Seth Donahoe is a Director at Tripp Scott. Seth’s primary practice is state and federal court business litigation. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving contract claims, business torts, unfair competition and false advertising claims under the Lanham Act, breach of fiduciary duty, RICO, and civil conspiracy, putative class actions, and veil-piercing claims. He is a first-chair litigator who has tried cases to verdict in both state and federal courts, including jury trials and bench trials. He also brings strong appellate advocacy skills, having brought and defended complex appeals in state and federal court.

Using the insights and experience from his litigation practice, Seth provides day-to-day practical legal advice across a range of business matters that arise in the life cycle of a business. This includes guiding businesses through internal investigations, risk management, and assisting clients with navigating legal risks throughout growth, expansion, and acquisition phases. Two startup businesses Seth represented through all phases of their growth until they separately completed asset sales with transaction values of more than $100 million each. He is regularly consulted when businesses face potentially catastrophic liability for strategic guidance on risk mitigation, litigation management, and insurance coverage issues.

Notable work:

• Defended two individuals from civil theft and conversion claims through trial and five appeals, each of which was filed by the plaintiff. He secured a complete defense judgment and entitlement to attorney’s fees from both the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s attorney. He successfully defended the five appeals filed during the case, upholding the interlocutory orders as well as the final judgment and fee awards. During post-judgment discovery in aid of execution on the fee judgments, one of the judgment debtors made false statements concerning possession of an asset owned by Seth’s clients. Seth obtained proof that the debtor’s testimony was false as the debtor had remained in wrongful possession of the asset. The asset was then seized and the debtor was criminally prosecuted for perjury and grand theft.

• Lead trial counsel in a five-day arbitration involving manufacturing licensing agreements. Seth represented an international vessel manufacturer and charter operator that was being sued by a former licensee who alleged that the client caused the complete destruction of the plaintiff’s business resulting in several million dollars of damages. The client asserted counterclaims, and Seth obtained a complete defense verdict in favor of his client, and a judgment against the Plaintiff on the counterclaims.

• Lead trial and appellate counsel for a national company with over 1,000 employees defending a federal lawsuit brought by an employee from a satellite office in South Florida. He secured a dismissal of two counts at the outset of the lawsuit, summary judgment on several additional counts, and a jury verdict in his client’s favor on the remaining claims. He also defended the appeal before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal securing an affirmance of the trial court’s dismissal order and the material findings in the summary judgment ruling dispensing with the plaintiff’s main claims.

• Secured a dismissal with prejudice of RICO claims against an international telecommunications company, along with the two individual defendants Seth represented. The action proceeded into discovery on the remaining trade secret, deceptive trade practice, and conversion claims. During discovery, and through strategic depositions of key personnel, Seth demonstrated that the plaintiff took inconsistent factual positions in prior federal court proceedings than in the pending proceeding, which led to the plaintiff’s representative availing himself of Fifth Amendment protections. The case resolved on confidential terms shortly thereafter.

• Obtained a multi-million-dollar judgment in a commercial dispute in which the borrower and guarantor asserted a variety of business tort counterclaims and attempted to pierce a corporate veil of the Plaintiff. Seth obtained a severance and dismissal of the counterclaims along with a complete judgment in favor of his client for the entire balance owed under the mortgage plus the attorneys’ fees. He also successfully defended the appeal brought by the borrower.

• Represented a national media company in multiple separate federal court and arbitration proceedings in different states against a departed C-level employee and the new employer to, respectively, enforce non-compete and confidentiality covenants and pursue tortious interference claims. Seth guided the client through a pre-suit investigation, forensic inspection of electronic devices, and the procedural complexities of needing to bring separate lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions and forums to obtain complete relief. Following a heavily contested arbitration proceeding, Seth obtained in the arbitral forum an injunction completely in his client’s favor, and then an efficient and favorable settlement of all the pending proceedings.

• Represented an international medical device company in high-stakes federal court litigation during its entrance into the United States market. For over two years, Seth defended a Lanham Act trademark and false advertising claims brought by a competitor who dominated the market space for decades providing a vested interest in preventing a new market participant from getting a foothold in a particular section of the market. The case involved several issues of first impression and novel issues of law. Despite the competitor’s efforts through litigation to prevent the client from entering the market, the client obtained market position and secured an acquisition from an even larger market participant. The case was then amicably resolved between the parties.

• Represented defendants against a consumer litigation test case in which the plaintiff was bringing a novel cause of action based upon a statute that had no published opinions interpreting whether it provided a private cause of action. Seth and the litigation team at Tripp Scott obtained the first ruling in the State of Florida holding that the statute would not furnish a private cause of action.

• Represented a nationwide childcare company with over 50 individual locations, defending breach of contract and veil piercing claims in which the plaintiff sought to disregard the corporate form of a subsidiary to reach the operating entity. Through the defense, the Plaintiff was unable to do so, and the case was brought to an amicable resolution.

• Represented two minority shareholders through a pre-litigation dispute positioning them to get complete payment for a disputed promissory note and a buyout of their interests that was based upon a company valuation nearing two hundred million dollars.

• Represented a plaintiff in a complex business litigation shareholder dispute pursuing direct and derivative claims while seeking the appointment of a receiver over an operating entity that oversaw retail locations in multiple states. Through the litigation, the client was able to purchase one location and secure a buyout of the remaining locations owned between the parties.

• Represented a judgment creditor enforcing a multi-million dollar judgment against a sophisticated debtor who had several layers of asset protection shielding valuable assets. Through enforcement efforts, Seth located vulnerabilities in the asset protections freezing over a half million dollars in bank accounts the debtor had previously believed were protected, and securing a preliminary injunction in a fraudulent transfer action.

Seth attended the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he earned his J.D., magna cum laude, and the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University, where he earned his B.A., magna cum laude.

During law school, Seth served as president of the Florida Moot Court Team and as the student commencement speaker at graduation. He was also a recipient of the Scott and Lisa Hawkins Character and Leadership Scholarship. He was selected to be a member of the Order of the Coif, an academic honor society, and the Order of the Barristers, an honor society recognizing excellence in written and oral advocacy.