Jeffery Samel & Partners

Notable Successes

DEFENSE VERDICT IN LEG-OFF CASE

JEFFREY SAMEL & PARTNERS was called upon to represent a carting company when one of its trucks was involved in an accident with a 50-year-old bicyclist in lower Manhattan. The bicyclist claimed that our client’s truck overtook and ran over him from the rear. The accident resulted in the amputation of the plaintiff’s lower left leg, and required a lengthy period of rehabilitation and instruction in the use of an artificial prosthesis.

Our firm received this assignment shortly after the accident, and immediately pursued an investigation of the matter that included a site inspection with measurements, and photographs taken so soon following the occurrence that they accurately reflected the scene as it existed on the date of the accident. We were able to use these photographs at trial as graphic proof disputing essential elements of plaintiff’s liability allegations. We also obtained the cooperation of two independent eyewitnesses, who supported our contention that the accident was not due to any negligence on the part of our client’s truck driver.

During the course of pretrial discovery, we conducted a thorough deposition of the plaintiff, defended the deposition of our client’s truck driver, and participated in non-party depositions of the two independent eyewitnesses and of the first police officer to arrive at the scene of the accident. We also arranged for the plaintiff to submit to an independent medical examination conducted by a Board Certified Physiatrist and a Vocational Rehabilitation Expert.

The plaintiff maintained a settlement demand of $6 million, and rejected out-of-hand our client’s offer of $1 million. Michael Pomposello, a Senior Trial Attorney in our office, ably presented the evidence that we had gathered in support of the defenses we established on behalf of our client. He argued successfully to a New York County jury that the believable evidence established that our client’s driver was proceeding within the speed limit and within the moving traffic lane, when the plaintiff bicyclist veered into the truck's path in an ill-fated attempt to negotiate around parked vehicles. The jury rendered a Defense Verdict on behalf of our client after only 45 minutes of deliberation. The plaintiff's motion to set aside the verdict was denied by the trial court.

SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF A "SLAPP" SUIT

JEFFREY SAMEL & PARTNERS was recently called upon to defend a school bus company that had successfully bid on a contract to provide transportation to a local School Board on Long Island. The unsuccessful competitive bidder commenced a lawsuit against our client, claiming that our client had defamed the plaintiff bus company by distributing a letter written by the local bus operators' union that asserted that our client would provide safer transportation to the school children than would the plaintiff bus company.

Shortly after receiving our assignment in this matter, with our client's permission, we thoroughly researched the legal precedents and prepared a motion to dismiss. We argued in our motion that the lawsuit constituted a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation ("SLAPP") suit, for which our client would be entitled to an early dismissal by statute.

Despite strenuous opposition from the plaintiff, the court issued a 15-page decision, by which the court dismissed the lawsuit against our client in its entirety. The court agreed with our argument that the allegedly defamatory letter constituted nothing more than pure opinion, which was non-actionable. The court also agreed that the plaintiff's lawsuit was a "SLAPP" suit, brought in retaliation for our client speaking out and voicing its opinion concerning its qualifications for the School Board contract in competing for such contract. We were able to obtain such a dismissal for our client, without having to undergo the considerable expense of conducting depositions and other pretrial discovery. No appeal was taken by the plaintiff.