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BACKGROUND
Professor Rod Sullivan practiced maritime law for 25 years before joining the faculty and is a Board Certified specialist in Admiralty and Maritime Law. During his years of practice he tried over 100 jury and non-jury cases in both federal and state courts in Florida and Georgia.
Professor Sulivan regularly teaches Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Admiralty and Maritime Law, and the global Climate Change Seminar.
Professor Sullivan successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Edgar Townsend in the case of Atlantic Sounding, Inc. v. Townsend, 129 S. Ct. 2561 (2009). In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Clarence Thomas the Supreme Court decided that a seaman who was wrongfully denied medical care by his employer could seek punitive damages.
A transcript of the oral argument can be found at: http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/08-214.pdf
Professor Sullivan appeared as counsel for certain voters in Nassau County, Florida in the 2000 Presidential Election recount case in Tallahassee, Florida which came to be known as Bush v. Gore. He also served in the Merchant Marine Ready Reserve program of the U. S. Naval Reserve, earning the rank of Lieutenant.
EXPERTISE
- Constitutional Law
- Admiralty and Maritime Law
EDUCATION
United States Merchant Marine Academy
- B.S. Marine Engineering, 1977
- B.S. Marine Transportation, 1977
Stetson University College of Law
- J.D., 1982.
Georgetown University
- LLM, International and Comparative Law, 1983
TEACHING and SCHOLARSHIP
- Constitutional Law
- Administrative Law
- Admiralty and Maritime Law
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Board Certified Specialist, Admiralty and Maritime Law (2001-present)
- Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, Lexis-Nexis (2002-Present)
- Martindale-Hubbell Rating “AV” (1997-Present)
- Proctor in Admiralty, Maritime Law Association of the United States (1984-Present)
PUBLICATIONS
Contributing Author, Hazardous Waste in Florida
LAW REVIEW ARTICLES
Maintenance and Cure: an Embattled Remedy
- Proceeding of the American Association for Justice, 2007
Beyond LHWCA: Remedies for Maritime Workers and Defenses for Employers,
- Proceeding of the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute, 2008
Enforcing a Seaman’s Right to Medical Care After Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend,
- TULANE MARITIME LAW JOURNAL, Volume 34, Number 1, Page 1
Punitive Damages in Maritime Law after Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend,
- High Stakes on the High Seas, Louisiana Association for Justice, 2009.