Dimitrios A. Peteves
Dimitri joined the firm in 2020 after completing three judicial
clerkships and working in private practice for an international law
firm. He first served as a law clerk to the Honorable Allen C.
Winsor of the Florida First District Court of Appeal for one year.
He then clerked for the Honorable Mark E. Walker of the United
States District Court for the Northern District of Florida for two
years. Finally, he clerked for the Honorable Robert J. Luck of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit for ten
months. In between his federal clerkships, Dimitri worked as an
associate attorney in the corporate and litigation practice groups
at Holland & Knight, LLP in Tallahassee, Florida.
Dimitri was born and raised in the Netherlands and moved to
Florida in 2009 to complete his undergraduate and law degrees at
the University of Florida. In 2016, he graduated from the
University of Florida Levin College of Law with high honors in the
top of his class.
Notable Cases:
- Brooks v. Miller. Dimitri represented a
plaintiff in a ยง 1983 appeal in the United States Court of Appeals
for the Eleventh Circuit. The plaintiff sued a police officer for
false arrest, illegal search and seizure, excessive force, and
deliberate indifference to medical needs. The district court
granted summary judgment against the plaintiff on all claims. On
appeal, Dimitri persuaded the Eleventh Circuit to reverse the
summary judgment on the excessive-force claim.
- Bayless v. Coloplast Corp.
Dimitri represented a plaintiff in a
products-liability appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for
the Eleventh Circuit. The case concerned a pelvic mesh manufactured
by Coloplast Corp., which a jury found to be defectively designed.
Coloplast appealed the $500,000 jury verdict for the plaintiff, and
Dimitri successfully defended the verdict on appeal.
- HFC Collection Center, Inc. v. Alexander. Dimitri represented a plaintiff in a fee
dispute in the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal and the
Supreme Court of Florida. The case involved an approximate $300,000
fee order stemming from a county court action. Dimitri successfully
persuaded the Fifth District that the trial court exceeded the
scope of its mandate in awarding attorney's fees to the defendant.
Dimitri also persuaded the Supreme Court of Florida not to accept
review of the Fifth District's decision.
Recent Publications:
Speaking Engagements:
- Co-presenter, "Handle with Care: Motions to Disqualify and
Related Appellate Proceedings," Appellate Practice Section of The
Florida Bar, Webinar (October 15, 2024)
- Speaker, "Appellate Practice," Appellate Advocacy (Civil)
course at Stetson University College of Law (April 17, 2024)
- Speaker, "Federal Appellate Practice," Appellate Advocacy
(Civil) course at Stetson University College of Law (April 24,
2023)
- Co-presenter, "Common Errors in Preservation: The (former)
Appellate Law Clerks' Point of View," Jacksonville Justice
Association Third Quarterly Meeting (August 25, 2022)
- Presenter, "Special Writs: What are they? When to use them? How
to use them?," Florida Justice Association Annual Convention (June
16, 2022)
- Panelist, "Summary Judgments Under the New Rule: Offensive
& Defensive Strategies," Jacksonville Justice Association
Annual Seminar (November 12, 2021)