MICHAEL O. MASSEY has been a partner with Massey & Duffy, PLLC since October, 2003. He focuses exclusively on civil litigation, including wrongful death, overtime cases, car and trucking accidents, insurance claims, breach of contract, general employment law, and serious personal injury lawsuits. As a resident of Gainesville, Florida and a University of Florida graduate, Mr. Massey is proud to serve the community which he loves.

Mr. Massey spent his childhood in Miami, Florida. He was a star student before attending Auburn University and eventually went on to attend the University of Florida’s College of Law. At the University of Florida, Mr. Massey graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. He also earned a LLM from UF in taxation.

After graduating from law school, Mr. Massey litigated construction cases and joined an internationally known firm to represent plaintiffs in such areas as construction claims and business tort cases. He was responsible for many cases that resulted in settlements and verdicts worth millions of dollars.

In October, 2003, Mr. Massey and Ms. Duffy founded the Ocala firm of Saju, Massey and Duffy, PLLC. After Mr. Saju withdrew from the firm, the name changed to Massey & Duffy, PLLC.

On May 11, 2005, Mr. Massey was lead counsel in a rear end collision case in Ocala returning a jury verdict of $554,048.07. The verdict was reported in the Florida Jury Verdict Review as one of the largest of its kind. Also, on February 24, 2006, Mr. Massey worked to return a verdict of $400,000.00 in an employment law and commercial tort case involving a former employee. Mr. Massey is a member of the Florida Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and served on the Executive Board.

Education

L.L.M., 2000, University of Florida College of Law, in Taxation

J.D. with high honors, (top 10%), 1998, University of Florida College of Law
• Journal of International Law & Policy
• Appellate Advocacy Teaching Fellowship
• Book Awards:  Family Law, Civil Procedure, Evidence

B.S. summa cum laude, 1995, Auburn University, in Finance

Clerk & Government Experience

United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Externship, 1997

Professional Memberships and Affiliations (Past and Present)

Florida Justice Association
National Employment Lawyers Association, Florida Chapter (Past Treasurer)
Palm Beach County Justice Association
Justice Teaching
Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Marion County Bar Association

Bar Admissions

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Supreme Court of Florida

Reported and Westlaw Decisions

Federal Court: McCullen v. RDR, LLC, Slip Copy 2007 WL 2071362 (M.D. Fla. July 13, 2007); Bell v. Georgia-Pacific Corp., 390 F. Supp.2d 1182 (M.D. Fla. 2005)

State Court: Poropat v. Poropat, 54 So.3d 57 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010); Stackman v. Pope, 28 So. 3d 131 (Fla. 5^th DCA 2010); Haigh v. Planning Bd. of Town of Medfield, 940 So.2d 1230 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006); Robyn v. Forest River, Inc., 913 So.2d 743 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005); Ash v. Geoline Surveying, 03-2671-CA-K (Ocala, FL, 2005) (Florida Jury Verdict Review & Analysis, Vol. 15, Issue 7, pp. 9-10, July, 2005)

Publications

Tenancies by the Entireties and the Bankruptcy Code: Clash of the Titans, The Florida Bar Journal (1999)