Seth Miles is an experienced trial lawyer successfully litigating personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, maritime, class action, commercial tort, and qui tam cases. In each area, Mr. Miles has had clients recover in excess of one million dollars. In total, his recoveries for his clients exceed $250,000,000.
In one of the pivotal cases in his career, Seth received an $80 million verdict on behalf of three Cuban migrants forced to work as modern day slaves at a drydock. As a result of his work on this case, he was honored with the prestigious “Most Effective Lawyer” award given by the Daily Business Review. He also received a $1.7 million verdict in an automobile accident case in Volusia County, Florida. This is believed to be the largest automobile accident personal injury verdict in the history of Volusia County. In April 2014, Mr. Miles tried a wrongful death case in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois. The deceased contracted legionnaires disease while staying at a JW Marriott. After nearly a week long trial, the federal jury awarded the 83 year old widow nearly $2.3 million for the loss of her 80 year old husband.
Another one of Seth’s most notable victories involves recovering $39 million on behalf of all Lloyds of London property insurance clients assessed a hurricane deductible in the 2004-2005 season. In this class action, Seth successfully argued that statute-required language advising of high hurricane deductibles was not included and therefore policy owners should be reimbursed. After two years of litigation, the case was settled with each owner getting 65 percent of their deductible refunded—a clear victory. Recently, Mr. Miles served as class counsel in Dishkin v. Tire Kingdom, a class action brought under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The trial court certified the class and granted summary judgment in favor of the class. These rulings were defended all the way to the Florida Supreme Court. In October of 2014, the trial court granted final approval to a $4.5 million settlement that afforded each class member approximately 100% of their loss.
Mr. Miles was selected to serve on the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee for the crash of American Airlines Flight 331 and chosen as Liaison Counsel for nationwide force-placed flood insurance claims against J.P. Morgan Chase that resulted in a $22.5 million settlement. He also currently serves on the Southern District of Florida’s Bar Grievance Committee and the Florida Bar’s Constitutional Judiciary Committee. In addition, Seth was selected by the Florida Supreme Court to serve on the Civil Jury Instruction Committee.
Prior to entering private practice, Seth served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the criminal division of the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida. While serving as an Assistant United States Attorney, he tried numerous jury trials on matters ranging from airplane skyjacking to healthcare fraud and argued before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals multiple times.
Selected Memberships
- Florida Bar
- District of Columbia Bar
- American Bar Association
- American Association of Justice, Board of Delegates
- Federal Bar Association
- Florida Justice Association
- Coral Gables Bar Association
- Dade County Bar Association
- Miami Dade Justice Association
- Cuban American Bar Association
- League of Prosecutors FJA Board of Directors
- Southern District of Florida Federal Bar Grievance Committee
- Selected by the Florida Bar to serve on the Constitutional Judiciary Committee
- Appointed by the Florida Supreme Court to the Civil Jury Instructions Committee
Awards and Honors
- South Florida Legal Guide, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury
- Recognized by 2017-2020 The Best Lawyers in America© for:
– Commercial Litigation
– Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
– Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs - Florida Trend “Legal Elite”, Civil Trial Law
- Daily Business Review, Most Effective Lawyer (2008)
- The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Miami
Education
- B.A. Northwestern University
- J.D. (magna cum laude) Georgetown University Law Center