Our Successes
Important decisions and cases are published by the New Jersey court system through various organizations. Below you will find some of our attorneys' cases which are significant and some of which have been published.
Kelly v. Gwinnell,
96 N.J. 538, 476 A.2d 1219
N.J.,1984.
June 27, 1984
One significant, ground breaking case was won by our founding senior partner, George Chamlin, concerning Third Party Liability. In Kelly v. Gwinnell, the Court held that if a host knowingly allows a guest to get intoxicated, and that guest leaves that residence and injures someone, the host may be held liable.
Smith v. Melgar
MON-L-528-06
John T. Bazzurro won a verdict of $400,000.00 in a jury trial for his client’s negligence claim, resulting from a motor vehicle accident in which the defendant’s car crossed the double-yellow center lines, striking plaintiff’s car. The defense appealed an $85,000.00 award from court-mandated arbitration, bringing the case to trial.
A judicial determination ruled that the defendant was 100% negligent as a matter of law, rejecting the defense’s argument that Ms. Smith was comparatively negligent for failure to avoid the accident at the last clear chance.
Ms. Smith’s shoulder and neck injuries included a torn rotator cuff, C6-7 radiculopathy causing numbness in her left fingers, and a torn labrum. Arthroscopic surgery repaired both tears, and trigger point injections in the cervical spine were also administered. Though she claimed no loss of wages, Ms. Smith testified that she has difficulty performing her employee duties requiring lifting in her position as an elderly group home assistant. The defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied on January 9th, 2009. Published in Verdict Search, March 2009.
Sherman v. Carraquillo
MON-L-448-07
Andrew T. Walsh won a verdict of $200,000.00 in a jury trial of his client’s negligence claim, resulting from a motor vehicle accident during which plaintiff and defendant’s cars collided in an intersection. Injuries included multiple disc herniations caused by aggravation of an acknowledged preexisting condition which had been asymptomatic prior to the accident. Lower back pain following the car accident significantly decreased Ms. Sherman’s ability to sleep, to exercise and to perform other physical activity. Published in Verdict Search, July 2009.
Connell v. Boyer
MON-L-2274-07
John T. Bazzurro won a verdict of $60,000.00 in a jury trial related to a motor vehicle accident in which the defendant lost control of his vehicle on the Raritan Bridge causing a collision with the plaintiff’s vehicle. The plaintiff was removed from the scene of the accident via ambulance and treated in the Raritan Bay Medical Center Emergency Room. Thereafter, she underwent treatment with her primary care physician, a chiropractor and two board certified orthopedic surgeons. The plaintiff’s injury included a herniated disc at the L4-L5 level for which she was treated conservatively without surgery or pain management. Her treating physician testified that the plaintiff’s herniated disc is a permanent condition and will not heal to function normally even with further medical treatment.
This matter was referred to court-mandated arbitration and an award of $30,000.00 was given to the plaintiff. The defense appealed this arbitration award and the matter was presented to a jury on October 23rd and October 26th, 2009 before The Hon. Paul A. Kapalko, J.S.C. Prior to trial, the defense’s offer was $6,000.00.
At the conclusion of the trial, and after an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $60,000.00 for pain and suffering, disability, impairment and loss of enjoyment of life.
Cruz v. John D. Pittenger Builder, Inc.
MON-L-196-03
Charles J. Uliano won a verdict of $1,206,000.00 in a personal injury suit for Maria Cruz against John D. Pittenger Builder, Inc., owner of their Section 8 apartment in Neptune, New Jersey. A fire in the apartment claimed the life of Cruz’s five-year-old granddaughter, and severely injured Ms. Cruz, including third degree burns on 40% of her body. Her injuries required painful daily wound care, skin graft surgery and other serious treatment, resulting in permanent scarring and disfigurement, and potentially more surgery in the future. The plaintiff’s negligence claims included premises liability, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. After an 8-day trial, a jury decided that defendant Pittenger was 60% liable for failing to install hard-wired interconnected smoke detectors while Cruz was 40% comparatively negligent for leaving a candle burning unattended. The jury awarded the plaintiff $2 million for psychological and emotional damages, and $2 million for her physical damages, in order to address past and future pain and suffering and past and future medical bills.
Flynn, Commr 2009: August 3, as appeared in New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education 2010 School Law Conference Manual:
District suspension of teacher without pay was wrongful because under N.J.S.A. 18A:6-14, board [of education] may only suspend without pay if tenure charges have been filed or employee has been indicted; therefore, board must return pay withheld and provide prospective pay until certification of tenure charges or indictment; Commissioner declines to consolidate issue with separate pending matter involving whether teacher may perform his teaching duties while the criminal charges are pending. [Case won by Marcie L. Mackolin, Esq.]
*Prior successes are no guarantee of future results.
Kelly v. Gwinnell,
96 N.J. 538, 476 A.2d 1219
N.J.,1984.
June 27, 1984
One significant, ground breaking case was won by our founding senior partner, George Chamlin, concerning Third Party Liability. In Kelly v. Gwinnell, the Court held that if a host knowingly allows a guest to get intoxicated, and that guest leaves that residence and injures someone, the host may be held liable.
Smith v. Melgar
MON-L-528-06
John T. Bazzurro won a verdict of $400,000.00 in a jury trial for his client’s negligence claim, resulting from a motor vehicle accident in which the defendant’s car crossed the double-yellow center lines, striking plaintiff’s car. The defense appealed an $85,000.00 award from court-mandated arbitration, bringing the case to trial.
A judicial determination ruled that the defendant was 100% negligent as a matter of law, rejecting the defense’s argument that Ms. Smith was comparatively negligent for failure to avoid the accident at the last clear chance.
Ms. Smith’s shoulder and neck injuries included a torn rotator cuff, C6-7 radiculopathy causing numbness in her left fingers, and a torn labrum. Arthroscopic surgery repaired both tears, and trigger point injections in the cervical spine were also administered. Though she claimed no loss of wages, Ms. Smith testified that she has difficulty performing her employee duties requiring lifting in her position as an elderly group home assistant. The defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied on January 9th, 2009. Published in Verdict Search, March 2009.
Sherman v. Carraquillo
MON-L-448-07
Andrew T. Walsh won a verdict of $200,000.00 in a jury trial of his client’s negligence claim, resulting from a motor vehicle accident during which plaintiff and defendant’s cars collided in an intersection. Injuries included multiple disc herniations caused by aggravation of an acknowledged preexisting condition which had been asymptomatic prior to the accident. Lower back pain following the car accident significantly decreased Ms. Sherman’s ability to sleep, to exercise and to perform other physical activity. Published in Verdict Search, July 2009.
Connell v. Boyer
MON-L-2274-07
John T. Bazzurro won a verdict of $60,000.00 in a jury trial related to a motor vehicle accident in which the defendant lost control of his vehicle on the Raritan Bridge causing a collision with the plaintiff’s vehicle. The plaintiff was removed from the scene of the accident via ambulance and treated in the Raritan Bay Medical Center Emergency Room. Thereafter, she underwent treatment with her primary care physician, a chiropractor and two board certified orthopedic surgeons. The plaintiff’s injury included a herniated disc at the L4-L5 level for which she was treated conservatively without surgery or pain management. Her treating physician testified that the plaintiff’s herniated disc is a permanent condition and will not heal to function normally even with further medical treatment.
This matter was referred to court-mandated arbitration and an award of $30,000.00 was given to the plaintiff. The defense appealed this arbitration award and the matter was presented to a jury on October 23rd and October 26th, 2009 before The Hon. Paul A. Kapalko, J.S.C. Prior to trial, the defense’s offer was $6,000.00.
At the conclusion of the trial, and after an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $60,000.00 for pain and suffering, disability, impairment and loss of enjoyment of life.
Cruz v. John D. Pittenger Builder, Inc.
MON-L-196-03
Charles J. Uliano won a verdict of $1,206,000.00 in a personal injury suit for Maria Cruz against John D. Pittenger Builder, Inc., owner of their Section 8 apartment in Neptune, New Jersey. A fire in the apartment claimed the life of Cruz’s five-year-old granddaughter, and severely injured Ms. Cruz, including third degree burns on 40% of her body. Her injuries required painful daily wound care, skin graft surgery and other serious treatment, resulting in permanent scarring and disfigurement, and potentially more surgery in the future. The plaintiff’s negligence claims included premises liability, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. After an 8-day trial, a jury decided that defendant Pittenger was 60% liable for failing to install hard-wired interconnected smoke detectors while Cruz was 40% comparatively negligent for leaving a candle burning unattended. The jury awarded the plaintiff $2 million for psychological and emotional damages, and $2 million for her physical damages, in order to address past and future pain and suffering and past and future medical bills.
Flynn, Commr 2009: August 3, as appeared in New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education 2010 School Law Conference Manual:
District suspension of teacher without pay was wrongful because under N.J.S.A. 18A:6-14, board [of education] may only suspend without pay if tenure charges have been filed or employee has been indicted; therefore, board must return pay withheld and provide prospective pay until certification of tenure charges or indictment; Commissioner declines to consolidate issue with separate pending matter involving whether teacher may perform his teaching duties while the criminal charges are pending. [Case won by Marcie L. Mackolin, Esq.]
*Prior successes are no guarantee of future results.