Philadelphia PA, and Haddonfield NJ: March 25, 2024: Weir LLP is pleased to announce that partners, Robert D. Sokolove, Esq. and Jennifer Hiller-Nimeroff, Esq. secured a $21,762,000 jury verdict for the owners of four properties in Haddonfield, New Jersey. These residents’ homes were severely damaged by flooding after a June 20, 2019, storm. The flooding was caused by backup in the Borough of Haddonfield’s stormwater management system, which resulted in the plaintiffs’ homes being significantly infiltrated by stormwater, fecal matter, and other wastewater materials.
The jury delivered the unanimous verdict against the Borough of Haddonfield following a 10-day trial before Judge Michael Kassel in the Camden County Superior Court, Law Division. The jury found that the Borough of Haddonfield’s stormwater management system was a dangerous condition of property that caused the plaintiffs’ damages, and that the actions or inactions taken by the Borough to protect against this dangerous condition were palpably unreasonable. The jury also found that the Borough’s conduct destroyed or substantially destroyed the beneficial use of the real property belonging to each of the plaintiffs.
Mr. Sokolove is a nationally recognized flood causation / flood damage attorney with over forty years’ experience representing businesses, individuals, developers, communities, and nonprofit organizations in a wide range of legal and regulatory matters involving flood insurance, flood risks, floodplain management, sea level rise, wetland regulation, lender liability and eco-development. Bob was FEMA’s first Associate General Counsel for flood insurance matters where he was responsible for all legal aspects involving flood risk as well as municipal and banking compliance and liability”.
Ms. Hiller-Nimeroff is an experienced lawyer with nearly 25 years of litigation experience, representing the interests of individuals and businesses in complex legal matters.
After the verdict, Mr Sokolove stated:
“We are so happy for our clients. These are very good people who had their lives turned upside down by what happened to them. Their lives were decimated, and they are still fighting to regain the normalcy they had before the flood. The jury saw the affect this had on our clients, some of them elderly, one who died without ever being able to return to his home. Some of their pets perished in the flood, and the images of what happened that day will never leave them. Both Jen and I are so very proud of the opportunity they have given us to represent them.
With more and greater rainfall and flooding events, government entities must be more vigilant in calibrating their activities to address the property risks which will occur in the future. This case and the jury’s substantial award to the plaintiffs sends a message to municipalities around the country that ignoring these risks is no longer legally acceptable. To the contrary, failing to address flood risks will likely lead to expensive liability for municipalities in the future.
We are very happy that the jury in this case appreciated these risks, the failures of the municipality to address these risks and held the Borough of Haddonfield responsible for the damages it caused. This should serve as a wake-up for towns and cities around the country. Flooding is no longer “business as usual.”
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Weir LLP is a full-service law firm providing sophisticated representation to businesses and individuals in such areas as Banking & Finance, Bankruptcy, Civil Rights, Complex Commercial Litigation, Corporate Restructuring & Creditors Rights, Criminal Defense, Employment, Family Law, Personal Injury, and Real Estate Transactions. For more information, please see wgpllp.com.
Weir LLP is pleased to announce it has combined with BorgerMatez, P.A. (Borger Matez), a highly regarded New Jersey divorce and family law firm effective January 1, 2024. All five attorneys, Gary Borger, Bruce Matez, Deena Betze, Mary Cay Trace, and Giovanna Lombardo, and staff from BorgerMatez will join Weir LLP in its Haddonfield, New Jersey office. The combined firm will continue to operate as Weir LLP.
Weir LLP is known for providing superior representation to individuals, businesses, and financial institutions in business, commercial, criminal, employment, family, personal injury, and civil rights matters. Adding the BorgerMatez team expands Weir LLP’s family law practice into South Jersey, allowing Weir LLP to better serve its New Jersey clients.
The combination is formed out of a longstanding respect for each other’s practice and a friendship among the lawyers of the two firms. Weir LLP Managing Partner, Walter Weir Jr., and BorgerMatez Founding Partner, Gary L. Borger, graduated law school together, after both having served in the military during the Vietnam war. They have always had great admiration and respect for each other. Partners Ron Greenblatt of Weir LLP and Bruce P. Matez of BorgerMatez have also had a friendship and professional relationship for almost thirty years.
Walter Weir, Jr. said, “Gary and his firm share the same principles as Weir LLP. Both firms pride themselves on attentiveness and responsiveness to their clients and achieving desired results in even the most complex or contentious matters in an efficient and caring fashion. I have known Gary for over 50 years and have long admired his character, ability, and the high level with which the BorgerMatez team practices law. Adding the BorgerMatez team to Weir LLP will allow us to better serve our clients in New Jersey by adding to our family law practice. We’re thrilled and grateful to have this opportunity to better serve our clients and the community.”
Gary Borger added, “Combining with Weir LLP will give our clients access to Weir’s resources, its incredible, experienced lawyers, and the ability to meet our clients’ needs in all areas of the law. My partners, Bruce, Deena, and I have great respect for Walter, and the Weir LLP firm, so the decision to combine was an easy one.”
In January, the attorneys and staff of BorgerMatez will move to Weir’s Haddonfield office located at 35 East Kings Highway, Suite 200 in Haddonfield, New Jersey 08033. Walter Weir Jr. will continue to serve as Weir LLP’s Managing Partner.
Weir LLP is a full-service law firm providing sophisticated representation to businesses and individuals in such areas as Banking & Finance, Bankruptcy, Civil Rights, Complex Commercial Litigation, Corporate Restructuring & Creditors Rights, Criminal Defense, Employment, Family Law, Personal Injury, and Real Estate Transactions.
Federal Court Grants Final Approval to Ground-Breaking Settlement That Will Ensure NYC Children with Diabetes Receive Appropriate Care in School
April 25, 2023 – Brooklyn, NY – A federal court has approved a landmark settlement that will ensure children with diabetes in New York City receive the care they need to fully participate in school and school-related activities. This class action settlement resolves claims that New York City, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Office of School Health systemically failed to ensure that students with diabetes could attend school safely and have access to the same educational opportunities as their peers, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 504”), and the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”).
Under the Settlement Agreement, Defendants will modify their policies, practices, and procedures related to: 1) planning to determine the needs of students with diabetes and how Defendants will meet those needs (called a “Section 504 Plan”); 2) providing care such that students with diabetes are not excluded or segregated from their classmates; and 3) training for staff and contractors (nurses, paraprofessionals, administrators, bus drivers and attendants, and teachers and other staff) and the provision of services during the school day and in afterschool activities. Read the Settlement Agreement. These reforms include:
● The development and adoption of a template plan for students with diabetes, based on the American Diabetes Association®Model 504 Plan, to guide schools in preparing to meet the needs of students with diabetes; ● A commitment that accommodations necessary to meet the needs of these students cannot be denied based on resources or available funding; ● New timelines related to how school staff will plan to meet the needs of students with diabetes, including meetings to develop Section 504 plans and ensuring students can attend school with all accommodations in place on their first day of school; ● Robust new training for nurses, paraprofessionals, teachers, administrators, bus drivers and attendants, and other school staff on how to care for a student with diabetes; and ● Changes to ensure appropriately trained staff are available so that students with diabetes can attend field trips, eat with their classmates, ride the bus, and participate in sports and other afterschool activities, alongside other children.
The Settlement also provides for robust monitoring and reporting and the appointment of the American Diabetes Association as the Joint Expert, and Peter D. Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., as External Monitor, for a term of three school years. The settlement will apply to a class of students that have diabetes and are now or will in the future be enrolled in New York City Department of Education public schools. The class was certified by the Court on June 18, 2019. Click here to read the Class Certification Notice. Previously, Judge Gershon granted Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment as to the routine denial of access to field trips and bus transportation. Read the Opinion and Order.
On November 22, 2022, United States District Judge Nina Gershon granted preliminary approval to the proposed settlement and set a date of April 19, 2023 for a Fairness Hearing. Read the Order here. The Parties sent notice so that members of the Class were aware of the Settlement and the Fairness Hearing, and none submitted written objections. On April 24, 2023, the Court granted final approval the Settlement, which now has legal effect.
“This extraordinary settlement will give NYC public school parents of students with diabetes the comfort and peace of mind in knowing their children will be safe at school as they receive care as prescribed by their child’s diabetes health care provider,” said Charles Henderson, Chief Executive Officer of the American Diabetes Association. “The American Diabetes Association is hopeful this settlement with one of the largest school districts in the country will motivate other school districts to examine their diabetes policies and practices and also offer parents and advocates another tool to add to their diabetes advocacy toolkit. This precedent setting outcome has the potential to ensure that students with diabetes in other states get the help they need at school.”
“So many families like mine had their lives changed when their child was diagnosed with diabetes,” said Yelena Ferrer, the parent of named Plaintiff M.F. “With this settlement, the transition at school will be easier, less stressful, and more fair for thousands of families like mine. I feel privileged to have been part of this amazing effort to vindicate my son’s civil rights and ensure other kids with diabetes get the support they need.”
“I am glad to have been able to help bring changes that will ensure children with diabetes in all New York City’s public schools receive the care they need to attend school,” said Jennifer Fox, the parent of named Plaintiff I.F. “By establishing system-wide obligations and standards of care, this settlement will relieve parents who are short on time, resources, or privilege, of the substantial, often prohibitive, burden of having to individually advocate for their child.”
“This settlement will improve the educational opportunities of more than 1,000 students and families in this city who have struggled to get what they need at school,” said Torie Atkinson, Senior Staff Attorney at Disability Rights Advocates. “DRA is honored to represent these trailblazing clients to secure a remarkable settlement that provides a model for other school districts to meet the needs of students with disabilities, particularly students with diabetes.”
“These reforms represent a sea-change for students with diabetes and their families. With these changes, children with diabetes will be safe as they equally participate with their classmates in school, on the bus, on field trips and in afterschool activities,” said Alan L. Yatvin, Partner at Weir Greenblatt Pierce LLP and longtime American Diabetes Association volunteer. “We appreciate the time, effort, and commitment to change for the benefit of these children and families, shown by the City of New York and DOE attorneys, leaders, staff and medical professionals, in reaching this settlement.”
This case was brought on November 2, 2018, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, by the American Diabetes Association, the nation’s leading diabetes organization, and three parents of students with diabetes (identified as M.F., M.R., and I.F.) who attend New York City public schools. Plaintiffs are represented by Disability Rights Advocates, the American Diabetes Association, and Weir Greenblatt Pierce LLP. The lawsuit sought an overhaul of the DOE’s systemic policies and practices governing the delivery of diabetes-related care to ensure that all students with diabetes receive appropriate care and can participate in all school programs.
About the American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization fighting to bend the curve on the diabetes epidemic and help people living with diabetes thrive. For 82 years the American Diabetes Association has driven discovery and research to treat, manage, and prevent diabetes while working relentlessly for a cure. Through advocacy, program development, and education we aim to improve the quality of life for the over 133 million Americans living with diabetes or prediabetes. Diabetes has brought us together. What we do next will make us Connected for Life. To learn more or to get involved, visit us at diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Join the fight with us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Spanish Facebook (Asociación Americana de la Diabetes), LinkedIn (American Diabetes Association), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn), and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).
About Disability Rights Advocates
Founded in 1993, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is the leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center. Its mission is to advance the rights, inclusion, and equity of people with disabilities through high-impact litigation, education, and advocacy. DRA is proud to have upheld the promise of the ADA since our inception. Thanks to DRA’s precedent-setting work, people with disabilities across the country have dramatically improved access to health care, employment, transportation, education, disaster preparedness planning, voting and housing. For more information, visit www.dralegal.org.
About Weir Greenblatt Pierce LLP
Weir Greenblatt Pierce LLP is Philadelphia-based, full-service law firm representing businesses and individuals in a variety of practice areas, including: banking and finance, commercial, employment, criminal defense, civil rights, special education and disability rights. For more information, visit https://wgpllp.com/.
A recent decision by a United States District Court in California highlights the need for exercising extreme caution when forwarding emails that are subject to the attorney client-privilege.
In Fourth Dimension Software v. Der Touristik Deutschland, GmbH, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California reviewed a discovery dispute regarding an email that had been sent by the plaintiff’s former in house counsel to the plaintiff’s president, which was then forwarded to a hotel front desk for printing. The president’s email to the hotel front desk stated: “[p]lease print one copy. I’m waiting at the front desk. Thanks.”
The plaintiff argued that the email from its former in-house counsel to its president was protected by the attorney client privilege, and that forwarding the email to the front desk of the hotel did not result in a waiver of the privilege. The defendant argued that the original email was not privileged, asserting that the former in-house counsel was not acting as an attorney for the plaintiff when he sent the email, and that even if he were, the privilege was waived when the president forwarded the email to the front desk of the hotel.
The District Court agreed in part with the defendant, finding that while the attorney-client privilege applied to the original email from plaintiff’s former in-house counsel to the president, the privilege was waived when it was forwarded to the front desk of the hotel. The Court reasoned that the original email was privileged because at the time the email was sent, the dominant purpose of the relationship between the plaintiff and its former in-house counsel was that of attorney and client. The Court however found that the attorney-client privilege was waived when the email was forwarded to the hotel front desk because the facts did not show that the plaintiff intended or reasonably expected confidentiality when it forwarded the email to the hotel’s generic email address. The Court stated that by sending the email to a generic email address, any number of hotel staff had access to the email, and the forwarded email did not contain any notice that it should be kept confidential.
The Court’s ruling should be a warning for both attorneys and their clients that forwarding privileged emails to a third party even for the sole purpose of having the emails printed can result in a waiver of the attorney-client privilege.
Senior Associate, Noah Cohen recently secured a $400,000.00 jury verdict for Reed Foster, a Philadelphia citizen who was arrested, falsely imprisoned, and prosecuted based on a police officer’s false statements. Mr. Cohen was Mr. Foster’s attorney for both his criminal and civil cases. To read more about Mr. Foster’s cases, and the important strategic decision they made together, click here to read an article that recently appeared in The Legal Intelligencer.
Weir Greenblatt Pierce (WGP) partners, Walter Weir, Jr., Susan Verbonitz and Alan L. Yatvin, recently secured a complete victory for their clients, Concert Golf Partners and its principal, Peter Nanula, in a fraud action brought against them by developer North Penn Towns (NPT), when United States District Court Judge Karen Spencer Marston granted summary judgment in favor of WGP’s clients on all claims.
The action arose from Concert’s purchase of the Philmont Country Club in 2017. NPT had been a suitor for purchase of a 61-acre portion of the Club’s property for development of residential homes. The deal fell apart in September of 2016, and Concert, which purchases distressed golf clubs, infuses capital and manages them back to financial viability, ultimately purchased the entire Club. Concert agreed to pay off the Club’s debts of nearly a million dollars, make a set of specific capital improvements, estimated to cost approximately $4 million dollars, and agreed to make a further capital improvements of about $5 million upon sale of the development parcel.
NPT sued Philmont Country Club, the non-profit that had owned the Club of the same name, Concert, Nanula and others in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas over the sale. NPT then settled with Philmont, part of which included assignment of Philmont’s non-contractual claims to NPT. NPT then filed suit in district court against various Concert entities and Ridgewood, a developer working with Concert, alleging violations of federal antitrust law, fraud, breach of contract and conspiracy, On August 12, 2021, Judge Marston dismissed the federal antitrust and conspiracy claims, some of the fraud claims, and claims of aiding and abetting fraud.
NPT then filed an amended complaint asserting fraud, fraudulent nondisclosure, and fraudulent concealment under Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 550 and 551, and aiding and abetting fraud. The suit asserted that Concert and Nanula never intended to make the agreed capital improvements and that Concert’s collaboration with developer Ridgewood somehow compromised the sale price of the Club. There was also a breach of contract claim against Ridgewood arising from an alleged breach of a confidentiality agreement.
In her July 28, 2022, Opinion granting summary judgment as to all defendants on all counts, except the breach of contract claim against Ridgewood, Judge Marston agreed with WGP that the fraud claim asserting misrepresentations as to the capital improvements was barred by the gist of the action doctrine, because the allegations of fraud involved duties that were outline in the sales agreement. Because the action sounded in contract, not tort, the fraud claims were barred.
NPT’s fraudulent concealment and non-disclosure claims under the Restatement (Second) of Torts related to alleged failure to disclose and actively concealing that Concert and Ridgewood were working together. Judge Marston dismissed these claims after concluding that Concert and Nanula had no duty to disclose their relationship which was neither material nor basic to the transaction and that Ridgewood was not a party to a business transaction with Philmont. Finally, because the fraud claims were dismissed as to all defendants, the aiding and abetting fraud claims were also dismissed.
Commenting on the decision, Walter Weir, Jr., said: “This was an astounding victory for the defendants and represents the best of our judicial system to ferret out and make simple what was an unnecessarily complicated case.”
