News & happenings

Christopher Devanny of K/M’s New York Office recently won a Motion for Summary Judgment in a Kings County Supreme Court case involving injuries sustained from a slip and fall on ice located on a sidewalk abutting a residential building. The decision was issued by Justice Gloria M. Dabiri.

Plaintiff sued the property owner for allegedly failing to maintain the premises. The property owner filed a third party action against K/M’s client, the snow removal contractor. The property owner sought common law and contractual indemnification/contribution. The plaintiff later amended the complaint to add the contractor as a direct defendant.

As a general rule, a limited contractual obligation to provide snow removal services does not render a snow removal contractor liable in tort for the personal injuries sustained by third parties. However, the New York Court of Appeals has recognized three exceptions to this rule: (1) where the contracting party, in failing to exercise reasonable care in the performance of his or her duties, launches a force or instrument of harm; (2) where the plaintiff detrimentally relies on the continued performance of the contracting party’s duties; or (3) where the contracting party has entirely displaced another party’s duties to maintain the subject premises safely. Espinal v. Melville Snow Contractors Inc. 98 NY2d 136, 140 (2002).

The Court determined that K/M’s client made a prima facie showing of its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that the plaintiff was not a party to its snow removal contract, and, therefore was not owed a duty of care by K/M’s client.

The Court further held that the plaintiff and the property owner failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to the applicability of an exception to the general rule. With regard to the first exception, it was undisputed that contractor was last at the premises four days before the plaintiff’s fall. The Court determined that by merely plowing the snow the contractor could not be said to have created or exacerbated a dangerous condition. Moreover, pursuant to the contract, the contractor was not obligated to apply salt or sand, unless specifically directed to do so by the owner. The court concluded that there was no evidence that the contractor was negligent in performing snow removal services on the day of the plaintiff’s fall.

The Court also determined that there was no evidence that the plaintiff relied to his detriment on the snow removal contractor’s performance of its duties. The court reasoned that the plaintiff testified that he was unaware that the property owner had retained an outside company to perform snow removal. Moreover, plaintiff testified that he was walking on the sidewalk, an area of the property for which the property owner, and not the contractor was responsible for. Thus, the plaintiff’s reliance, if any, would have been on the property owner.

Finally, the testimony of the parties and the contractor demonstrated that the duty of the property owner to maintain the premises was not displaced. The contract between the property owner and the snow removal contractor provided that the contractor was only to remove snow from the driveways and parking lot, and that pedestrian walkways were “specifically excluded.” Moreover, the owner was required to monitor and inspect the premises after the contractor completed its job.

For further information about this case, please contact Christopher Devanny at cdevanny@kentmcbride.com.

K/M’s attorneys successfully obtained summary judgment for its client, a regional supermarket chain, in a case involving a claimed falldown alleged to have taken place as a result of a defective rug in an entryway of one of the client’s stores in Delaware County, PA. Plaintiff, who sustained a pelvic fracture in the fall, alleged the rug placed in the entryway was in a defective condition and caused her to fall. She was hospitalized for a week, required surgery to repair the fracture, and was then placed in a rehabilitation facility for a period of several weeks before being discharged to her home.

Through discovery, K/M was able to establish there was no evidence of anything being intrinsically wrong with the rug at the time of the fall, and, there was no evidence of any transient defect having to do with the rug. The Honorable Charles Burr of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas entered summary judgment on behalf of the firm’s client.

For further information about this case, please contact Jay Branderbit at Jbranderbit@kentmcbride.com

Kent/McBride has opened an office in Pleasantville, New Jersey. This is the firm’s third office in the State of New Jersey. The new location will be led by Thomas McCormick. Mr. McCormick focuses his practice primarily on gaming and employment law. This new location allows Mr. McCormick to stay connected with his clients by offering them a location closer to the gaming industry in New Jersey. Mr. McCormick will be joined by new hires Lori Klinger and Robert Stacchini in that office, who focus their practice on K/M’s civil litigation practice.

Gary Ahladianakis, of our Iselin office, will be speaking at the Young Lawyers Symposium on Saturday, October 3rd, 2015 at the Hilton in Parsippany, New Jersey. The Symposium is being co-sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division and the Diversity Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA).

Gary will be speaking at the session entitled “The Associate-How to Get Noticed When You’re a Small Fish in a Big Pond,” which will provide tips as to how an associate can market themselves both internally within the firm (i.e., balancing high-quality work with being ‘go to’ associate) and externally (i.e., networking, bar leadership, etc.) to be able to stand tall and above the crowded field. Gary has been practicing law for over ten (10) years and is currently serving his second term on the Executive Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of the NJSBA.

Click here to view flyer.

On October 2, 2015 Stephen McHugh received a defense verdict in a jury trial held before the Honorable Louis R. Meloni in the Camden County Superior Court. Mr. McHugh successfully defended a regional business that specializes in preparing high school students for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), college entrance exams, and in tutoring students. Plaintiff claimed she was wrongfully discharged from her job due to her national heritage, in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD).

Plaintiff began working in the business office in October 2012 as an “at will” employee. She claimed that her job was terminated during a private meeting with her supervisor who made discriminatory comments. Plaintiff left the office after the meeting and returned the next day to get her last pay check. She claimed that the same supervisor made discriminatory comments in front of witnesses when she was waiting for her pay check.

The defendant hired another employee in the same office for a different job than plaintiff’s. Plaintiff claimed that the new hire was not a member of her protected class and was meant to replace her as an elaborate pretext for discrimination.

Plaintiff sued both the business and its owner for violating the NJLAD, claiming that the business was the corporate alter ego of its owner. The plaintiff’s complaint sought compensatory damages for lost earnings and emotional pain and suffering, punitive damages and attorney’s fees.

The defendant argued that plaintiff was not fired but left the job voluntarily. The defendant also argued that none of its actions were motivated by discrimination.

The claim against the business owner was dismissed prior to trial when Judge Meloni granted summary judgment in his favor , finding that there was not adequate proof that the business was its owner’s alter ego. At trial, the jury found that the plaintiff was fired from her job but that her firing was not motivated by discrimination and a verdict was entered in favor of the defendant.

For further information about the case please contact Steve McHugh at smchugh@kentmcbride.com

Joshua Ferguson and Jay Branderbit presented a seminar entitled SLIP AND FALL CLAIMS: PREVENTING, ASSESSING AND HANDLING CLAIMS IN PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY to one of the firm’s general liability insurance carrier clients in Scottsdale, Arizona on October 14, 2015. The presentation centered on evaluation and defense of claims against snow/ice removal professionals and covered not only issues concerning legal standards to be applied in such cases, but also evaluation of such claims and risk management and claim prevention strategies. For further information about the presentation, please contact Josh or Jay at Jferguson@kentmcbride.com or Jbranderbit@kentmcbride.com

Christopher W. McMullin of K/M’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office recently obtained a full defense verdict for a client in a criminal bench trial before the Honorable Karen Yvette Simmons, in the Philadelphia Municipal Court. K/M’s client was charged with a second offense driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), DUI at the highest rate (BAC.16+), DUI involving an accident, and an open container violation. The charges carried a mandatory minimum 90 day term of incarceration and a maximum of 5 years. In addition to mandatory incarceration, the charges also posed potential immigration challenges for K/M’s client.

At trial, police testified that K/M’s client was found semi-conscious behind the wheel of a running vehicle that was located half way into a parking space and half way into the street, impeding a lane of traffic. Police also testified that K/M’s client had numerous open beer cans and an open 30-pack of beer in the passenger seat of the vehicle. Mr. McMullin was able to argue that any evidence of an alleged accident shortly prior to police arrival was inadmissible as hearsay.

Mr. McMullin successfully argued, through witness testimony and use of the Commonwealth’s own witnesses, that there was no evidence that K/M’s client had recently driven or intended to operate the vehicle and was merely drinking beer and listening to music in his vehicle, which was parked around the corner from his house.

Accordingly, Judge Simmons determined the Commonwealth had failed to meet its burden of proof, finding K/M’s client not guilty on all charges.

For further information about the law or facts of the case, please contact Christopher W. McMullin, Esquire at (267)702-1796.

On Tuesday, October 4, 2016, David Malatesta, the managing attorney of the Delaware office, successfully defended a construction company in a breach of contract action in a two day jury trial held in the Superior Court of New Castle County. Plaintiff was seeking damages in excess of $100,000, and alleged that the client had breached its obligations under a contract regarding the installation of shelving units in a new commercial store open to the public. The jury took less than two hours to return its verdict in favor of the K/M client, finding that it did not breach its contract or cause Plaintiff to suffer any damage. For more details about the above, please contact David at dmalatesta@kentmcbride.com

Kent/McBride has moved its offices in Northern New Jersey to One Arlin Park, 1715 Highway 35, Suite 305 in Middletown, New Jersey. This brand new office, located minutes from the Garden State Parkway, will allow the firm to continue its effective and efficient representation in the Northern Counties of NJ, and also gain better access to the Central and Northern shore counties of New Jersey. With offices located in Cherry Hill, Middletown and Pleasantville, NJ, K/M covers the State of New Jersey comprehensively, handling matters in all State, Federal and Administrative tribunals located in the Garden State.