Scott T. Schutte

Scott is known for his ability to work with clients to develop and implement strategies that achieve their business goals, whether that means avoiding problems through pre-dispute counseling, aggressively litigating a case to a negotiated resolution, or trying a case to verdict. His efforts to provide 24/7 support to clients led to his being named a BTI Client Service All-Star in 2022.

Many of Scott’s cases involve the need to coordinate litigation strategy with a client’s public relations and governmental relations considerations. He also is adept at leading or working with teams of lawyers from different law firms on complex, multidimensional problems.

Scott is proud of his active pro bono practice. On two separate occasions, Scott has convinced judges and/or prosecutors that our clients’ convictions were tainted by illegally obtained confessions. In a 2007 landmark victory, Scott convinced a Chicago judge to vacate two murder convictions for a man who had served 24 years in prison, based on allegations that his confessions were the product of torture. And, in 2019, Scott led a team that convinced prosecutors not to oppose our client’s efforts to have his murder conviction vacated after spending almost 30 years in prison. Scott also was part of the team that successfully prosecuted a class action against the State of Missouri for its failure to adequately monitor the use of psychotropic medications on children in the Missouri foster care system, and he has represented defendants in death penalty cases in Illinois and Texas.

Scott also is involved in firm management. He has been the office managing partner of Morgan Lewis’s Chicago office since April 2011; he is a co-leader of the firm’s Class Action Working Group; and he has previously served as the deputy chair of the firm’s litigation practice and on the firm’s Advisory Board.

Class/Mass Action Defense

• Represented a property manager in a lawsuit claiming that a so-called “union only” rule for tenant construction and office moves violates federal labor law and RICO (class certification denied twice)
• Represented the owners of a South Carolina paper mill in a consolidated class action alleging that the public was harmed by odors allegedly emanating from the mill
• Represented an identity verification software provider in claims brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act
• Represented a software company in a lawsuit involving software used by insurers in calculating the market value of total loss vehicles
• Member of a team that represented a medical device manufacturer in hundreds of lawsuits seeking economic and personal injury damages arising out of a device recall
• Defeated class certification in a lawsuit claiming the clients’ software used for valuing total loss vehicles was “statistically invalid”
• Obtained summary judgment and defeated class certification on behalf of a life insurance company alleging improper assessment of annuity “surrender charges”
• Defeated class certification on behalf of a software client alleged to have acted as an “insurance adjustor” under Texas law by providing software used to estimate the value of total loss vehicles
• Acted as national coordinating counsel for an international retailer in more than 40 class actions claiming misrepresentations in the sale of herbal supplements
• Successfully enforced an arbitration clause to defeat class action exposure for a global ecommerce marketplace provider
• Obtained a dismissal of claims that the client engaged to decommission a nuclear power plant had overcharged for its services
• Successfully enforced an arbitration clause to defeat class action exposure and class certification on behalf of a leading tax preparation provider involving claims that it failed to comply with the Truth in Lending Act
• Represented a manufacturer of corrugated stainless steel tubing in a class action lawsuit and dozens of individual subrogation claims involving alleged product defects
• Represented mortgage lenders in dozens of lawsuits alleging improper assessment of “payoff statement fees” and improper assessment of “force-placed insurance”
• Defeated class certification on behalf of a leading tax preparation provider in claims that its warranty product was deceptive

Civil Litigation

• Represented an investment advisor in a dispute regarding whether the client agreed to discretionary trading
• Represented a hotel owner in a dispute with a lender over whether the springing recourse provision in a commercial loan was triggered
• Represented an investment advisor in a dispute with departing employees over the theft of trade secrets
• Represented Little League Baseball in a lawsuit by members of the Jackie Robinson West team alleging that Little League’s decision to revoke a national championship title led to emotional distress
• Successfully represented a software manufacturer in a jury trial relating to licensing commissions
• Represented a medical device manufacturer in claims that a design defect led to the plaintiff’s death
• Represented a shoe manufacturer in a lawsuit alleging that an ESOP trustee’s abrupt resignation caused damages based on the inability to restructure a debt structure
• Represented a utility in a lawsuit alleging breach of a wholesale power contract
• Represented a food manufacturer in a civil forfeiture action
• Represented a healthcare provider in defending the award of a government contract
• Represented a lender in connection with a lawsuit alleging that the failure to fund a film loan caused $50 million in lost profit damages

Insurance Coverage

• Represented a utility seeking insurance coverage for more than $1 billion in coal ash cleanup costs
• Represented a manufacturer in a claim arising out of water damage during facility construction
• Represented a grocery store owner in litigation over whether claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act are covered by various insurance policies
• Represented a utility seeking more than $235 million under a first-party property policy for damage caused to a natural gas pipeline by an over-pressurization event
• Lead trial counsel for a company prosecuting a bad-faith claim for failure to settle an asbestos claim within policy limits that led to a $32 million verdict
• Represented a utility seeking insurance coverage associated with a dam collapse
• Member of a trial team concerning insurance coverage for a railroad’s settlement of hundreds of FELA claims
• Lead trial lawyer in a lawsuit involving insurance coverage for trade dress violation claims (settled just before closing arguments)
• Member of an arbitration trial team in three arbitrations seeking reinsurance for payments by the insurer client under extended warranty programs