Notable Wins

Client: Toms River Fitness for Women, Inc., d/b/a Toms River Fitness & Aquatic Center

Court: Superior Court of New Jersey, Ocean County

Brief Attorney: Edward F. Kuhn, III, Esq.

**Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances**

Plaintiff, Ava Surinski (minor) opened a door to the locker room at the client’s gym after getting out of the pool. The door went over her foot causing a cut requiring stiches. Plaintiff alleged the door was in a defective condition as the removal of slip-proof mats around the pool allowed a large gap between the door and floor to exists that was large enough to go over Plaintiff’s foot causing the injury.

We obtained an engineering expert who found nothing defective with the design, installation or operation of the door. Plaintiff did not have an expert. We filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that Plaintiff has no evidence of negligence as they cannot prove that there was anything defective with the door. The judge granted our motion and barred Plaintiff from making any argument during trial that the door in question was defective. However, the judge denied a complete dismissal of Plaintiff’s Complaint on other grounds.

Client: ExxonMobil

Court: Workers’ Compensation Court

Trial Attorney:  Michelle L. Duffield, Esq.

Brief Attorney:  Michelle L. Duffield, Esq. 

**Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances**

Petitioner owned a roofing company, Brocco Roofing, that regularly performed work for ExxonMobil. On April 7, 2014, petitioner allegedly sustained an injury to his right knee and neck. He filed a workers’ compensation claim against ExxonMobil alleging that he was an employee of ExxonMobil, or in the alternative, was a subcontractor for ExxonMobil acting as a general contractor. From the outset, we denied the claim and took a firm no pay position. Petitioner submitted a settlement demand of 26 ½% permanent partial disability apportioned 22 ½% for the petitioner’s right leg and 15% for the cervical spine plus six months of temporary benefits for a total of $63,516.00 plus approximately $9,500.00 in attorney’s fees associated with the permanency and temporary benefits. After a full Trial, petitioner’s claim was dismissed with prejudice for failure to establish either an employer/employee relationship or a general contractor/subcontractor relationship.

Client: Washington Township Board of Education

Court: Commissioner of Education

Brief Attorney:  Lauren E. Tedesco-Dallas, Esq.

**Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances**

Petitioner appealed the determination of the respondent Board that B.C. has not resided within the Washington Township School District since July 6, 2019 and is therefore not eligible to receive a free public education in Washington Township Public Schools. The Board filed a motion for summary decision, which petitioner failed to answer, and sought reimbursement of tuition for the period of B.C.’s ineligible attendance.

The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found, inter alia, that: there are no material facts at issue in this case, and the matter is ripe for summary decision.

Upon review of the record, the Commissioner of Education concurred with the ALJ’s findings and conclusion. The Initial Decision was adopted as the final decision, and the petitioner was ordered to reimburse the Board for tuition in the amount of $18,077, plus $100.43 for every school day during the 2020-2021 school year that the student attended Washington Township schools. The petition was dismissed.

Client: Unidentified Insurance Company

Court: Superior Court of New Jersey, Atlantic County

Brief Attorney:  Charles F. Holmgren, Esq.

**Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances**

Plaintiffs claimed they purchased an umbrella policy containing $1 Million in Underinsured Motorists (UIM) coverage and attempted to reform the actual policy they purchased, a $1 Million liability umbrella policy, to what they believed they had. After an auto accident, the plaintiffs sued their insurance company claiming: 1) the $1 Million liability umbrella policy should be reformed to a $1 Million UIM policy, 2) personal injury damages from the auto accident covered by the reformed UIM policy, and 3) bad faith in failing to pay their initial claims for UIM benefits covered by the reformed UIM policy.

In the Summer of 2020, the parties engaged in a socially-distanced, one-day bench trial on the initial issue of contract reformation. Without a direct defense witness as to any statements the plaintiffs made to the insurer, counsel was able to secure a verdict in favor of the insurance company denying the plaintiffs’ claim to reform the umbrella policy to include $1 Million in UIM. The Court determined that the plaintiffs could not meet their burden of proving fraud or unconscionable conduct by clear and convincing evidence, stating that “[e]ven if Plaintiffs’ burden was only a preponderance of the evidence, the claim for reformation would still fail.”

Importantly, because the plaintiffs could not reform the umbrella policy to include $1 Million in UIM coverage, the other two actions – the personal injury claim for UIM benefits and the claim for bad faith – were rendered moot because the court determined the plaintiffs did not have an umbrella policy permitting $1 Million of UIM coverage.

Client: Sebbie Corp

Court: New York Supreme Court, Kings County

Trial Attorney:  Stephen J. Alexander, Esq. ???

Brief Attorney:  Alyson L. Knipe, Esq. ???

**Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances**

Plaintiff sustained injuries while delivering water and juices to a bodega when he slipped and fell on a rubber mat inside the deli.  Summary judgment was granted to our client, Sebbie Corp by establishing as a matter of law that Sebbie did not owe plaintiff a duty of care because it was an out-of-possession landlord.

Client: Ridgewood Pl Condo, LLC ???

Court: New York Supreme Court, Kings County

Trial Attorney:  Stephen J. Alexander, Esq. ???

Brief Attorney:  Alyson L. Knipe, Esq. ???

**Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances**

Plaintiff sustained injuries to his finger while using an unguarded table saw. Summary judgment was awarded to our client, the general contractor, after it was established as a matter of law that Focal Point was no longer the general contractor of record at the time of the accident.