Profile
Ryan T. Hopper is a litigation shareholder based in the firm’s Tampa office. He routinely represents plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes, highly technical disputes, including mass- and toxic-tort actions, complex commercial and trade secrets disputes, and real estate development controversies. Ryan draws on his multi-disciplinary practice to help clients approach cases creatively and efficiently, and he has played an integral role in the favorable resolution of disputes involving billions of dollars in claimed damages.
Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, Ryan served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Roy B. Dalton Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Ryan received both his J.D., magna cum laude, and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Florida, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the Order of the Coif, and the Order of the Barristers.
Áreas de Atuação
Experiência
- Representing an international aerospace company in mass-tort litigation involving allegations that emissions from a manufacturing facility caused plaintiffs to develop various cancers, central nervous system disorders, and congenital anomalies. Thus far, GT has secured dismissal with prejudice of a putative class action seeking medical monitoring and damages for alleged diminution in regional property values. GT has also won summary judgment on dozens of individual claims, including wrongful death claims, based on successful motions to exclude expert causation opinions as unreliable.
- Defended three real estate development companies in litigation arising out of the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Sunny Isles, Florida. GT spearheaded multi-party defense efforts that resulted in the second-largest class action settlement in Florida history at the time. The settlement resolved all claims against GT’s clients with no monetary contribution from them and with their insurers contributing less than 2.75% of the total settlement fund.
- Defended a public utility company in a putative class action brought by residents alleging that power plant emissions elevated regional cancer rates and contaminated an approximate 80-square-mile area with radionuclides, metals, and other constituents. GT’s defense efforts led to the plaintiffs’ complete dismissal of all claims asserted on behalf of the approximately 15,000-member putative class with prejudice.
- Defended a fertilizer production company in federal toxic-tort litigation in which the plaintiff alleged that she suffered adverse health effects as a result of exposure to sulfur dioxide emissions. GT prevailed on all claims in the trial court on Daubert and summary judgement motions, Williams v. Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC, No. 8:14-cv-1748, 2016 WL 7175657 (M.D. Fla. June 24, 2016), which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed, Williams v. Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC, 889 F.3d 1239 (11th Cir. 2018).
- Defended international mining company in litigation involving allegations that land-reclamation activities diminished the value of nearby property. GT secured partial summary judgment, after which the matter resolved on confidential terms.
- Defended a chemical manufacturer in a wrongful death action, obtaining the plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal with prejudice following a targeted discovery strategy.
- Member of the trial team that represented the plaintiff, a real estate developer, in a malicious-prosecution and abuse-of-process lawsuit filed against a competitor who had attempted to have our client’s $130 million condominium building demolished in prior litigation. After years of litigation, including a successful interlocutory appeal vindicating our client’s right to demand punitive damages and a multi-week jury trial, GT won jury verdicts of $1.8 million in compensatory damages (the full amount sought) and approximately $6 million in total punitive damages, including $1 million against the competitor’s CEO personally. GT also secured prejudgment interest and attorneys’ fee awards.
- Represented the plaintiff, a flooring manufacturer, in a breach of contract lawsuit filed against an exclusive distributor. Within a year of filing, GT won summary judgment in the full amount of the funds due to our client, along with awards of prejudgment interest and attorneys’ fees.
- Represented the plaintiff, a commercial lawncare company, in a breach of contract, trade secrets, and business tort lawsuit against a private equity firm and competing lawncare company. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants misappropriated trade secrets acquired in due diligence for a potential acquisition then misused that information to unfairly compete for the plaintiff’s most significant clients. The matter resolved on confidential terms.
- Defended a national fuel distributor in nine anticompetition and breach of contract cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. GT secured dismissals and fee entitlements that precipitated a global, zero-dollar settlement.
- Represented an engineering and manufacturing company involving the misappropriation of 3D-printing trade secrets and related misconduct by former employees and a competing company.
- Defended provider of contract-manufacturing services against manufacturing-defect claims asserted by an industrial battery company. The case resolved at mediation on confidential terms.
- Defended a development group against a neighboring condominium association’s lawsuit seeking demolition of their project, a 60-story luxury condominium building worth approximately $1 billion. The neighboring condominium association claimed that development impeded an alleged vehicular access easement. GT was retained as trial counsel after years of litigation by other firms and successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice or summary judgment on all claims. Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment and entered a mandate in favor of our client, finalizing a complete win and preserving the landmark development.
- Defended a development group in federal litigation in which a neighboring condominium association attempted to block development of a planned luxury condominium due to alleged noncompliance with the National Flood Insurance Program. GT intervened and obtained final judgment in favor of our client and a municipal codefendant.
- Represented homeowners in a dispute regarding the validity of an amendment to a private waterfront subdivision’s declaration of restrictions. Obtained summary judgment, which was affirmed on appeal, and entitlement to recovery of clients’ attorneys’ fees and costs.
- Defended a real estate developer in multiple related lawsuits in which a neighboring commercial property owner sought to have the clients’ $100+ million luxury apartment building demolished. GT secured dismissal or summary judgment on all claims as well as an appellate affirmance.
- Clerkship, Hon. Roy B. Dalton, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, 2013-2015
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Certified Legal Intern, 8th Judicial Circuit, Office of the Public Defender, Spring 2013
Reconhecimento & Liderança
- Listed, Benchmark Litigation, “40 & Under - U.S. Edition,” 2025
- Listed, Tampa Bay Business Journal “40 Under 40,” 2023
- Team Member, a Law360 “Environmental Practice Group of the Year,” 2022
- Listed, Florida Trend magazine, “Legal Elite – Litigation,” 2022
- “Up and Comer,” 2022
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America
- Commercial Litigation, 2025-2026
- “Ones to Watch,” 2021-2024
- Litigation - Environmental, 2021-2024
- Commercial Litigation, 2022-2024
- Environmental Law, 2022-2024
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States
- Dispute Resolution - Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action- Defense- Toxic Tort, 2021-2024
- Dispute Resolution - General Commercial Disputes, 2025
- “Rising Star,” 2020
- Environment: Litigation, 2020
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- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Florida Super Lawyers, “Rising Star,” 2020-2023
- Team Member, The American Lawyer, “Florida Regional Litigation Department of the Year,” 2019
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Federal Bar Association
- Hillsborough County Bar Association
- Foundation Board of Trustees, Member, 2025-Present
- Member, 2015-Present
- Member, Trial & Litigation Section
- Member, Tampa Bay American Inn of Court
- Former Mentor, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Lockhart Elementary
Credenciais
Educação
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J.D., magna cum laude, University of Florida Levin College of Law
- Order of the Coif
- Order of the Barristers
- Honorable Judge James Bryan Whitfield Constitutional Law Scholar
- Justice Campbell Thornal Executive Board Member, The Florida Moot Court Team
- General Board Member, University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy
- Book Awards: Appellate Advocacy, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Stories, Criminal Procedure (Adversary Systems), First Amendment Law
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B.A., summa cum laude, University of Florida
- Phi Beta Kappa
- National Merit Scholar
Judicial Clerkships
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, 2013-2015
Admissões
- Florida
- District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit