Civil Litigation and Trial

Keeping in mind the impact complex litigation and trial may have on your company’s reputation, time and budget, early assessment of your case will include an analysis of the potential for alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Goldberg Segalla is home to experienced and highly sought-after mediators, arbitrators, and neutrals who bring to their ADR services the same levels of attention, experience and creativity that distinguish the firm’s litigation and counseling practices, and have earned reputations for comprehensive understanding of each matter at hand and sound legal judgment. These attorneys have handled hundreds of ADR hearings, conferences, and negotiations, making them well known by many neutral arbitrators and mediators throughout the court system and private resolution companies.

Representative Matters

• Reached a highly favorable mediated settlement one week before jury selection – saving our client hundreds of thousands of dollars – in a Labor Law claim filed against a prominent New York City hotel by establishing that the codefendant misevaluated their position that they were not a general contractor under Labor Law.
• Succeeded at arbitration on behalf of a medical group after a doctor withdrawing from the group did not get the payout he wanted. Signaling our position, we prepared the group’s remaining physicians for testimony and wrote pre- and post-hearing submissions. The arbitrator held that the exiting physician was not entitled to additional compensation at all.
• Achieved a favorable resolution after an employee of a private university filed a complaint with the state’s Division of Civil Rights alleging the school failed to accommodate his disability. After the DCR found probable cause, the matter moved to a DCR conciliation where the university agreed to conduct anti-discrimination training and gave the complainant a nominal monetary award.
• After investigating a slip and fall inside a national retail operation, we determined liability to the client would be detrimental. Using removal to a less plaintiff-friendly venue as an advantage, we negotiated a favorable settlement prior to any court appearance, protecting the client from adverse liability and judgment.
• Engaged in complex mediation on behalf of the insurers of a religious organization facing sex abuse claims, Goldberg Segalla is responsible for evaluating the insurers’ potential exposure in each of approximately 900 lawsuits and resolving those claims in a manner that will result in a confirmed plan with a channeling injunction.
• A construction site accident involving a crane collapse led to one fatality, multiple injuries, significant property damage, and nine lawsuits claiming damages exceeding $1 billion. We are representing a subcontractor to the company in charge of operating the crane, managing a global mediation designed to settle all nine actions and any pending coverage disputes.
• As lead outside counsel in the mediation process, we represent a national industrial contractor seeking an equitable contract adjustment in excess of $35 million after invoking the dispute resolution provisions in their contract related to the construction of a major power plant.

A deep bench of appellate attorneys is essential to any litigation and trial team. Because of Goldberg Segalla’s collaborative culture, our clients benefit from the engagement of our veteran Appellate team long before an appeal.

Much more than a last line of defense, Goldberg Segalla appellate attorneys can be important strategic partners in the initial stages of litigation. With formidable writing skills, they excel at developing briefs, damages evaluations, motions in limine and jury instructions. During trial, their unique perspective allows them to hone in on and preserve errors or issues that may support an appeal later.

Of course, when it’s time to challenge an adverse ruling or defend one that’s favorable to our client, our appellate litigation lawyers are critical to the case. Appellate litigation requires an attorney who’s intimately familiar with the unique motion practice, bond, and stay issues involved in an appeal. Goldberg Segalla appellate attorneys have appeared and argued in some of the highest state and federal courts nationwide, and have a well-established record of setting favorable legal precedent for our clients.

Representative Matters

• Won affirmance by New York Court of Appeals of both trial court and appellate division rulings that Labor Law § 240(1) was not intended to cover ordinary vehicle repair in a matter involving a diesel technician injured when a commercial trailer fell onto him while he repaired brakes.
• Won affirmance of a summary judgment ruling to dismiss all claims as a matter of law after an employee of a major metropolitan transit authority filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission followed by claims of retaliation and racial discrimination.
• After a plaintiffs’ verdict in a toxic tort trial, plaintiffs brought suit against an excess insurance carrier and won $3.9 million judgment. The insurer brought the complex appeal to Goldberg Segalla, and we succeeded in seeing the matter unanimously vacated without costs, convincing the appeals court to overturn the trial court’s decision granting the plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion.
• Served as counsel on appeal in a case of first impression in Maryland in which the plaintiff sought to recover damages for breach of contract and unjust enrichment stemming from the purchase of a single-family home that included latent defects allegedly undisclosed by our client. We argued that a person could allege breach of contract and unjust enrichment if there is evidence of fraud, but could not recover under both theories. The appellate court agreed.
• Obtained summary judgment dismissing all Monell claims after a plaintiff claimed a municipality violated his constitutional due process rights. On appeal, the Second Circuit unanimously affirmed the dismissal based on our showing that the Monell requirements had not been met.
• The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal as to all defendants in a case where patients whose attorneys requested medical records from various hospitals alleged the hospitals and medical records vendors were engaged in an unlawful kickback scheme. The court held that alleged violations of General Business Law § 349 based solely on a theory of harm reliant on Public Health Law § 18(2)(e) are not cognizable under New York law.

Goldberg Segalla attorneys have amassed years of collective experience defending construction defect claims and worksite injury cases in state and federal courts throughout the country. In addition, several of our civil litigation lawyers act as arbitrators or mediators for construction worksite injury claims. By formulating aggressive and creative strategies, we have helped clients avoid or limit exposure in litigation altogether. We have effectively resolved worksite injury and effectively resolved construction-related injury cases through dispositive motion, settlement, and trial.

Because of the combination of our experience in construction and Labor Law litigation, the bench strength of our Workers’ Compensation practice, and our firm’s distinctively collaborative culture, we are able to provide comprehensive defense and legal counsel on our clients’ large-scale Owner Controlled Insurance Program and Contractor Controlled Insurance Program construction projects through our OCIP/CCIP Joint Defense Program. By partnering with our clients from the outset of a project, we have developed proactive legal solutions to mitigate risks, limit liability, lower legal spending, and protect OCIP/CCIP loss funds, which makes an impact on each project’s bottom line.

OCIP clients face risks and liabilities for both worksite accident liability and workers’ compensation claims, both of which proceed on very different timelines. With a coordinated defense from the outset, our civil litigation law firm can deliver significant savings and more efficient and favorable resolutions.

The defense of a premises liability matter can range from a simple trip and fall general liability matter to negligent security and even contractual issues. It is safe to say premises liability cases can be complex. At Goldberg Segalla, we have defended a wide range of clients, including large-scale developers, international commercial and real estate companies, malls, major retail establishments, school districts, hospitals, municipalities, shopping centers and plazas, parking garages, and many other places where the public is accommodated.

Goldberg Segalla attorneys have defended municipalities, law enforcement agencies, schools, and other public entities in a wide range of claims alleging violations of civil rights brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Our experience includes matters involving Fourth Amendment and other Constitutional rights, claims of malicious prosecution and wrongful death, and other alleged violations. Our trial record and commitment to early dispositive motions are hallmarks of our success. In matters of liability, we employ creative settlement resolutions and resort to ADR wherever possible.

Our liability attorneys have successfully defended clients against claims of negligent security, handling cases involving alleged failure to provide reasonable security measures, allegations a security officer or other agent of the facility failed to prevent an attack, injuries allegedly caused by security personnel or employees, assault and other violent crimes, and catastrophic personal injuries.

Our team represents an array of clients in the retail and hospitality industries, including large-scale restaurant chains, nightclubs, and commercial property owners in a variety of claims arising from the consumption of alcohol and the events that ensue. We have successfully defended dram shop claims that arise from the use of motor vehicles, assaults, and other accidents. Our civil litigation lawyers have a proven record of obtaining favorable results—including in cases involving catastrophic personal injuries and multiple deaths.

Goldberg Segalla attorneys draw on decades of experience litigating difficult, high profile sexual abuse and molestation claims, including various state Child Victims Act claims. With a national team dedicated to handling sexual abuse and molestation claims, we have the reach, bench strength, and experience to handle claims across the nation while maintaining consistency in every jurisdiction, knowing that what we do in one state will have an impact on claims in the other.

Our sexual abuse and child victims act coverage and litigation lawyers are cognizant of the sensitive nature of these types of cases for both the plaintiffs and defendants and understand the need for discretion, privacy, and respect for all parties involved. We have established claims-handling protocols in California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and in other states across our footprint. We have been at the forefront of this evolving field of litigation, serving on defense panels for multiple insurers and representing hundreds of school districts, religious orders and organizations, health care and long-term care companies, mental hygiene agencies, nonprofits, municipalities and public entities, and individuals.

Goldberg Segalla premises liability attorneys have defended transportation companies, manufacturers, insurers, and others in a wide variety of property damage claims, including claims in the multimillion-dollar range. Our experience includes cases alleging property damage as the result of environmental contamination and construction.

When faced with litigation, businesses in the transportation industry want trial-tested litigators, ready to defend against liability and damages claims.

Goldberg Segalla transportation liability attorneys have decades of experience representing trucking, transportation and logistics companies in automobile-related personal injury accidents – including claims of negligent driver operations, maintenance, hiring and training. We work with well-known experts in the fields of accident reconstruction, biomechanical reconstruction and vehicle kinematics, and are well-versed in cases involving road and highway design. We have strategically, and successfully, leveraged onboard electronic recording systems data, global positioning, and other technologies employed by our clients in the courtroom to help a jury understand how an accident developed and occurred.

The team also has extensive trial and litigation experience in catastrophic injury, death, and property damage cases, including serving as regional coordinating counsel for major international trucking and logistics companies.

Accident scenes are fluid, with changes occurring by the minute, which means the hours and days immediately following a catastrophic loss are critical. Having the right people in place, who understand the importance of preserving evidence after an accident, is vital to the defense of a claim that may be brought years after its occurrence. Goldberg Segalla Rapid Response teams have been effectively deployed to respond to emergent accidents involving transportation, fire loss, factory accidents, and construction projects. Our attorneys have hands-on training with experience in post-accident investigations, as well as a variety of OSHA and safety qualifications that allow them to explore cause and origin issues, culpable parties, violations, securing computerized data, and analyzing potential damages. This early involvement allows for our clients to take advantage of attorney client privileges and provides them with attorneys who can stand with them from the inception of a matter through to its conclusion.