Experience

• Obtained full recovery of attorney fees and costs incurred by a department store client via contractual indemnification from a Mall owner/manager following extensive litigation, via a motion for summary judgment. The exact cause and location of the personal injury claim were hotly disputed, as were the terms and conditions of the series of complex leases and operating agreements governing the relationship between the client and Mall owner, some of which dated back 50 years. New Jersey indemnification law under these circumstances has been sharply curtailed by recent cases and the outcome, prior to completion of all discovery, was far from certain. This was the third successful indemnification result arising in three separate NJ Malls for Alex in the past year.

• Settled a plaintiff’s personal injury case for a substantial sum, about one-third over the Arbitration Award. The elderly plaintiff was walking her 80 pound Pitbull dog (Bubba) with a leash on a common area of a condo association when the President of the condo association allowed her little terrier dog (Bentley) outside her unit without a leash, contrary to the condo rules and regulations as well as township ordinances. Naturally, the little dog started yapping at the Pitbull, who, sensing danger, (and perhaps a tasty meal) pulled the elderly plaintiff into a nearby fence causing injury to her right hand, requiring surgery. The plaintiff received no dog bite or contact with the little dog. Alex sued the President of the condo association in her individual capacity and as President of the condo association. After hard-fought litigation (the condo President denied that the incident occurred and there was no eyewitness) including multiple motions for summary judgment on dog and condo responsibility, as well as a declaratory judgment action, on the eve of trial the homeowner’s carrier paid their entire policy and the condo association coughed up a significant amount to resolve the case. No animals were harmed during the course of this litigation.