Had a great time yesterday working with two fine attorneys to resolve a 2022 slip & fall on ice with a few twists. Just after a major storm and while operator was in initial stages of clean-up, police officer fell on commercial property while responding to an accident. Was ongoing storm defense applicable? Since police officer was dispatched there and not a customer, what duty is he owed? Should premises have been opened to public before clean-up was complete? We will never know because case wisely was settled rather than spending the next decade on trials and appeals.
Working with three fine lawyers who were dedicated to resolving it, just helped settle a Consumer Fraud Act case with a potential 10-year life cycle. The NJ Consumer Fraud Act is potentially devastating to defendants, carrying mandatory treble damages and possible fee shifting even if a plaintiff loses. Getting to the end of the road requires years of discovery, expert testimony, and guaranteed trips to the Appellate Division with near-certain remand and multiple trials. The NJCFA can ruin small construction businesses as most insurance carriers will not cover CFA claims. At the end and after years of expensive litigation a successful plaintiff is left trying to collect an award from defunct businesses and bankrupted tradesmen. Best to settle CFA cases as early in the process as possible.
This week I was privileged to mediate with two superb attorneys who had a case that they could have financially feasted on for years, but instead they brought it to mediation and settled, saving their clients literally hundreds of thousands in legal fees.
Recently mediated and helped settle the wrongful death claim of the parents of a brilliant young woman killed in a devastating head-on collision. With the help of the parties’ fine attorneys was able to provide closure to a grieving family.
Honored to work with experienced and savvy adjuster and attorneys on a tractor-trailer v auto t-bone collision that could have killed the plaintiff, but he lived and his case is settled.
Just helped settle the tragic case of a teen-age suicide. Couldn’t have done it without the sophisticated attorneys and claim adjuster participating in the Mediation.
Second time's the charm. After sorting out insurance coverage, second mediation session with two great attorneys and a terrific adjuster, just settled a serious pedestrian-truck parking lot accident.
Never quit. Last August we started the mediation of the case of a severely injured worker who fell from a tanker truck, made difficult by complicated insurance coverage issues. It took a lot of determination and hard work by excellent attorneys and adjusters to settle last week.
A unique corporate liability aspect turned a routine personal injury case into a guaranteed 10-year trip to the NJ Sup Ct. Fortunately with hard work by good attorneys a successful mediation last week avoided that and resulted in a reasonable settlement.
Alexander Carver
Was privileged to work with four fine attorneys, company owner, public administrators, and surety adjusters to mediate and settle a complex construction dispute.