USLAW-Magazine_FallWinter2018

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plaintiff admitted that she never had this
highly contagious disease. Although she
never told her supervisor the truth, plaintiff
contended that the company should have
investigated whether she was actually ill before
terminating her.
Claiming that C.R. England defamed
her during the termination and intentionally
inflicted emotional distress, plaintiff
asked the jury for $2.3 million in non-economic
damages and roughly $500,000 in
economic damages. Had the jury found that
C.R. England acted maliciously, punitive
damages were also on the table. After a little
over a day of deliberation, the jury returned
a defense verdict.
Traub Lieberman Straus &
Shrewsberry LLP (Hawthorne, NY)
Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry
LLP (”TLSS”) partner Lisa M. Rolle obtained
a defense verdict in the trial of
Robins v. EBM Long Beach and Aqua
Construction Corp., in the Supreme Court
of the State of New York, Nassau County, on
May 7, 2018. Plaintiff Wendy Robins claimed
to have sustained severe injuries when she
tripped and fell as a result of a hazardous
condition at the construction site owned by
EBM Long Beach, which had hired general
contractor Aqua Construction Corp. to erect
a high-rise luxury condominium building on
the boardwalk in Long Beach, New York.
Plaintiff claimed that the sidewalk curb was
2¼ inches higher than the driveway apron
adjacent to the curb, creating a latent, dangerous,
and hazardous condition; and further
claimed that the driveway apron should
have been barricaded by a fence, preventing
entry. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff
underwent two surgical procedures and was
declared totally disabled by Social Security
Disability, compelling her into early retirement
from her occupation as an adaptive
physical education teacher for the City of
New York. Her spouse claimed loss of consortium.
Representing both the owner and the
general contractor, Ms. Rolle argued that
the construction site was properly barricaded
and that the height differential between
the curb and the driveway apron did
not pose an unsafe condition. Further, Ms.
Rolle argued that Plaintiffs were aware that
the driveway apron was part of the construction
site because they resided next door, but
disregarded the fencing surrounding the remainder
of the premises. Finally, Ms. Rolle
presented testimony of a toxicologist, which
supported her argument that Plaintiff’s
blood alcohol level of .12 impaired her
judgment and balance.
The jury returned a unanimous verdict
in favor of TLSS’ clients, dismissing the action.
Wicker, Smith, O’Hara, McCoy &
Ford, P.A. (Orlando and Tampa, FL)
Raymond Watts and Erin Diaz of the
Orlando and Tampa offices of Wicker,
Smith, O’Hara, McCoy & Ford, P.A. recently
obtained a defense verdict in a nursing
home negligence case. The resident was admitted
into the Defendant’s facility for rehabilitation
services following a series of
falls resulting in a general decline as well as
a compression fracture. During the residency,
Plaintiff argued that the facility
missed developing signs and symptoms of
diverticulitis. Plaintiff further argued that
the diverticulitis, left untreated, ruptured
thereby resulting in sepsis and other deteriorating
signs and symptoms, which were
also missed. When the resident was transferred
to an area hospital, Plaintiff argued
that the sepsis was too far advanced due the
facility’s delay resulting in the resident’s
death. Argument was presented on behalf
of the Defendant facility regarding pre-existing
conditions that were consistent with
the resident’s overall status and physical
presentation. The Defendant also presented
causation experts to establish the
spontaneous nature of the rupture based
upon available radiological imaging which
resulted in the resident’s death despite any
timing of diagnosis. Plaintiff asked for $2
million in closing. The jury returned a defense
verdict in approximately 30 minutes
.
Williams Kastner (Seattle, WA)
In April 2018, Rod Umberger of Williams
Kastner in Seattle obtained a defense verdict
in a trial held in Kittitas County,
Washington, where he defended Quanta
Services/Potelco, Inc., a national utility construction
services company. The lawsuit
arose from a catastrophic motorcycle/commercial
vehicle collision on Highway 10
near Ellensburg, Washington. Potelco line
and bucket trucks were replacing telephone
poles along the highway after a recent fire
when one of the drivers turned left across
the highway and collided with a Harley
Davidson being operated by the plaintiff.
The plaintiff was severely injured in the accident
with multiple open bone fractures,
back and neck injuries and a TBI, and he
was airlifted to a Seattle-area hospital where
he remained in a rehabilitation unit for several
months following multiple surgeries.
The medical expenses incurred as a result
of the accident were over $250,000.
Successful
Recent
USLAW
Law Firm
Transactions
Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso
PLLC (Charleston, WV)
Chris Brumley and Jim Lane acted as legal
counsel to Mohegan Energy Trustees, LLC
in a $100 Million Strategic Partnership
with Orion Energy Partners. Mohegan acquired
a low vol metallurgical coal operation
and related equipment in West Virginia from
Met Resources, LLC. Mohegan, through its
wholly owned subsidiary Cornerstone
Minerals, LLC ("Cornerstone"), announced
the acquisition on May 16, 2018. Following
the acquisition, Mohegan is focused on
ramping up production, lowering costs,
improving existing infrastructure, and
constructing a 350 ton/hour processing
plant and additional rail out facility.
Hinckley Allen (Hartford, CT)
Hinckley Allen is representing First
Connecticut Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:
FBNK), the holding company for
Farmington Bank, in connection with First
Connecticut Bancorp’s acquisition by
People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:
PBCT), the holding company for People’s
United Bank, N.A., in an all-stock transaction
valued at approximately $544 million.
Completion of the transaction is subject to
customary closing conditions, including
receipt of regulatory approvals and the approval
of First Connecticut Bancorp, Inc.
shareholders.