Paul G. Totten

Partner/Miami

"The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it."
Epictetus

Mr. Totten, a Partner in the Miami office, is a highly experienced attorney. His interest in litigation and trial law brought him to Hightower & Partners. He was recognized by Super Lawyers magazine as a "Rising Star” in the legal community. In his almost ten years with the firm, he has successfully tried and defended cases ranging from Automobile and Commercial Vehicle Negligence to Crane and Construction Liability, as well as Premises Liability Negligence for a variety of Florida’s Hotels, Restaurants and Night Life Entertainment Venues. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. In addition, Mr. Totten is also a member of the Dade County Bar Association.

As for his personal background, Mr. Totten was born and raised in Miami, Florida. During his middle school and high school years, he was involved with the Boy Scouts of America and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. While attending high school, he was involved with the school’s Debate and Mock Trial teams with which he participated in several competitions. He was also a varsity letterman on the high school’s football team.

Mr. Totten then enrolled at Miami-Dade Community College and received his AA degree. He went on to attend the Florida State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science with minors in Communication and Anthropology.

While at FSU, Mr. Totten was a founding member and Vice President of the Delta Sigma Phi, Inc. Fraternity’s Theta XI Chapter.

To pursue a career in law, Mr. Totten attended St. Thomas University School of Law. While there, he served as a student government senator. Also, he received a book award for Property II. His legal work history includes a clerkship for the Spriggs Law Firm where he recorded telephone statements of individuals with a possible racial discrimination claim and then drafted declarations for use in class certification motion. In his third year of law school, he clerked for Loring N. Spolter, P.A., a Plaintiff’s employment and discrimination law firm. Mr. Totten worked directly with Mr. Spolter and was involved with all aspects of the firm’s case management.

Away from the office, a true Miami native, Mr. Totten enjoys sport fishing, scuba diving and all water sports and activities. He also utilizes his spare time by reading books and his “amateur artist” status.

Great results

RODGERS v. AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS/TRIAL

In this Broward county case, Mr. Totten defended a child¬care center from a wrongful death case wherein a child died from a brain aneurism. Allegations were that Plaintiff’s child had obvious symptoms of a major medical problem and the center waited hours before calling for EMT. Plaintiff also alleged negligent training and supervision of Defendant’s employees. Plaintiff demanded $500,000 to settle the case and asked the jury to award 1.5 million. The jury returned a DEFENSE VERDICT.

REED v. CROBAR NIGHTCLUB/TRIAL

In this Miami-Dade county case, Mr. Totten defended the second largest club on South Beach against allegations of “dangerous condition” of dancing area. Plaintiff climbed up on dance platform and fell off side severely injuring knee. Past medicals were $50,000 and Plaintiff asked jury to award $500,000. Jury returned a DEFENSE VERDICT.

BLACK v. R.J. GATORS/TRIAL

In this St. Lucie county case, Mr. Totten defended a local restaurant when a child fell off a high table in the bar area and severely injured his kidney and renal artery. Plaintiff claimed that the table was defective and constituted a known dangerous condition. Plaintiff demanded $250,000 to settle. Jury returned a DEFENSE VERDICT.

DELUCA v. ROYAL OASIS CASINO/TRIAL

In this Palm Beach county case, Mr. Totten defended a casino located in the Bahamas after a guest was severely injured in a “room invasion” type robbery. The Plaintiff had to be transported to the United States for emergency surgery with life threatening injuries. Plaintiff demanded 2.5 million to settle this negligence security case against the casino. In a bifurcated trial, the jury found Fabre defendant 50%; and Plaintiff 30% liable, and the casino only 20% liable.