Matthew Hutchinson

Matthew Hutchinson

Matthew Hutchinson is an attorney in the firm’s Florida Keys office, where he represents individuals, businesses, and property owners in complex civil litigation, real estate disputes, construction litigation, business and commercial matters, and appellate litigation. He combines more than two decades of courtroom experience with a practical, client-focused approach, helping clients navigate sophisticated legal issues through strategic advocacy, thoughtful counsel, and meticulous preparation. Matthew is admitted to practice in Florida and Ohio, as well as the United States District Courts for the Southern District of Florida and the Northern District of Ohio, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Before relocating to the Florida Keys, Matthew practiced for many years in Ohio, where he developed an extensive litigation practice handling matters ranging from complex commercial disputes and construction litigation to real estate, appellate, and domestic relations cases. That broad litigation background allows him to approach every matter with both a trial lawyer’s perspective and a practical understanding of the business and personal interests at stake.

Matthew’s litigation experience includes serving as trial counsel for Jascha Chiaverini in the federal civil rights litigation that ultimately resulted in a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The case, Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon, addressed an important Fourth Amendment issue involving malicious prosecution claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Matthew served as trial counsel throughout the underlying litigation, helping develop the factual record and legal issues that ultimately reached—and prevailed before—the nation’s highest court.

Matthew’s journey to the Florida Keys also has a unique historical connection. Like railroad pioneer Henry Flagler, whose vision transformed the Florida Keys, Matthew traces his roots to Bellevue, Ohio. While separated by more than a century and vastly different professions, both men left the same small Ohio community to build new chapters of their lives in the Florida Keys—a connection that Matthew appreciates as part of the rich history of the region he now proudly calls home.

A graduate of Wittenberg University, Matthew earned his law degree from The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law, where he also completed a Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution through the College’s nationally recognized Program on Dispute Resolution. The program has been ranked No. 1 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, reflecting Ohio State’s longstanding leadership in negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and dispute resolution. During law school, he also served as a law clerk for the Hon. Katherine A. Lias.

Matthew was a member of the Ohio State Bar Association’s inaugural Emerging Leaders Academy in 2010 and is an alumni of the Leadership Monroe County Program. He was also a former chairman of the Toledo Bar Association Domestic Relations Committee and a former President of the Toledo Junior Bar Association.

Today, Matthew represents clients throughout the Florida Keys and South Florida in matters involving business disputes, real estate litigation, construction law, appeals, and other complex civil matters. Whether negotiating a favorable resolution or advocating in the courtroom, he is committed to providing responsive, personalized representation focused on achieving practical results for every client.

Represented Cases:

Board of Trustees of Shopmen’s Local 499 Pension Plan v. Art Iron, Inc., 117 F.4th 923 (Fed. 6th Cir. 2024): reversing grant of summary judgment in ERISA common control litigation and finding that the wife did not have liability for her husband’s business’s unfunded pension liability because her sole proprietorship jewelry activity was not a “trade or business.”

Woolems, Inc. v. Catalina Caststone Creations, Inc., 358 So.3d 1265 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2023): affirming denial of a general contractor’s motion for release of a security deposit and finding that the subcontractor’s amended counterclaim against the security deposit properly related back to its original claim brought against all of the parties in interest (distinguishing the case from significant prior precedent where a bond company had not been made a party to the case).

Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP v. Lamb-Ferrara, 388 So.3d 1112 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2024): affirming Florida court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over an Illinois law firm in professional malpractice action for legal services rendered to a Florida estate.

Florida Keys Towing, Inc. v. CarMax Auto Superstores, Inc., 406 So.3d 1096 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2025): reversing judgment from the County Court because the judgment amount exceeded the jurisdictional limit of the County Court.

Fuller v. Anchor Pointe Marina, 100 N.E.3d 1281, 2017-Ohio-8921 (Ohio 6th Dist.): reversing grant of summary judgment to a marina and finding that an office worker and mechanic had apparent authority to bind the marina to remove the boat’s drain plug prior to launching the customer’s boat, despite a disclaimer in the agreement to the contrary.

Newcomer v. Newcomer, 2013-Ohio-5627 (Ohio 6th Dist.): affirming the trial court setting aside the parties’ prenuptial agreement and the trial court’s imputation of the former husband’s “elusive” income. The case was also featured in Forbes, “The High-Flying Debtor Gets His Wings Clipped in Newcomer,” December 28, 2013.

Draper v. North American Science Associates, Inc., 2017-Ohio-2811 (Ohio 6th Dist.): affirming the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the employer and finding that a former employee’s second claim for worker’s compensation benefits was barred by the doctrine of res judicata.

Basista v. Basista, 2014-Ohio-2828 (Ohio 6th Dist.): reversed trial court’s use of outdated financial information in calculating child support and spousal support where former husband entered into a new employment contract doubling his income shortly after the trial concluded but before the trial court had entered a written judgment entry.

J.B. v. L.L., 2014-Ohio-2104 (Ohio 6th Dist.): affirming trial court’s finding that emergency jurisdiction existed pursuant to the UCCJEA and that the more convenient forum was a court in Michigan where the parents’ relationship was “volatile” and where the father had surreptitiously recorded his conversations with the mother.

Epperson v. Epperson, 2015-Ohio-2443 (Ohio 6th Dist.): affirming the trial court where the trial court utilized the former wife’s own valuation of her personal property on a signed application for a line of credit to determine the value of the personal property she was retaining in a divorce case.

Greenwood v. Greenwood, 2 N.E.3d 1002, 2013-Ohio-5339 (Ohio 6th Dist.): finding that the trial court had not violated the bankruptcy court’s automatic stay where the trial court conducted a trial on issues that included modification of domestic support orders.