William J. Greagan

A large portion of Bill’s practice is devoted to counseling and defending members of the construction industry against actions for construction site injuries and contractual liabilities. He is an active member of the Associated General Contractors of New York State, where he is involved in issues of risk management, insurance, and legislative reform.

• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an owner and general contractor in a New York Labor Law action for defense and indemnity against a subcontractor that hired the plaintiff’s employer
• Litigated a Labor Law action to discontinuance after proving that the contractor’s indemnity obligations did not arise until after the plaintiff’s accident and therefore the action was barred by the New York Workers’ Compensation Law
• Won summary judgment dismissing a complaint alleging violations of the New York Labor Law against architects and engineers responsible for the design and inspection of the construction of a municipal wastewater treatment plant
• Won summary judgment in a federal action under New York Labor Law where the court held that the plaintiff, as a warehouseman, whose regular job was to move materials around his employer’s factory, was not engaged in “construction” when he moved pieces of shelving from the old warehouse to a new warehouse even though the new warehouse was “under construction” at the time of his accident

Bill’s experience also includes the defense of environmental actions under CERCLA and petroleum discharges under NY’s Navigation Act.  He has represented manufacturers in large multi-party litigations involving environmental remediation and has acted as liaison counsel for 150 third-party defendants in CERCLA landfill cases.

Bill also concentrates in legal issues involving municipal and law enforcement liability, defending municipalities, county jails, sheriff’s departments, and other public agencies. He defends such agencies against lawsuits brought by detainees and others who claim civil rights violations. For more than a decade, Bill has been active in numerous cases brought pursuant to U.S. Code Section 1983, alleging claims from wrongful arrest to deprivation of civil rights.

Bill has lectured on products liability and other topics for the New York State Bar Association. In addition, he authored “Liability of Inspection Stations for Negligent Inspections” for In Transit, the Defense Research Institute (DRI) Trucking Newsletter.

• Won summary judgment in a products liability action on behalf of cold-storage door manufacturer where it was claimed that the door design caused permanent injuries to a restaurant chef
• Obtained voluntary discontinuance of an action against a homebuilder where a fire, originating in the chimney chase, burned the house to the ground

• Author, “Institutional Liability For Child Predators,” HR.com, August 29, 2019
• Author, “Reforming New York Labor Law Section 240(1),” Albany Law Review, January 2015
• Co-Author, “Lead Litigation: Recent Trends and Key Strategies for Defense Counsel,” New York State Bar Association Torts, Insurance & Compensation Law Section Journal, Winter 2012
• Co-Author, “Lead Litigation: Recent Trends and Key Strategies for Defense Counsel,”USLAW, Fall/Winter 2012
• Quoted in “Costly Myths About a Bad N.Y. Law,”NY Daily News, July 24, 2012
• Co-Author, “Lead Paint Injuries – Causation and Discovery,” For The Defense, Toxic Tort and Environmental Law, January 2010
• Author, “Liability of Inspection Stations For Negligent Inspections,” In Transit, the Defense Research Institute’s Trucking Newsletter, Fall/Winter 2009
• Co-Author, “New York Court of Appeals Rejects the Product Line Exception to Successor Corporate Liability,” New York State Bar Association, Torts, Insurance & Compensation Law Section Journal, Fall 2006
• Co-Author, “Use of the PLRA in Federal Civil Rights Actions,” For The Defense, – Young Lawyers, A Practitioner’s Guide, Defense Research Institute, April 2006
• NYSBA and Member Goldberg Segalla LLP, Preserve Indemnity Contracts, New York State Builders Association, Empire State Builder, March/April 2006

• Presenter, “Construction Law Update,” CPCU Society, Inc.  Northeastern New York Chapter, March 2015
• Presenter, “Killer Contract Clauses: Indemnity and Insurance,” NESCA/AGC/ECA Educational Partnership Seminar, March 2015
• Panelist, “What Goes On in the Mind of Your Underwriter,” NYS Construction Industry Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, December 10, 2014
• Presenter, “New Acord 855 New York Construction Certificate of Liability Insurance Addendum,” Associated General Contractors of New York State Webinar, Albany, NY, May 21, 2014
• Presenter, “Killer Contract Clauses,” NESCA/AGC/ECA Educational Partnership Seminar, Albany, NY, March 4, 2014
• Presenter, “Scaffold Law Reform,” Hudson Valley Construction Industry Partnership Conference, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, February 12, 2014
• Presenter, Associated Building Contractors Statewide Conference, Albany, NY, November 14­–15, 2013
• Presenter, “The Essential Defense Theories,” New York State Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Program: Litigating the Products Liability Case: Law and Practice, Albany, NY, November 1, 2013
• Presenter, “Risk Management and Insurance For Project Managers and Job Superintendents,” Associated General Contractors – NYS Construction Industry Conference, December 4-5, 2012
• Presenter, “County Jails – Liability Issues and Risk Reduction,” County Attorneys’ Association of the State of New York, Inc. (CAASNY), Cooperstown, New York, May 2, 2011
• Presenter, Snow and Ice, Defense Research Institute of Northeastern New York and Insurance Professionals of Albany, March 2006
• “Defendants’ Perspective on Defending Labor Law Cases” at Analyzing Labor Law Sections 200, 240(1) and 241 in Light of Current Case Law:  Plaintiffs’ and Defendants’ Perspectives Seminar, Albany County Bar Association
• Presenter, Product Liability – Warnings, New York State Bar Association
• Presenter, Product Liability – Evidence, New York State Bar Association
• Presenter, Update – No-Fault Insurance, Albany County Claims Association
• Presenter, No-Fault Insurance Coverage Update – Sponsored by the Lorman Group