Thomas A. Briggs is a Shareholder at Mase Seitz Briggs and has been practicing law with the firm for over 20 years. His primary area of focus is maritime law, but he has background in plaintiff’s personal injury and insurance defense claims. Although he now resides in South Florida, Thomas is originally from Ontario, Canada.
He earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Boston University in 1999. During his time at Boston University, he was inducted into several academic honor societies in addition to teaching various athletic courses in the Physical Education Department. He also taught ice skating to underprivileged children at the Boston Frog Pond.
After completing his undergraduate degree, Thomas went on to receive his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law in 2003. While in law school, Thomas served as a certified legal intern with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Thomas also participated in the Helping Others Through Pro Bono Efforts (H.O.P.E. Project) and Books and Buddies program.
Having successfully litigated, tried, arbitrated, and negotiated hundreds of cases in Florida, Thomas brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Mase Seitz Briggs legal team. During his time with the firm, Mr. Briggs has worked on seminal maritime mass casualty cases, including when a major cruise line ship was struck by a large storm with hurricane force winds and giant waves resulting in injuries to passengers. A class action suit was brought with passengers alleging the cruise line sent a ship into the path of the storm. Thomas won summary judgment on punitive damages with the court agreeing that the cruise line did not deliberately put passengers in danger. In another significant case, Mr. Briggs was able to successfully have class certification denied in a matter involving passengers onboard a ship which caught fire and was rendered without propulsion for several days. Passengers were stranded in allegedly squalid conditions. Following a 3-week trial, the plaintiffs, who sought over $30 million in damages, were awarded a total of only $119,500.
