R. Scott Norman is an experienced litigator and a member of the Construction, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law, and Real Estate practice groups. He has a diverse national practice representing and counseling businesses and individuals on a wide variety of commercial and construction disputes, contract negotiations, employment counseling and disputes, risk management, and complex litigation in state and federal courts, before arbitration panels, and before administrative agencies. Scott values building close client relationships and brings an unconditional commitment to providing his nationwide clients with prompt and strategic professional services to achieve favorable and cost-effective outcomes.
- Successfully defended numerous claims of professional negligence against architects, engineers and land surveyors in residential, commercial and public works construction disputes and litigation.
- Drafted and negotiated multi-million dollar contracts on behalf of owners, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers.
- Represented both landlords and tenants in residential and commercial lease negotiations, premises liability matters and landlord-tenant disputes.
- Defended employment claims against contractors and design professional firms involving discrimination, wage and hour violations, retaliation, wrongful termination and trade secret misappropriation.
- Experience defending and advancing the claims of builders and contractors in multimillion dollar residential and commercial construction disputes and litigation.
- Successfully represented homeowners and land surveyors in residential encroachment and easement disputes.
- Counseled contractor and design professional clients on entity formation and corporate governance, contract negotiations, preventative risk management and establishing employment policies and procedures.
- Experience defending construction clients in premises liability litigation, personal injury matters and violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”) and its state law equivalents.
- Secured summary dismissal of real estate agent accused of fraud in the marketing and sale of residential property.
- Obtained a seven-figure settlement on behalf of a steel contractor wrongfully terminated on a project involving the construction of an oil storage terminal in South America.
- Successfully represented a steel fabricator against claims from its erector who abandoned the project and obtained large six-figure arbitration award against the erector for breach of contract.
- Obtained seven-figure settlement on behalf steel contractor wrongfully terminated on a large-scale public improvement project and successfully converted the termination for default into one for convenience.
Published Opinions
- Preserve Poway v. City of Poway (2016) 245 Cal.App.4th 560
- Heffalumps & Woozles: "Beware! Beware! Be a Very Wary Bear!" OSHA Lessons Learned, GRSM Steel Fabricators Webinar (June 13, 2023)
- You Can’t Always Get What You Want – How to Get What You Need in Upstream Contracts, GRSM Steel Fabricator Webinar (March 14, 2023)
- The Times They Keep A Changin’ – Staying Current to Avoid Sinking Like a Stone. A look at recent developments in the construction industry, 2022 Pacific Northwest Steel Fabricator Association Annual Conference, Sunriver Resort, Sunriver, OR (September 23, 2022)
- I've Got a Bad Feeling about This: What You Can Do to Avoid Having that “Bad Feeling” when You Are Trying to Collect Change Orders?, GRSM Steel Fabricators Webinar (September 7, 2021)
- Keeping OSHA Out of Your Bank Account, GRSM Steel Fabricators Webinar (September 10, 2020)
- 14 Contract Terms You Should Look for in Every Contract Before You Bid (Or Sign) so That You Can Avoid Saying, “I’ve Got a Bad Feeling About This!”, GRSM Steel Fabricators Webinar (April 2, 2020)
- I've Got A Bad Feeling About This: What Can You Do To Avoid Having That “Bad Feeling” When You Are Trying To Collect Changes?, 2019 Pacific Northwest Steel Fabricator Association Annual Conference, Sunriver, OR (September 20, 2019)
Admissions
- California
- Kentucky
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Western and Eastern Districts of Kentucky
Memberships
- American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry
- California Bar Association
- Kentucky Bar Association, Sections on Construction & Public Contract Law (Chair 2020 – 2021), Labor & Employment Law, and Real Property Law
- Louisville Bar Association, Section on Labor & Employment Law
Community Involvement
Prior to practicing in Louisville, Scott served as a volunteer attorney handling guardianship matters for the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program. He also frequently represented low income residents and members of the homeless community in San Diego in several significant civil rights matters on an individual and class-wide basis. In two notable cases, Scott successfully defended a local church’s First Amendment right to practice its religion by feeding the homeless on its premises, and served as co-counsel with the ACLU on a successful federal class action lawsuit brought on behalf of homeless people for the confiscation and destruction of their personal property.
Education
- J.D., California Western School of Law, 2007
- California Western Law Review and International Law Journal, Associate Writer
- B.A., Communication and Media Studies, California State University Northridge, 2003
Honors
- Adrianne Baker Fellowship for Public Service (2009)
- Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services (2014)