By Decision and Order dated June 7, 2018, New York State Supreme Court Justice Karen B. Rothenberg dismissed all claims against the firm’s engineering client, Valerio Associates Consulting Engineers, P.C., in three related personal injury lawsuits. Three separate plaintiffs had brought suit against Valerio Associates relating to a deck collapse in Brooklyn, NY. The plaintiffs alleged that Valerio Associates had performed engineering work at the subject property over 15 years prior to the accident at issue, and that such work contributed to the accident.
Ford Marrin moved to dismiss all three actions pursuant to CPLR 3211(h) and 214-d, which provide a heightened standard of review for suits brought against design professionals based on work completed more than ten years prior to the claim. The firm successfully convinced the court that Valerio Associates’ work at the subject property did not involve the subject deck in any manner, and in any event, given the length of time between the accident and Valerio Associates’ work, the plaintiffs could not establish proximate causation.
Partner Joseph D’Ambrosio and associate Gregory Bruno worked on this matter.
