Christopher J. Belter

A senior trial partner of the firm, Christopher J. Belter is an experienced and skilled commercial and business litigation attorney who has successfully represented clients in State and Federal courts throughout the United States for 16 years.  He devotes his practice to the resolution of complex business disputes, construction matters and intellectual property litigation.  Mr. Belter's tenacity and willingness to address tough issues head on have earned him respect and admiration among his peers.  He combines keen business acumen with in-depth understanding of complex business transactions and construction litigation to bring distinct qualifications to each case.  He always endeavors to protect and advance his client's rights and interests with the highest personal and professional integrity. 

Mr. Belter serves as head of the firm's Commercial Litigation and Corporate Practice Group and its Construction Practice Group.  In litigation, he has successfully represented corporate clients in significant claims involving contract disputes, business tort claims and intellectual property matters.  He also handles matters involving all aspects of construction from contract negotiation through litigation on major private and public construction projects.

Mr. Belter graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo's School of Law and is admitted to the New York State Bar, several Federal District Courts throughout the country and to the United States Bankruptcy Court.

• Mr. Belter's leadership and highly regarded reputation are demonstrated by his many achievements and accomplishments including:
• National Chair of the Defense Research Institute's (DRI) Construction Law Committee
• Corporate Counsel Advisory Board - DRI's Commercial Litigation Committee
• National Steering Committee of the DRI's Commercial Law Committee
• Member DRI's Fidelity and Surety Committee
• Past Program Chair for the DRI's Construction Law Seminar
• Served as editor of the DRI's Construction Law Committee's recent compendium on Construction Defect Litigation
• Member of the ABA's Business Law and Intellectual Property Committees as well as the New York State Bar Association
• National author and lecturer on construction defect, business torts and intellectual property issues
• Named to the list of Corporate Counsel Super Lawyers for work in the Business and Construction Litigation fields
• Named to Business First's Who's Who in Law
• Named as a New York Super Lawyer

As one of the heads of the firm's Commercial and Business Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Belter and the group's team of seasoned attorneys have represented local, regional, national and international businesses, including numerous Fortune 500 companies, and not-for-profit organizations and their owners, directors and officers, in all aspects of complex commercial disputes and business operations.  These include:

• Business tort claims
• Contract formation and disputes
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Entity formation, dissolution, reorganization
• Owner and board relations
• Fiduciary obligations
• Agreements and disputes among owners
• Corporate governance
• Licensing and franchising
• Credit facilities
• Debtor/creditor relations
• Real estate holdings
• Environmental compliance

Mr. Belter is also one of the heads of the firm's Surety Law Practice Group.  As such, he and his fellow practice group attorneys have extensive experience representing contractors, sureties, insurance and bond providers in all types of bond claims made against payment and performance bonds and bid bonds.  Under Mr. Belter's direction, the group provides a full range of services related to surety bond claims and has significant experience in the following representative areas:

• Performance bond claims after construction defaults
• Negotiation with owners, completing contractors, subcontractors and defaulting principals
• Preparation and enforcement of takeover and completion agreements
• Payment bond claims investigation and litigation
• Bankruptcy claims and workout agreements on behalf of sureties
• Subrogation, salvage and third-party recovery claims
• Enforcement of indemnity agreements
• Construction insurance and bad faith issues
• Damage analysis

Goldberg Segalla's Construction Litigation Practice Group is headed by Mr. Belter who, along with his group member attorneys, has extensive counseling and litigation experience related to a wide variety of construction disciplines.  Mr. Belter and the group represent contractors, construction managers, building owners, architects, engineers and suppliers in all types of public and private construction and development.

Mr. Belter and the group handle a full range of construction disputes and litigation with particular experience in the following representative practice areas:

• Acceleration and compression claims
• Bid protests
• Breach of contract claims
• Change orders
• Collection remedies
• Construction insurance and bad faith issues
• Damage analysis
• Delay and extra work claims
• Design and construction defect claims
• Mechanic's liens
• Payment/performance bond disputes
• Prompt payment and retention issues
• Real estate and development contracts
• Scheduling delays and impacts
• Surety and bond claims
• Warranty issues and remedies
• Worksite injury litigation/New York Labor Law

As head of the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group, Mr. Belter specializes in providing business and insurance clients with the expertise necessary to litigate and resolve patent, copyright, trademark and unfair competition claims.  He and the intellectual property team of lawyers are well versed in the technicalities of intellectual property law as well as litigation and trying complex commercial and intellectual property cases.

Mr. Belter and the group represent clients in all aspects of intellectual property litigation including:

• Copyright infringement litigation
• Copyright licensing
• E-Commerce and Internet Law
• False and misleading advertising
• Licensing disputes
• Misappropriation of trade secrets
• Patent infringement litigation
• Trade Dress infringement litigation
• Trademark dilution
• Trademark infringement litigation
• Trademark licensing
• Unfair business practices
• Unfair competition claims

Direct Dial
716.566.5412
Fax
716.566.5401
E-mail
cbelter@goldbergsegalla.com
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Practice Areas

Publications and Presentations

• Co-Presenter, Chinese Drywall Litigation: Emerging Developments and Legal Theories, DRI Webcast, August, 2009
• Co-Author, "What Lies Beneath: The Gathering Storm of Chinese Drywall Defect Claims," For the Defense, Defense Research Institute, June, 2009
• Co-Author, "Drywall from China leads to glut of claims," Buffalo Law Journal, May, 2009
• Co-Author, "Diversity Programs: Trends and Strategies for Success," ABA's Minority Trial Lawyer, 2009
• Co-Author, "Breaking the Bank(ruptcy Code)? Terminating Surety and Fidelity Bonds," For the Defense, Defense Research Institute, March, 2008
• Author and Presenter, "Litigation Strategies in a Mixed Business Tort and Intellectual Property Lawsuit," DRI Intellectual Property Seminar on Commercial Litigation, Chicago, IL, 2008
• Co-Author, "Terminating Surety and Fidelity Bonds Upon the Insolvency or Bankruptcy of the Principal," NYSBA NY Business Law Journal, Spring, 2008
• Co-Author of chapter, "Causes of Action in Construction Defect Litigation," DRI Construction Defect: Claims and Coverage Compendium, 2007
• Author and Presenter, New York's Construction Worksite Safety Law - Bad for Business?, Buffalo Niagara Partnership's Education Seminar Series, 2007
• Author and Presenter, Aggressive Players and Ugly Flops - The Expansion of Deceptive Trade Practice Statutes to Business Torts, DRI Intellectual Property Commercial litigation Committee Seminar, Key Biscayne, FL, 2006
• Lead Editor, Unfair Trade Practice, A Compendium of State Law, DRI's Defense Library Series, 2006

Honors

• Named to Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition
• Named to New York Super Lawyers  
• Named to Business First's Who's Who in Law