Connecticut Magazine Recognizes WRKK as Having “Super Lawyers”

Once again, Emanuel Margolis and David Cohen have been recognized in the listing of Connecticut Super Lawyers for 2007 by Connecticut Magazine. Attorney Margolis was selected for his expertise and achievements in the field of civil rights law and Attorney Cohen was selected for his expertise and achievements in the field of employment law.

Firm Prevails in International Arbitration

Partner Steven Frederick and associate Kurosh Marjani recently prevailed in an arbitration before the American Arbitration Association's International Centre for dispute Resolution. The firm represented META Group Pacifico, Ltd. ("MGPL"), a South American distributor for META Group, Inc., a leading provider of information technology services and publications. After MGPL invested several years and substantial sums in building its distribution business, META Group terminated MGPL's distributorship, claming that MGPL failed to meet the "quota" contained in the parties' distributorship agreement. After a hotly contested, and heavily briefed, arbitration, the firm was able to convince the arbitrator that MGPL did not breach its agreement with META Group, and the arbitrator awarded MGPL damages, as well as costs and attorneys' fees.

Firm Obtains $2.3 Million Settlement During Trial

Partner Steven Frederick, assisted by counsel Bill Davoren and associate Richard Lewis, recently secured a $2.3 million settlement during a federal jury trial in Hartford. The case arose out of serious injuries suffered by a 4 year old boy during a family vacation in the Cayman Islands. The boy was injured when a jet ski on which he was seated suddenly and accidentally started, traveled approximately 200 feet, and crashed at full speed into a rock jetty. As a result of the accident, the boy suffered numerous physical injuries, the most serious of which were to his brain.

The firm argued that the accident occurred because the defendants, which owned and operated a well known resort and watersports concession, intentionally disengaged the jet ski’s safety mechanisms so that it could start simply by pushing a green button on the handlebars. Knowing that they disengaged the safety mechanisms, the defendants then permitted the boy’s father to allow his young son to play on the jet ski for an extended period of time – without ever warning of the hidden dangers which the vehicle posed.

The case was settled in the beginning of 2006, after being litigated for approximately 7 years. Prior to bringing the case to trial, the firm successfully defeated the defendants’ numerous motions attacking the federal court’s jurisdiction over them, attacking the legal and factual validity of the boy’s claims, and attempting to limit the damages available to the boy. As a result of this case, the boy’s future is secure and the defendants have changed their practices at their watersports concession so this unfortunate accident cannot happen again.

Firm Recovers Largest Damage Award in CHRO History

On April 29, 2003, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (the CHRO) issued the largest damage award in its history to a client of Wofsey Rosen Kweskin & Kuriansky. The case of Slootskin v. John Brown Engineers and Construction, Inc. began in 1992, when John Brown, an international construction and engineering firm, laid off Inessa Slootskin, who is an engineer with expertise in HVAC systems. Partner David Cohen felt that the employer was guilty of age discrimination in terminating Mrs. Slootskin, then 54 years of age, instead of younger and less qualified engineers who remained in her department. He initially attempted to have the employer simply reinstate Mrs. Slootskin without any award of damages, but the company adamantly refused. Its attorney informed David that John Brown had never lost an employment case and would not consider rehiring Mrs. Slootskin, despite evidence that age was a critical factor in the termination.

A complaint was filed with the CHRO in late 1992. After the Commission completed its investigation, a lengthy period elapsed. Then a contested hearing before a CHRO hearing officer consumed 10 days spread out over a period of years. David Cohen and Steve Frederick, another partner of the firm, had responsibility for representing Mrs. Slootskin at the hearings and subsequent briefing. In a 1999 decision, the hearing officer ruled that Inessa Slootskin was the victim of intentional and unlawful age discrimination by John Brown and awarded damages of $115,775. Mrs. Slootskin was unemployed for years following her termination, and even after she found work in a related field through a senior citizen employment program, she was never able to earn a salary comparable to the one at John Brown. In presenting the case on Mrs. Slootskin’s behalf, our firm joined forces with staff counsel for the CHRO, who agreed that the case had merit. The CHRO hearing officer, however, limited the damages to the period prior to March, 1994 on the theory that Mrs. Slootskin would have been laid off anyway by that time, even without job discrimination. The problem with that theory is that there was no evidence to support it, and our firm filed an appeal from that ruling with the Connecticut Superior Court. David Cohen and associate Alex Sherman handled the appeal and the subsequent proceedings. The Superior Court, over vigorous objection by John Brown, agreed that there was no evidence to support the limitation on Mrs. Slootskin’s damages, and it ordered a new hearing to assess full damages to remedy the discrimination. John Brown continued to fight its responsibility for any further damages, and it pursued an appeal to the Connecticut Appellate Court. After briefing and oral argument, the Appellate Court issued a decision affirming that Mrs. Slootskin’s right to adequate damages had been infringed by the original CHRO decision, and the case had to be remanded to the CHRO for an additional hearing on the damages award.

In March 2003, nearly 11 years after she was unlawfully fired, Inessa Slootksin appeared at a new agency hearing to press her claim for full damages. Once again, John Brown, through its counsel, insisted that full compensation had already been awarded, and Mrs. Slootskin was not entitled to another penny. After the hearing and a further round of briefing, the new CHRO human rights referee rendered a decision in April, 2003 awarding an additional $453,025 to Mrs. Slootskin, so that the total damages awarded to her in the case amount to more than $568,000, the largest amount ever awarded to a victim of employment discrimination in the history of the CHRO. Mrs. Slootskin, now an employee of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and 64 years of age, is contemplating the possibility of retirement later this year. She immigrated to the United States as a refugee from the former Soviet Union many years ago with a steadfast conviction that America is a land of opportunity for those willing to work hard and that the American legal system can by relied upon by ordinary citizens seeking justice. Although her case lasted far longer than anyone might have dreamed when she came to Wofsey Rosen years ago, our firm considers it a privilege to have assisted in demonstrating that her reliance on our system of justice was well-founded.

FIRM SETTLES PERSONAL INJURY CASE FOR MORE THAN AMOUNT OF COVERAGE

Partner Steve Finn recently settled a personal injury case on behalf of a pedestrian who was struck by a car. The investigating police officer placed the fault for the accident on our client and the insurance company for the driver of the vehicle initially took the position that they would not pay any money in settlement. The insurance company offered nuisance value of $10,000.00. After the lawsuit was filed and depositions of the defendant and the investigating police officer were taken, the case settled for 100,000.00 over the amount of the liability insurance available to the defendant. The firm was able to obtain a settlement in excess of the available insurance based a claim that the insurance company’s initial position that it would pay nothing placed its insured in a position of jeopardy.

SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS WOFSEY, ROSEN VICTORY AT TRIAL

The Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut recently affirmed a jury verdict obtained by partner Steve Finn in a case arising out of a motor vehicle collision, in which our client suffered a herniated disc to her neck and an injury to her shoulder. The defendant claimed that our client was at least partially at fault in causing the accident. The case proceeded to a jury trial and the jury found the defendant not only negligent, but reckless as well, entitling our client to punitive damages. The ultimate recovery obtained on behalf of our client was over $967,000.00.