indemnity actions against a wide range of different component part manufacturers located throughout the world. In addition to handling litigation matters, Mr. Peltz has also engaged in extensive work in drafting documents, tickets and contracts as well as developing safety procedures, practices and manuals for a variety of clients.

 

Mr. Peltz has also published over 30 legal articles on a variety of subjects, many of which have appeared in different law reviews throughout the United States. In addition to serving as part of the voluntary adjunct faculty at the University of Miami School of Law's Trial Advocacy program, he also has lectured extensively at CLE seminars presented by organizations such as the Dade County Trial Lawyers Association, the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, the Florida Liability Claims Conference and the Florida Bar. Outside of his professional practice, he is also engaged in considerable pro bono and charitable work, having received a number of awards from the City of Miami Police Department and Youth of America for his work with disadvantaged children.

 

 

EDUCATION:

•Duke University (B.A. 1973)

University of Miami

•School of Law (J.D. 1976,

 Cum Laude)

 

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE:

•Florida 1976

•United States District

Court (So. Dist. Fla.) 1977

•United States District

Court (M. Dist. Fla.) 1988

•District of Columbia 1979

•United States Court of Appeals (Eleventh Circuit) 1982

•United States Supreme Court

1992

 

PRACTICE AREAS

•Admiralty

•Product Liability

•Commercial Litigation

•Civil Trial

•Personal Injury

 

RESOURCES

Publications


PUBLISHED CASES

Details

Robert D. Peltz

Partner

Miami, FL

T- 305-381-8922

F- 305-381-6889

rpeltz@mspcesq.com

 

 

Articles and Publications

 

LAW REVIEW ARTICLES

 

 Medicine on the Seas, Tulane Maritime Law Journal, Vol. 27, Page 425 (Spring 2003)(co-author).

 

Contempt of Court, The Turn-of-the-Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years

of FederalismUniversity of Miami Law Review, Vol. 57, Page 221 (Spring 2003).

 

The Necessity of Redefining Spoliation of Evidence Remedies in Florida, Florida State University

 Law Review,  Vol. 29, Page 1289 (Spring 2002).

 

Amendments to Athens Convention Threaten US Maritime Law, International Travel Law Journal,

 2001 Volume 3 (Oct. 2001)(co-author).

 

Salvaging Historic Wrecks, Tulane Maritime Law Journal, Volume 25, Page 1 (Winter 2000).

 

The Titanic’s Legacy: The History and Legal Developments Following the World’s Most Famous Maritime Disaster, University of San Francisco Maritime Law Journal, Volume 12, Page 45 (1999-2000).

           

 The Myth of Uniformity in Maritime Law, Tulane Maritime Law Journal, Volume 21, Page 103

(Winter 1996).

 

 Attorney Advertising - Opening Pandora's Box, Stetson Law Review, Volume 19, Page 43

(Winter 1989).

 

The Transformation of the "Fireman's Rule" from a Limited Premises Liability Doctrine into an Illogical Broad Barrier to Fair Compensation, Stetson Law Review, Volume 17, Page 137 (Fall. 1987).

 

Use of the Florida Public Records Act as a Discovery Tool in Tort and Administrative Litigation Against the State, University of Miami Law Review, Volume 39, Page 291 (Jan. 1985).

 

NEPA Threshold Determinations:  A Framework of Analysis, University of Miami Law Review, Volume 31, Page 71 (Fall 1976)

 

Opening the School House Door to Procedural Due Process, University of Miami Law Review, Volume 29, Page 602 (Spring 1975).

 

 

BOOKS AND CHAPTERS

 

Co-author, Florida Pretrial Practice (2 Volumes), James Publishing Company (Costa Mesa, Cal. 2004).

 

Co-author, Chapter: Personal Injury and Wrongful Death of Seamen and Other Maritime Workers, Maritime Law and Practice, Published by The Florida Bar (4th Ed. 2004).

 

 Fight Back!  Be Your Own Lawyer, Published by Plain English Press (1995).

 

 Ch. Pathology, The Advocates Primer, Published by the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (1989).

 

Co-author, Trying the Complex Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Case, Published by Hampton Seminars (October, 1986).

 

 

OTHER ARTICLES

 

 “Damned Lies and Statistics,”—Everything A Trial Lawyer Needs To Know About Fighting Statistical Wars, Voir Dire (National A.B.O.T.A. Journal), Vol. 8, Issue 1 (Spring 2002).

 

  The Development of Spoliation of Evidence Remedies in Florida, 2001 Admiralty Law Seminar, The Florida Bar.

 

Strict Constructionalism - An Urban Legend?, Voir Dire (National A.B.O.T.A. Journal), Vol 7, Issue 4 (Winter 2000).

           

Maritime Personal Injury Claims, Touching Upon the Adventures and Perils of the Sea, The Mariners Club Annual Convention, 1999

 

Maritime Jurisdiction, 1999 Admiralty Law Seminar, The Florida Bar

 

The Case for Restricting Television Advertising by Attorneys, The Advocate, Vol. XVI, No. 1, p. 10 (Oct. 1989).

 

Solutions to Lawyer Advertising, Florida Bar News, Vol. 16, No. 17 (September 1, 1989).

 

The History of Prohibitions Against Attorney Advertising, DCTLA Summer Seminar (July, 1989).

 

The Fireman's Rule, Firehouse Magazine (April 1989), p. 28.

 

Constitutional and Ethical Considerations of Attorney Advertising, AFTL Spring Seminar (March 1989).

 

Admissibility of "Day-in-the-Life" Films, Vol. LXIII Florida Bar Journal (January 1989), p. 55.

 

The Inequitable Denial of Compensation to Police Officers For Negligently Inflicted Injuries and Death, The Police Chief (I.A.C.P.), October 1988, p. 112.

 

"A Video for the Prosecution?"  Miami Review, Vol. 63, No. 65, p. 12 (1988).

 

"Fireman's Rule"Out of Control?, Miami Review, Vol. 62, No. 161, p. 9 (1988).

 

Discovery Under the Florida Public Records Act, The Advocate, Volume XI, No.3, p. 15 (June 1985).

 

The Florida Public Records Act and Other Statutory Discovery Tools, AFTL Legislative and Case Law Update Seminar (June 1985).

 

Evidentiary Problems in Products Liability Cases, AFTL Spring Seminar (May 1984).

 

Use of the Florida Public Records Act as a Discovery Tool, AFTL Legislative and Case Law Seminar (June 1984).

 

Non-joinder of Insurors, AFTL Legislative and Case Law Update Seminar (1983).

 

The Unconstitutionality of Florida's Non-Joinder Statute, 245 AFTL Journal 12 (Feb. 1983).

 

 

Robert D. Peltz, rpeltz@mspcesq.com