A partner at Starr Austen & Miller LLP, Scott Starr graduated from Ball State University summa cum laude, majoring in accounting (he passed the CPA exam), and from Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis, magna cum laude. Since graduation, he has concentrated on litigating civil lawsuits, including class actions and various types of securities fraud. Scott also recently achieved an AV® Preeminent™ Rating from Martindale-Hubbell® – learn more about this distinguished rating by watching the video below.
Scott has participated in many jury trials and has acted as class counsel on a number of class actions. In August 2006, he served as lead counsel in a class action brought on behalf of 300 Ohio investors against Prudential Securities in Marion, Ohio. Scott estimates that he has represented more than 1,500 clients in pursuing claims arising from investment fraud.
Scott was also recently featured as a “Leader in Litigation” by Wilson, Kehoe & Winingham, a well-known law firm that recognizes some of Indiana’s most interesting and accomplished lawyers. Learn more by visiting www.wkw.com/leaders/part-2.
A past president of the Cass County (Indiana) Bar Association, Scott is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association; the American Bar Association (and a Fellow of the American Bar Association); the American College of Trial Lawyers; the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (DTCI); and, the Defense Research Institute (DRI). He is also a member of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), a nationwide organization of attorneys who devote a substantial portion of their practice to representing individuals who are making claims against stock brokers and brokerage firms.
Scott sat on the DTCI Board of Directors for 11 years, was an officer for 5 years, and served as President in 1998. He received the Defense Research Institute Exceptional Performance Citation at its annual meeting in San Francisco in 1998 and was named a Diplomat of DTCI in 2003. He has lectured frequently on a variety of topics related to litigation for both the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF) and DTCI. Scott was voted an Indiana Super Lawyer from 2003 through 2020 and was also voted one of the top 50 lawyers in the State of Indiana from 2004 through 2007.
Scott and his wife of 45 years, Phyllis Starr, are the proud parents of three sons.
Starr Austen & Miller was lead Plaintiffs’ counsel in a class action filed on behalf of approximately 300 Ohio residents who had their brokerage accounts improperly liquidated without authority by Defendants. This case tried to a Marion, Ohio jury, taking over a month to try.
Starr Austen & Miller was co-counsel for the XYZ Company that pended in the United States District Court for the Southern Division of Indiana. This Indiana company lost approximately $10 million when Morgan Keegan, without the Plaintiff’s knowledge, invested approximately $10 million of the Plaintiff’s working capital in what proved to be subprime mortgage backed securities which ultimately resulted in a loss of those funds.
In this case Starr Austen & Miller represented a group of approximately 100 people in a mass action against St. Louis based Edward D. Jones & Company regarding misrepresentations made by the Defendants in a sale of Petro Lewis Oil & Gas limited partnerships. The case was in litigation in Indiana State Court for a protracted period.
Starr Austen & Miller represented Plaintiff in a FINRA action against Defendants who lost a substantial sum when McDonald Investments sold Plaintiff various volatile, high risk investments.
Starr Austen & Miller represented a group of approximately 100 individuals in Indiana State Court against Edward D. Jones & Company for marketed shares or interests in certain real estate limited partnerships to the Indiana plaintiffs group.
Starr Austen & Miller represented Plaintiff in Indiana State Court in an action filed against XYZ Bank for its failure to diversify trust assets.
This case pended in the United District Court for the Western Division of Arkansas. Starr Austen & Miller was co-counsel with the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock , Arkansas and represented Plaintiffs in a nationwide class action against Edward D. Jones & Company. The case was based on failed investments into various oil and gas limited partnership marketed by Edward D. Jones & Company.
Starr Austen & Miller represented Plaintiff in a FINRA action against Raymond James for its refusal to liquidate and lock in gains achieved on certain annuities.
Starr Austen & Miller represented a group of approximately 30 individuals in Indiana State Court against a national brokerage firm for marketed various oil and gas limited partnerships to the Indiana Plaintiffs group.
Originally filed in 2005, the nationwide class action lawsuit claimed that the Defendant designed, manufactured, distributed and supplied cellular phones with defective charging ports. In February of 2010 a final settlement was reached.
This lawsuit charged Whirlpool Corp and Lowe’s Home Center ’s Inc. with manufacturing and selling defective residential water heaters that included thermocouples that failed at an unacceptable rate. Every time the thermocouple failed, Class Members and their families were left with cold showers, piles of laundry and stacks of dishes. This case was ultimately joined with the Dawn Bowen v. Whirlpool Corporation, Lowe’s Companies, Inc., Lowe’s HIW, Inc., and American Water Heater Company in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for the class action settlement.
This was a wrongful death claim resulting from a side-swipe tractor trailer collision on I 65 in Boone County, Indiana. Suit was originally filed in state court, but was removed to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division.
This was a catastrophic injury claim involving a truck driver waiting to load at a Gary, Indiana steel mill who was run over by a fellow truck driver.
This was a catastrophic brain injury claim involving our client’s car that ran under a semi trailer that was blocking his lane of travel on a very foggy morning.
Please note that results of past cases cannot guarantee future success. To our present and future clients, we commit our best efforts. However, because each case involves many different factors, results will always be different from case-to-case. Cases that may seem similar to the cases listed here are not guaranteed to have the same or similar result. Each case is dependent upon its own set of facts and the only common factor in all the cases summarized here and throughout our website is that Starr Austen & Miller, LLP represented the client.
The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence. Leave nothing for to-morrow which can be done to-day. - Abraham Lincoln
