Civil Litigation and Trial

Goldberg Segalla is home to experienced and highly sought-after mediators, arbitrators, and neutrals. Each of our attorneys are always ready, willing, and able to handle a case through to trial. We realize not every case is meant to meander through a court system and be subject to full-blown litigation. Likewise, we recognize the economic impact and social inflation our clients will experience with litigation and trial. This is why each matter is subject to early analysis by our attorneys with the intent of examining potential early resolution and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Our attorneys have handled thousands of ADR hearings, conferences, and negotiations making them well known by many neutral arbitrators and mediators throughout the court system and private resolution companies. In each of our offices, the plaintiff’s bar is well aware of our reputation, which makes establishing open lines of communication and ultimately trust more easily achieved.

Our representative matters include:

• Obtained a highly favorable settlement for a major international company—saving the client millions of dollars in litigation costs and potential exposure—in a case stemming from a high-exposure accident that resulted in a diagnosed traumatic brain injury and facial deformities of the plaintiff
• Mediated a Labor Law claim filed against a prominent New York City hotel which we represented and earned a settlement one week before jury selection, wherein the codefendant’s misevaluation of their position that claimed they were not a general contractor under Labor Law was exposed—saving our client hundreds of thousands of dollars
• Parachuted into a case while on the trial calendar and secured a six-figure settlement in a slip-and-fall claim wherein the plaintiff refused to negotiate with prior counsel without an initial offer of $1 million after she slipped and fell on snow and sustained injuries, after refusing to use a pedestrian walkway in the street built as a walkway around construction
• Mediated a wrongful death action filed against a tire recapping company wherein a delaminated truck tire was involved in a motorcycle-fatality accident
• Spared all damages and costs after we reached a settlement for a New York City construction company and its owner in a million-dollar property claim involving water damage to multiple condominium units in south Greenwich Village in Manhattan
• Mediated a negligent retention claim asserted against a building’s managing agent that continued to employ a superintendent who was convicted of sexually assaulting a recovering cancer patient

A deep bench of appellate attorneys is essential to any litigation and trial team. Goldberg Segalla attorneys and clients benefit from access to our veteran Appellate team―ready to assist with any legal concern at any stage in a matter’s development. Whether it is parachuting in to handle a critical appeal or providing pre-litigation counsel from the inception of a matter, our Appellate attorneys are prepared to make an impact when the stakes are high. These attorneys have appeared and argued in some of the highest state and federal courts throughout the country. Superior wordsmiths and debaters with a well-established record of setting favorable legal precedent for our client, these attorneys bring a broader perspective to any case. Our Appellate attorneys have been effectively deployed to handle litigation strategy, trial support and monitoring, amicus curiae briefs, damages evaluations, post-trial motions, and appeals.

Goldberg Segalla attorneys have amassed years of collective experience defending worksite injury cases in state and federal courts throughout the country and several members of our team 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 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 have been able to provide comprehensive defense and legal counsel on our clients’ large-scale OCIP and CCIP 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 finds, 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. We offer a coordinated defense from the outset that results in significant savings, and more efficient and favorable resolutions.

The defense of a premises liability matter can range from a simple trip and fall, to negligent security, and even contractual issues. It is safe to say premises liability can be complex. At Goldberg Segalla, we have defended a wide range of clients, including large scale developers, international commercial real estate companies, malls, municipalities, and more.

We 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. We pride ourselves on the aggressive and cost-efficient manner in which we defend all claims. Our trial record and commitment to early dispositive motions is our hallmark of success. In matters of liability, we employ creative settlement resolutions and resort to ADR wherever possible.

For cases involving claims of negligent security, we handle cases involving alleged failure to provide reasonable security measures, allegations a security officer or other agent of the facility failed to act 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 area, including large-scale restaurant chains, commercial land owners, and night clubs in any 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. We have a proven record of obtaining favorable results—including in cases involving catastrophic personal injuries and multiple deaths.

Our attorneys draw on decades of experience litigating difficult and 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 attorneys 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 has 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.

We have extensive experience representing various companies’ insureds in automobile-related personal injury accidents. We work with well-known experts in the fields of accident reconstruction, biomechanical reconstruction, vehicle kinematics, etc., and we are well-versed in cases involving road and highway design. Our firm also has significant experience in matters involving uninsured, underinsured, and supplementary motorist (UM/UIM/SUM) coverage.

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’s Investigations 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.