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Recent Wins Schaffer v. Betheja (2010): the Appellate Division, Second Department reduced the judgment against the defendant by approximately $5 million. Espada v. City of New York (2010): the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the grant of summary judgment to our insureds, the City of New York and Brooklyn Navy Yard Corporation. Ulses v. Zeckendorf Bros. Realty Ltd. Partnership Company (2010): Appellate Term, First Department, modified an approximately $3 million judgment against our client granting our client contractual indemnification. Bouima v. Dacomi, Inc. (2010):Appellate Term, Second Department reversed an approximately $1.9 million judgment ordering a new trial on apportionment and damages. Moracho v. Open Door Family Med. Ctr. Inc. (2010): Appellate Division reversed finding that the Supreme Court improperly granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s Labor Law 240(1) claim. Reisman v. Bay Shore Union Free School District (2010): New York Appellate Division reversed granting our client conditional summary judgment on its cross-claim for contractual indemnification and summary judgment on its third-party cause of action for contractual indemnification. Coizza v. 164-10 Crossbay Realty (2010): New York Appellate Division affirmed an order granting our client summary judgment for specific performance and granted our client’s cross-appeal to reinstate certain claims for damages. Matter of Frontier Insurance (2010): New York Appellate Division reversed an approximately $4 million judgment against our client in a case involving the application of Illinois surety law and collateral estoppel. Cockerline v. UPS (2010): New Jersey Appellate Division reversed an approximately $3 million dollar verdict against our clients, UPS and its driver, and remanded the matter for a new trial. Beato v. Cosmopolitan Assoc., LLC (2010): New York Appellate Division reversed an approximately $4 million dollar verdict and dismissed the complaint where our client, a landlord, was sued for personal injures sustained by a tenant who was assaulted by a group of men in the lobby of the building. Lee v. Astoria Generating Co., L.P. (2009): New York Court of Appeals reversed the First Department and held in our client’s favor that an employee injured while working on a barge could not bring a claim under New York’s Labor Law because the barge was a vessel within the meaning of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) and the LHCWA preempted the plaintiff’s state law claim. Salm v. Moses (2009): New York Court of Appeals held in our client’s favor that the trial court properly precluded the plaintiff from cross-examining the defendant’s expert witness as to the fact that he was insured by the same company as the defendant. Osowski v. AMEC Construction Management Inc. (2009): Osowski involved an action for personal injuries commenced by the Osowskis against the New York Times and its construction manager, AMEC Construction Management, Inc. After settling with the plaintiff for $12 million, the Times/AMEC sought to recover $10 million of the settlement from Osowski's employer, DCM Erectors, Inc. on a claim of common law indemnification. The trial court held in our client’s favor that the Times’ claim was barred by a waiver of subrogation provision in the parties’ contract. The court also held that because AMEC did not sustain “out-of-pocket” losses, they could not maintain a claim for common-law or contractual indemnification. New York Appellate Division affirmed and referred the conduct of counsel for New York Times and AMEC Construction Management, Inc. to the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for its attempt to perpetrate a “fraud on the court.” Skelos v. Paterson (2009): MLN filed an Amici Curiae Brief in the New York Court of Appeals on behalf of Suffolk County Legislator Ricardo Montano and various other community leaders and organizations in support of New York Governor David Paterson’s successful defense in the New York State Court of Appeals of his power to appoint a Lieutenant Governor. Parente v. 277 Park Avenue LLC (2009): The trial court denied the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and granted the defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment. On our appeal for the plaintiff, New York Appellate Division reversed and not only denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, but granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on liability, leaving only the amount of damages to be determined. Ayoub v. Ayoub (2009): New York Appellate Division granted our client a rare modification of a temporary maintenance (pendente lite) award. The case also generated an extensive two justice dissent on whether the trial court erred in failing to provide an explanation for the amount of temporary child support actually awarded and for making impermissible open-ended awards. The Appellate Division subsequently granted leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals, but the appeal was dismissed after the matter settled. Fuchs v. Austin Mall Associates, LLC (2009): New York Appellate Division reversed an order, which had granted summary judgment to the defendant, thereby reinstating our client’s claims under Labor Law § 241(6) and § 200. Cohen v. Memorial Sloan-Kettering (2008): New York Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division, dismissing plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action against our client. MLN was retained after the appeal was lost in the Appellate Division. Elias v. Bash (2008): New York Appellate Division set aside a multi-million dollar verdict against our client, a consulting cardiologist who was sued for medical malpractice, and dismissed the complaint. Arons v. Jutkowitz and Kish v. Graham (2008): In this landmark medical malpractice decision, the New York Court of Appeals reversed the Second and Fourth Departments in favor of our clients holding that defendants may conduct ex parte interviews of the plaintiff’s treating physician when the plaintiff’s medical condition is in controversy. Flaherty v. Fromberg (2007): In this medical malpractice action, New York Appellate Division reduced the total jury’s verdict by $146,000,000. DeCrescenzo v. Gonzalez (2007): New York Appellate Division reversed a $14 million judgment against our client and ordered a new trial. Nonnon v. City of New York (2007): In this toxic tort action against the City of New York, the plaintiffs claimed that they developed cancer as a result of their exposure to numerous carcinogenic substances that emanated into their air, ground, and water from the Pelham Bay Landfill in Bronx, New York. The City moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims on statute of limitations grounds and for failure to prove causation. The trial court denied the City’s motion. MGL successfully defended the plaintiffs on the appeal to the New York Court of Appeals and the trial court’s order was affirmed. Tsatsakis v. Booth Memorial Medical Center (2007): In this medical malpractice action the plaintiff claimed that the defendants failed to timely resuscitate him after he went into cardiac arrest. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded a total of $2,056,000. On our appeal, the New York Appellate Division reversed and dismissed the plaintiff’s claim against our client, which alleged professional negligence based on the absence of a code leader; and remitted the matter for a new trial on liability and damages on the remaining theory of liability. Pippo v. City of New York (2007): In this personal injury action, the plaintiff alleged that he slipped and fell while delivering lettuce to a produce wholesaler that leased space at the Hunts Point Terminal Market. The plaintiff filed a Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness for trial despite the fact that no discovery was complete. The trial court denied defendants’ motions to strike the plaintiff’s premature Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness, but permitted discovery while the matter remained on the trial calendar. Thereafter, party depositions were conducted. The last deposition was conducted on January 11, 2005. On June 20, 2005, five months after the last deposition, the defendants separately moved for summary judgment. The trial court denied the motions without considering the merits holding that defendants failed to establish good cause for the five-month delay between the completion of discovery (i.e., the last deposition) and service of their summary judgment motions. We appealed on behalf of the defendants. Not only did the New York Appellate Division reverse finding that the trial court erred in failing to consider the merits of the defendants’ summary judgment motion, but also went on to consider the merits of the motion and dismissed the complaint in its entirety. Back to top |
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