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Michael is a Partner with the firm’s Mobile, Alabama, and Tallahassee, Florida offices. He practices in the areas of General Liability Defense, Subrogation, and Property/Casualty Coverage with an emphasis on first-party claims. He has litigated several matters throughout his career, serving as lead and co-counsel in trials in Alabama and Florida. Michael graduated from Auburn University, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and received his Law Degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.

Prior to joining the firm, Michael engaged in the practice of law with a mid-sized firm in Mobile, Alabama, focusing primarily on coverage and general liability defense litigation with an emphasis on product and construction defect claims. He has published articles in both legal and trade magazines. He is a frequent speaker on various topics, including insurance coverage issues, mediation strategies, and solving complex construction-related problems.    

A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Michael is licensed to practice in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, as well as the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama and the Northern District of Florida. He is licensed to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Michael is an active member of the Mobile Bar Association, the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, the Paul W. Brock Chapter of the National Inns of Court, the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association, and the DRI. Michael is also a member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), where he is the President of the Alabama Chapter.

Admissions

  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Mississippi

Education

  • Auburn University
    Bachelor of Arts
  • Cumberland School of Law at Samford University
    Doctor of Jurisprudence

Memberships

  • Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
  • Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  • Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC)

Media

Insurers May be on-the-hook for Pre-Suit Attorney’s Fees, but Can Avoid Them by Considering Pre-Suit Settlement

  Tendering policy limits to an insured in response to a Notice of Intent to Litigate, under section 627.70152, Florida Statutes (2021), precludes insureds from recovering pre-suit attorney’s fees from their property insurers in a subsequently filed litigation for the same claim. The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently held that plaintiffs are not entitled to attorney’s fees if a...

Partner Michael Montgomery Featured in FDCC Friday 5

Mobile and Tallahassee Partner Michael Montgomery was featured on this week's FDCC Friday 5! This weekly newsletter highlights important developments, upcoming events, and progress being made on initiatives by the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC). Michael's article, titled "Property Insurance Section: Issues to Watch," discusses some recent decisions of note in the area of pro...

Fundamentals of First Party Property Claims Handling

Join Partners Tracy Jurgus, William Collum, and Michael Montgomery as they present for the 2023 FIFEC Annual Conference. The event will be held from July 12-14, 2023 at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld Resort, Orlando, FL. This course provides an overview of effective claims-handling practices, including an adjuster’s obligations during the claims process.  Tracy, Michael, and William discu...

Make Sure You Are Covered: Good Faith Claims Handling and Common Issues That are Encountered Handling Property Claims

Join Partner Michael Montgomery and co-presenters Stephen A. Melendi (Tollefson, Bradley, Mitchell & Melendi) and Venessa Perkins (PURE) as they present for the FDCC 2022 Property Insurance Boot Camp on November 9, 2022. The panel will analyze and address the common pitfalls and ways to avoid them in adjusting and handling first-party property damage claims, from the initial intake of the firs...

Michael Montgomery Appointed Vice Chair for the FDCC

Join us in congratulating Partner Michael Montgomery for being appointed as Vice Chair for the FDCC Property Insurance Committee for the 2022-2023 term. The Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), composed of recognized leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction, is dedicated to promoting knowledge, fellowship, and professionalism of its members as the...

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Butler Awards Laptops for the 2022 CTRL Your Future Contest

For the seventh year in a row, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig has celebrated the achievements of high school seniors across the country through our CTRL Your Future Laptop Contest. These laptops will serve as more than a study tool for these seniors and serve as a means to stay connected with the people and communities they are a part of. We wish to extend a special Congratulations to our 2022 CTRL...

Butler Awards Laptops for the 2021 CTRL Your Future Contest

For the sixth year in a row, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig has celebrated the achievements of high school seniors across the country through our CTRL Your Future Laptop Contest. This year’s laptop contest however, has been especially meaningful in the need and impact it has had on the recipients. High school seniors have had to continue adapting to the changing circumstances of COVID-19. These la...

Alabama and Florida Insurance Law Questions Following Hurricane Sally (White Paper)

Hurricane Sally made landfall on Alabama Gulf Coast near the city of Gulf Shores early in the morning on Wednesday, September 16, 2020. The storm crawled slowly over the area as a strong Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds approaching 110 mph. The storm’s center and powerful eyewall passed over significant portions of the Alabama Gulf Coast and Mobile Bay, as well as large areas in and a...

2020 Seniors Awarded Laptops From Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig

For the fifth year in a row, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig has celebrated the achievements of high school seniors across the country through our CTRL Your Future Laptop Contest. This year’s laptop contest however, has been especially meaningful in the need and impact it has had on the recipients. In a year that is typically marked by milestones, like prom, graduation and college acceptance letter...

Tales From A Building Products Trials And Challenging Expert Witnesses

Partner Michael Montgomery and co-presenters Valerie Garcia (Hall & Evans, LLC) and Charles Ledbetter (American Family Insurance Co.) presented "Lessons Learned: Tales from a Building Products Trials and Challenging Expert Witnesses." ...

Butler Awards 8 laptops for the 2019 CTRL Your Future Contest

For the fourth year in a row, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig has spread some end of the school year cheer to seniors in eight different locations. Butler’s annual CTRL Your Future essay contest was created by the Firm’s Community Service Committee to recognize deserving high school seniors who have exhibited a commitment to their academics. The winners in each city received a brand-new laptop wi...

Some Like It Hot – Investigation & Legal Issues With Grill Fires

Partner Michael Montgomery and Jeff Bradshaw of Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc. presented a webinar titled "Some Like It Hot - Investigation & Legal Issues With Grill Fires" on May 1, 2019. This Webinar discussed many of the key issues associated with investigating a household grill fire: What to look for, how best to identify defects, many of the common defects and how best to locate the pote...

CTRL Your Future 2018 Laptop

For the third year in a row, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig has spread some end of the school year cheer to seniors in eight different locations. Butler’s annual CTRL Your Future essay contest was created by the Firm’s Community Service Committee to recognize deserving high school seniors who have exhibited a commitment to their academics. The winners in each city received a brand-new laptop wit...

Alabama and Mississippi Insurance Law Questions Following Hurricane Nate

Hurricane Nate made landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast near the city of Biloxi on Sunday, October 8, 2017, as a Category 1 Hurricane. The eastern quadrant of the storm’s center also passed over significant portions of the Alabama Gulf Coast, including the city of Mobile. Although the initial damage appears to be relatively minor in comparison to past catastrophic storms such as Hurricane Kat...

CTRL Your Future

For the second year in a row, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig has spread some end of the school year cheer to seniors in eight different locations. Butler’s annual CTRL Your Future essay contest was created by the Firm’s Community Service Committee to recognize deserving high school seniors who have exhibited a commitment to their academics. The winners in each city received a brand-new laptop wi...

Fifec Annual Conference – Law And Ethics Update 5-260 And Fraud And Misrepresentation

Alan Nisberg, Michael Montgomery and Tracy Jurgus from Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig presented in Orlando, FL at the FIFEC Annual Conference on the topic of "Law and Ethics Update 5-260 and Fraud and Misrepresentation" on June 7—8, 2017. This was a 3 part class. It covered a comprehensive overview of laws, regulations and ethics under Florida law in claims handling in subrogation, liability and ...

Construction Claims – Case Law and Statutory Updates

Michael Montgomery, a Partner at Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig, along with co-presenter Brenda Radmacher will be presenting “Construction Claims - Case Law and Statutory Updates" on a CLM Webinar on April 13, 2017, at 1:00 PM EST. This webinar will cover key case law and statutory developments from coast to coast, recent legal developments and emerging trends in construction claims and relate...

Marijuana In The Mainstream — Implications For Claims And Litigation

Michael Montgomery from Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig along with co-presenters Valerie Garcia, Christopher Hass, and Misty Valentine, presented in Nashville, TN at the CLM 2017 Annual Conference on the topic of "Marijuana in the Mainstream — Implications for Claims and Litigation” on March 30, 2017. ...

Michael Montgomery is Now President of Clm’s Alabama Chapter

Michael Montgomery is now the President of the Claims and Litigation Management's (CLM) Alabama Chapter. Congratulations, Michael!...

Defendants’ Tug Of War In Multi-Party Mediations

Michael Montgomery presented at the CLM Southwest Conference this November, on the topic of "Defendants' Tug of War in Multi-Party Mediations"....

Construction Claims: Case Law & Statutory Updates

Michael Montgomery will discuss "Construction Claims: Case Law and Statutory Updates" during the CLM 2016 Webinar Series on July 14th. The webinar will cover recent legal developments and emerging trends in construction claims and related insurance coverage issues from coast to coast. Click here to register....

Laws, Regulation, & Ethics In Claims Handling: Subrogation, Liability & First Party

Alan Nisberg, Michael Montgomery, and Tracy Jurgus spoke at the 2016 FIFEC Conference in Orlando on June 8-10th. Topics included Laws, Regulations & Ethics in Claims Handling: Subrogation, Liability, and First Party, as well as Misrepresentation and Fraud....

Clm Conference – Atlanta

Michael Montgomery spoke at the 2015 CLM Conference on November 6, 2015 in Atlanta, GA. Michael's topic was, "When Saying You're an Expert Isn't Enough: Selecting, Working With, and Keeping Expert Witnesses Qualified in a Construction Defect Case."...

Bad Faith: Turns Out, Abnormal in Alabama Really Is Normal

A few years ago, I published an article that questioned whether Alabama’s tort of bad faith was becoming more prevalent on a theory referred to by Alabama courts as an “abnormal bad faith” action. See, “Is Abnormal Becoming the New Normal in Alabama?” Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance Bad Faith, Vol. 22, #20 (February 26, 2009). As mentioned in the article, the tort of bad faith ...

Clm Construction & Environmental Conference

Michael Montgomery spoke at the CLM Construction & Environmental Conference in Boston, MA. Michael's topic was, "Top Ten Things that Keep Your Claims Professional Awake at Night."...

Sports Laws Focusing More and More on Youth Sports

Youth sports have become a year-round, multi-million dollar industry. From travel teams to club ball, to off-season workouts, the concept of youth sports has changed dramatically from a fun day at the park to a highly competitive atmosphere, where specialization and focus on one particular sport begins at an earlier and earlier age. As a result of the increase in the popularity and appetite for co...

2015 Retail, Restaurant & Hospitality Committee Conference

Michael Montgomery spoke at the 2015 Retail, Restaurant & Hospitality Committee Conference on February 5—6, 2015 in Orlando, FL. Michael's topic was, "Is Your Security Plan at Risk? Recognizing, Insuring, Preventing and Mitigating Against Losses at Major Entertainment and Marketing Events."...

2013 Clm Construction/Environmental Adr/Afa Conference

Michael Montgomery spoke at the 2013 CLM Construction/Environmental ADR/AFA Conference on November 8, 2013 in Costa Mesa, CA. Michael's topic was, "Unconventional Approaches to Resolving Construction Defect Cases."...

2013 Clm Construction/Environmental Adr/Afa Conference

Denise Anderson spoke at the 2013 CLM Construction/Environmental ADR/AFA Conference on November 8, 2013 in Costa Mesa, CA. Denise's topic was, "Right to Repair: Use It, Don't Abuse It."...

Rimkus 10th Annual Seminar

Michael Montgomery spoke at Rimkus' 10th Annual Seminar on June 20, 2013 in Tampa, FL. The presentation was titled, "How to Defend Product /Materials Failures that Result in Construction Defect Claims."...

Gulf Coast Association Of Insurance Professionals

Michael Montgomery spoke at the Gulf Coast Association of Insurance Professionals (GCAIP) in Pensacola, Florida on February 7, 2013. Michael's topic was, "Dealing with the Sympathetic Plaintiff in Litigation and Trial."...

Learning From The 2011 Tornado Season: A Historic Year Of Coverage Lessons For Insurers In 2012

A publication of CLM As natural disasters go, the tornado season of 2011 was one of the worst on the books. The National Weather Service reported that a record number of tornadoes touched down during the April-May 2011 tornado season, with the state of Alabama having more tornadoes reach the ground than in any other state....

Is Abnormal Becoming The New Normal In Alabama?

This is one of a series of articles originally published in Mealey's Litigation Report: Insurance Bad Faith, Vol. 22, #20 (February 26, 2009). [Editor's Note: John C.S. Pierce is a Partner in the Mobile Office of Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP with offices in Charlotte, Miami, Mobile, Tallahassee, and Tampa. He is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer in the firm's Third-Party Liability, Em...

Alabama Limits Subrogation Rights Under Wrongful Death Statute

This article was originally published in the Subrogator, a publication by the National Association of Subrogation Professionals, Fall, 2007. © Copyright 2007 by NASP. All rights reserved. Republished by Butler with permission from NASP. State Specific | Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama recently limited the rights of a workers' compensation insurer seeking to recover medical expenses pai...

Michael Montgomery