Defense Victory for Municipal Client

Congratulations to Partner Craig Rizzo and Associate Maria Nanis for another great victory in a complex roadway design motor vehicle accident case on behalf of one of our municipal clients.  Plaintiff sued for significant personal injuries with a multi-million dollar valuation, naming our municipal client and co-defendant, in an accident where plaintiff, riding a motorcycle, was struck by co-defendant who crossed over allegedly faded double-yellow lines.  As a result, plaintiff sustained numerous, significant alleged injuries, including partial amputation of an upper extremity requiring multiple surgeries, various spinal fractures, as well as intracranial injury and multiple plastic surgeries.  Early in the litigation, the co-defendant motorist settled for approximately $600,000.  Our municipal client pressed on and moved for summary judgment on various grounds, including pointing to critical inconsistencies in plaintiff’s and the settling defendant’s testimony concerning the precise location of the accident; lack of prior written notice, as well as expert-backed evidence that the roadway was appropriately and reasonably designed, lack of proximate causation on the strength of competing testimonies and law enforcement’s investigation, among other things.  Upon receipt of our motion for summary judgment, plaintiff sought a settlement with our client.  With Craig’s and Maria’s meticulous work-up of the evidence and a fantastic job on the motion, however, our client declined the invitation to settle and instead pressed on for a decision and, if need be, try the case.  Soon after staking their position on the merits, plaintiff agreed to voluntarily discontinue the action with prejudice against our municipal client.  Congratulations to Craig and Maria for a fantastic result!