| MSD Gets Verdict for Defense in County Known for Plaintiff Awards |
| Adding
to MSD's reputation as a formidable adversary in counties known for large
plaintiff's awards, MSD Associate Gene Stith obtained a directed verdict
for the defense in Bronx County in the case of Boakye v. Pedro A. Cernuda
and Agyeman Dompereh. MSD represented co-defendant Dompereh in an automobile
claim initiated by plaintiff Boakye, who was a passenger in co-defendant
Dompereh's vehicle and alleged personal injuries resulting from an accident
at an intersection with defendant Cernuda. During the non-jury trial, Mr.
Stith demonstrated that co-defendant Dompereh had the right of way and that
defendant Cernuda was responsible for the accident. In a written decision,
Judge Mark Friedlander dismissed the action against MSD's client.
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December 2004 |
| Win For Aquarium in Case of First Impression Makes Lasting Impression |
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"Don't blame the stingray," begins an article in the November 30 New York Law Journal about Reynolds v. Atlantis Marine World, a case of first impression in which the Nassau Supreme Court granted a motion for summary judgment by MSD partner Alice Spitz on behalf of the aquarium. The judge dismissed the case, which was "filed by a visitor to Riverhead's Atlantis Marine World aquarium who claimed he developed an infection after petting the marine animal." The full article is reprinted here with the Journal's permission.
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November 2004 |
| Construction Litigation |
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Salvatore J. DeSantis' article, “Indemnification Update”, was published in The New York Law Journal on October 21, 2004. Two years earlier, The New York Law Journal had published his article entitled “Subcontracting – Reviewing Indemnification and Insurance Procurement Pacts”. If you would like a copy of the article(s), please contact us.
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| Helping September 11th Victims – Pro Bono Work |
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Salvatore J. DeSantis was among those recognized for volunteering numerous hours to benefit victims of the September 11th attack through TLA, Trial Lawyers Care, awarded the 2004 Public Justice Achievement Award by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.
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October 2004 |
| Two Bronx County Cases Dismissed! |
| Motor Vehicle Litigation |
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Irwin D. Miller and Victor N. DeGeorge, moved for Summary Judgment in Christie v. John Martin Henry and Conesa v. Lopez, respectively, arguing that these Bronx County cases should be dismissed because the respective plaintiffs hadn’t met their burden of demonstrating a “serious injury” pursuant to New York Insurance Law §5102(d). The Court, by Judges Wilma Guzman and Patricia Anne Williams, found the Motions persuasive and dismissed these back injury soft tissue cases.
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September 2004 |
| Appellate Court Dismissed Case! |
| Products Liability |
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In a high-exposure products liability case defended by Andrew M. Harrison, the Appellate Division, First Department, reversed the Supreme Court, Bronx County Court’s decision which denied our Motion for Summary Judgment. Our client, a Bronx-based company specializing in the purchase and re-sale of used trucks and commercial vans, had purchased a six year-old van with 88,500 odometer miles, performed minor refurbishing of the vehicle, including replacing the front tires, and re-sold the van to plaintiffs’ employer, a landscaping company. The landscaper’s employees, including the four plaintiffs, drove the van 31,000 miles over 18 months, up to and including the date of the accident, when one of the rear tires, which had been patched and repaired on several occasions, exploded, causing the van to leave the highway and overturn, seriously injuring all four occupants. On the motion, and subsequent appeal handled by Marcy Sonneborn, we demonstrated that the tire which exploded could not have been on the van when it was sold to the landscaper, but rather, had to have been a replacement tire, installed by or at the behest of the third-party defendant employer. Rodriguez vs. Filomio Truck Sales, Inc.
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August 2004 |
| Case Dismissed! |
| Premises Liability |
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Molod Spitz & DeSantis won summary judgment dismissal of all causes of action where a camper was allegedly assaulted by another camper while away at sleep-away camp. Finding from the evidence that it was a sudden unanticipated altercation and that the camp was not an insurer of the safety of its campers, the case was dismissed. Murawski v. Camp Nageela, et al., Supreme Court, Suffolk County.
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July 2004 |
| Motor Vehicle Litigation |
| Case Dismissed! |
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In Betsey Hernandez v. Diva Cab Corp., et al. (Supreme Court, Kings County), Judge Randolph Jackson granted Victor N. DeGeorge’s Motion to Dismiss plaintiff's Complaint on the ground that plaintiff did not sustain a "serious injury" within the meaning of New York State Insurance Law §5102(d). Judge Jackson ruled that we met our burden through the submission of the sworn reports of orthopedist Dr. William J. Kulak and neurologist Dr. Robert S. April and that plaintiff failed to meet her burden, in that her reliance upon the affirmation of Dr. Julia Oster and the affidavit of Jennifer Chellis Oliveri, a licensed acupuncturist, were insufficient to refute our prima facie showing of entitlement of summary judgment.
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June 2004 |
| Appellate Victory |
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In Bartilini v. Transport Real Grodin, Inc., following our obtaining dismissal of the Complaint before the Supreme Court, Kings County, the plaintiff appealed to the Appellate Division, Second Department. The issue was whether or not the plaintiff sustained a 'serious injury' under Insurance Law 5102. The Appellate Division held that plaintiff had not sustained her burden because (1) she resumed her normal activities within weeks of the accident, and (2) her medical expert concluded that plaintiff sustained a causally related disability without having prior knowledge of a pre-existing condition. Dismissal of the Complaint was unanimously affirmed in favor of our client.
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May 2004 |
| Memberships & Affiliations |
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Our Harmonie Group affiliation brought in the opportunity to partner with Laidlaw, Inc. Alice Spitz and David Owens visited the Laidlaw offices in Texas, met with the Claims Staff and gave a presentation on New York State law and indemnification.
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| Alice Spitz is also attending the Harmonie Group's Spring Conference in Boston between 4/29/04 and 5/2/04. This meeting’s focus is on employment practice litigation. |
April 2004 |
| Sharing the Knowledge With Insurance Professionals |
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Alice Spitz participated as one of five presenters at the Aegis' Claims Roundtables 2004 on ways to critically assess a damages claim, including the keys to successful cross examination of medical and economic experts, with a focus on psychiatrists, vocational rehabilitation specialists and economists.
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| Memberships & Affiliations |
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Salvatore J. DeSantis was elected to membership into the FDCC, the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, while Milton Thurm, counsel to the firm, and already a member of the FDCC, attended their mid-Winter Conference. Among the many substantive law issues addressed at the conference were class actions, mass tort liability, coverage litigation, and ways to minimize or avoid punitive and exemplary damages.
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March 2004 |
| Defense Verdict in Bronx County |
| Premises Liability |
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Plaintiff, Joseph Bolanos, a tenant in a Manhattan brownstone, sued the managing agent and owner of the building, as well as the service contractor, alleging that a newly installed boiler exploded on March 13, 1990. As a result of the explosion, plaintiff, age 52, alleged a hearing loss, bulging cervical discs, a shoulder rotator cuff injury and memory loss. After a ten day trial in Bronx County conducted by MSD's Irwin D. Miller, the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict on the issue of liability.
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February 2004 |
| Defense Verdict in Bronx County |
| Premises Liability |
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MSD's Andrew M. Harrison obtained a defense verdict in notoriously plaintiff-friendly Bronx County in the premises liability case of Lamorgese v. Dome Tech Engineering Company, et al. Plaintiff, a 36 year-old maintenance mechanic, claimed that as a result of his accident, he suffered severe back injuries, requiring three surgeries. This premises liability case arose from a jobsite accident. MSD represented the third-party defendant, plaintiff’s employer. Despite the plaintiff’s claim of an admission of negligence by the defendant, the jury found no liability against defendant or the employer.
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January 2004 |