Dimitri Peteves

Dimitri joined Creed & Gowdy in 2020 after three judicial clerkships and working at an international law firm. He clerked for Judge Allen Winsor at the Florida First District Court of Appeal, Judge Mark Walker at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and Judge Robert Luck at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Dimitri also worked as an associate attorney in the corporate and litigation practice groups at Holland & Knight.

Dimitri was born and raised in the Netherlands and moved to Florida in 2009. He completed his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Florida. In 2016, he graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law with high honors and fourth in his class.

Dimitri works remotely from Tampa. He is the co-chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association's appellate practice section. He also serves as a board member of the Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association, and he is the Chair-Elect of the Florida Justice Association's appellate practice section.

 Notable Cases:

• Havana Docks Corp. v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. Dimitri prepared an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a bipartisan group of members of Congress. The brief supported the petitioner, which alleged that the defendants violated federal law by trafficking in property that the Cuban government had confiscated from the petitioner. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the petitioner.
  
  
• Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC. Dimitri represented a plaintiff in a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court. The plaintiff was injured in a truck crash and sued the transportation broker, C.H. Robinson, for negligently hiring the motor carrier. The Seventh Circuit held that the claim was preempted by federal law. Dimitri persuaded the Supreme Court to grant certiorari and hear the case. The Supreme Court went on to unanimously rule in favor of the plaintiff.
  
  
• Roe v. NPC International, Inc. Dimitri represented a plaintiff in an appeal in the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal. The trial court ruled that the defendant was exonerated because the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his claim against the defendant's employee. Dimitri persuaded the Fifth District to reverse because the trial court misapplied the exoneration rule.
  
  
• Bayless v. Coloplast Corp. Dimitri represented a plaintiff in a products-liability appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The case concerned a pelvic mesh manufactured by Coloplast Corp., which a jury found to be defectively designed. Coloplast appealed the $500,000 jury verdict for the plaintiff, and Dimitri successfully defended the verdict on appeal.
  
  
• Brooks v. Miller. Dimitri represented a plaintiff in a § 1983 appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The plaintiff sued a police officer for false arrest, illegal search and seizure, excessive force, and deliberate indifference to medical needs. The district court granted summary judgment against the plaintiff on all claims. On appeal, Dimitri persuaded the Eleventh Circuit to reverse the summary judgment on the excessive-force claim.
  
  
• HFC Collection Center, Inc. v. Alexander. Dimitri represented a plaintiff in proceedings in the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Florida. The case involved an order granting approximately $300,000 in attorney's fees to the defendant. Dimitri successfully persuaded the Fifth District to quash the order. Dimitri also persuaded the Supreme Court of Florida not to accept review of the Fifth District's decision.

Publications:

• Common Issues With Summary Judgment, The Florida Justice Association Journal, No. 651 (May/June 2026)
• The New Co-Chair's Message: Goodbye, Hello Part 2, The Hillsborough County Bar Association Lawyer, Vol. 35, No. 2 (November/December 2024)
• Jurisdictional Questions in Federal Appeals, The Florida Justice Association Journal, No. 635 (September/October 2023)
• Keeping Briefs Clean: Cutting Unnecessary Bluebooking, The Hillsborough County Bar Association Lawyer, Vol. 33, No. 4 (March/April 2023)

Speaking Engagements:

• Co-presenter, "Damages under HB 837 and summary judgment procedure," Jacksonville Justice Association Second Quarterly Seminar (May 28, 2026)
• Panelist, "The Current State of HB 837 In The Courts," Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association (February 24, 2026)
• Moderator, Appellate Practice CLE Breakfast with the Second DCA, Hillsborough County Bar Association (February 5, 2026)
• Co-presenter, "What’s New in Case Law and the Civil Rules Changes," Jacksonville Justice Association Annual Seminar (November 14, 2025)
• Presenter, "Interpreting and Applying 768.0427(2) Regarding Evidence of Medical Damages," Florida Justice Association, Webinar (October 21, 2025)
• Panelist, "A Practitioner's Guide to the Revised Florida Rules of Civil Procedure," Jacksonville Justice Association First Quarterly Meeting (February 6, 2025)
• Presenter, "Section 768.0427 Applies. Now What Do We Do?," Florida Justice Association, Webinar (October 29, 2024)
• Co-presenter, "Handle with Care: Motions to Disqualify and Related Appellate Proceedings," Appellate Practice Section of The Florida Bar, Webinar (October 15, 2024)
• Speaker, "Appellate Practice," Appellate Advocacy (Civil) course at Stetson University College of Law (April 17, 2024)
• Speaker, "Federal Appellate Practice," Appellate Advocacy (Civil) course at Stetson University College of Law (April 24, 2023)
• Co-presenter, "Common Errors in Preservation: The (former) Appellate Law Clerks' Point of View," Jacksonville Justice Association Third Quarterly Meeting (August 25, 2022)
• Presenter, "Special Writs: What are they? When to use them? How to use them?," Florida Justice Association Annual Convention (June 16, 2022)
• Panelist, "Summary Judgments Under the New Rule: Offensive & Defensive Strategies," Jacksonville Justice Association Annual Seminar (November 12, 2021)