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Two of the firm’s partners — Michael J. Boranian, who heads the firm’s medical malpractice group, and Christopher T. Cafaro — were named to the list of New York Metro Super Lawyers for the year 2020. Super Lawyers is an exclusive list, with no more than 5% of the attorneys statewide being named to the list.

Mr. Boranian was recognized by Super Lawyers in the practice areas of Personal Injury – Medical Malpractice: Defense. He joined Montfort Healy in 2005 as senior trial counsel and became partner in 2008. Over his 32-year career, Mr. Boranian represents large hospital centers and individual physicians, nurses, physician assistants and other medical providers in the defense of high-exposure orthopedic, obstetrical, cardiological, neurological and general medical claims and lawsuits.

Mr. Boranian is admitted to practice law in the states of New York and New Jersey. He is a member of the Nassau-Suffolk Trial Lawyers Association, the New York State Bar Association, Nassau County bar association and its Medical Malpractice Committee, and the Armenian Bar Association. He also serves as a Director of the Rockville Centre Education Foundation and is Executive Vice President of the Friends of Mercy Medical Center.

For the ninth year in a row, Mr. Cafaro was recognized by Super Lawyers in the practice area of Civil Litigation: Defense. His concentrates his practice includes construction and labor law. He has successfully litigated complex labor law cases involving contractual indemnification, anti-subrogation and coverage issues on cases involving catastrophic injuries.

Mr. Cafaro is admitted to practice in New York State and before the U.S. District Court, Northern, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Nassau County Bar Association, the Grievance Committee for the 10th Judicial District of Nassau County, the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel and the Moot Court Board.

The New York Appellate Division, Second Department issued a ruling in favor of a client represented by Montfort, Healy, McGuire, and Salley on February 19, 2020. The firm represented the defendant-respondent in the case, who was accused of having negligently caused injuries to the plaintiff-appellant in a 2007 motor vehicle accident. The case was on appeal after a lower court ruled in our favor to strike the plaintiff’s complaint.

The case in question, Turiano v. Schwaber (2020 NY Slip Op 01200), arose out of a motor vehicle accident that occurred on April 5, 2007, in which the plaintiff alleged the firm’s client had acted negligently. The plaintiff sued our client on December 31, 2007 over injuries she allegedly sustained in the accident, which brought about the beginning of the litigation. An initial deposition of the plaintiff was conducted on October 17, 2008 and went ahead without issue.

However, in May 2012, the plaintiff filed a notice of issue (which was subsequently vacated), with respect to a surgery on her right foot that she underwent in June 2014. The plaintiff alleged that the damage the surgery was intended to repair was caused by the same accident which was the basis for this lawsuit. To that end, a second deposition was scheduled for August 17, 2015, but we were unable to complete the deposition and had to reschedule.

The deposition would again be postponed multiple times, including once in September 2016 after both the plaintiff and her attorney failed to appear without explanation. They also did not appear for the conference that was scheduled three days later. At that point, the court directed the plaintiff and her attorney to appear at a conference on October 13, 2016, which they also failed to attend. After all these failures to appear, we moved to strike the complaint, as the plaintiff either could not or would not appear for a deposition in her own lawsuit.

In a November 2016 appearance, the plaintiff claimed the failure to appear was a result of her attorney’s poor health and claimed a new deposition had been scheduled for January 12, 2017. However, no new deposition had been scheduled that we were aware of, and additionally, the plaintiff failed to submit documentation verifying the attorney’s alleged health problems. As a result, the court struck the complaint, which would have ended her case right there. Unsurprisingly, the plaintiff then appealed the decision to try to preserve her case against dismissal.

On appeal, the Appellate Division gave us a victory, albeit a qualified one. While the court agreed that the conduct of the plaintiff was inappropriate and worthy of sanction, the Appellate Division instead modified the lower court order, determining that striking the complaint was too severe a punishment for simply missing depositions. However, the plaintiff was precluded from introducing evidence related to the foot injury that she alleged was the result of the accident in April 2007, and which resulted in her surgery in June 2014. As a result, she will not be able to bring additional evidence of new injuries against our client, preventing her from seeking additional damages related to the foot injury or the surgery.

To read a full copy of the decision, click here.

On July 1, Michael Boranian, a senior partner with the firm, successfully obtained a verdict on behalf of a local medical center and health care system, which he defended in a medical malpractice case. The trial, which was held at New York State Supreme Court, Nassau County, took seven weeks.
Continue reading “Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley’s Michael Boranian Successful in Medical Malpractice Case”

On November 28, 2018, the Appellate Division, Second Department unanimously issued an order granting Summary Judgment in favor of Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley.  The case involved a four-car-chain collision on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania in which the plaintiff was a passenger in the second vehicle.  MHMS represented the driver of the second vehicle (“Ibrahim”) and moved for summary judgment arguing that Ibrahim did not cause or contribute to plaintiff’s injuries in any manner. While plaintiff did not oppose the motion, the other defendants opposed the motion arguing that an issue of fact existed as to whether Ibrahim had abruptly stopped.
Continue reading “Montfort Healy wins Choice of Law Argument on Appeal”

Michael Boranian, a senior partner with the firm, once again served as chairman of the Friends of Mercy Medical Center’s annual golf tournament. Mr. Boranian, executive vice president of The Friends, joined in recognizing honorees Brian Falgoust, Greg Falgoust, Michael Bianco and Al Murray of United Sleep Diagnostics at the 37^th Annual Friends of Mercy’s Golf Classic, which took place on October 10 at Garden City Country Club. The four were recognized for their longstanding partnership with Mercy to create quality sleep programs for those who work in demanding fields.
Continue reading “Michael Boranian Recognizes United Sleep Diagnostics at Annual Golf Tournament”

In a case involving a trip and fall, partner Jim Murphy was successful in arguing the Village of Freeport was not liable for the plaintiff’s injuries. The case involved a 2015 trip and fall that occurred after the plaintiff fell on a pothole on the roadway in front of a condominium complex in Freeport, New York. The plaintiff brought an action against the Village of Freeport for the injuries she sustained. Montfort Healy, in representing the Village, brought a motion for summary judgment asserting that the Village was not liable for the plaintiff’s injuries.
Continue reading “Montfort Healy McGuire and Salley’s Jim Murphy Successful in Motion for Summary Judgment”

Law Firm Has a Long History with the Organization Which Can Be Traced Back to the Firm’s Founder

(MHMS) has announced that James Michael Murphy, the Firm’s Managing Partner, has been elected Chairman of the Nassau Suffolk Trial Lawyers Association. He is the sixth partner from the Firm to be elected to this position within the organization.

 

Montfort Healy has deep roots in the Nassau Suffolk Trial Lawyers Association. The association was founded in 1962 by Hy Herman, who served as its first Chairman, and Fredric Montfort, who founded the firm. The purpose of the organization has been to promote and foster collegiality between the judges and the attorneys who litigate cases in the Supreme Court of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Since the organization’s founding, six partners from MHMS have served as Chairman of the group.

 

Mr. Murphy concentrates his practice in the defense of personal injury matters, including negligence, products liability, municipal liability and has handled a wide range of matters, such as police liability, employment discrimination, contract actions, claims involving public utilities and insurance matters. He has taught an accredited Continuing Legal Education program at Hofstra Law School entitled “Liability Issues in Automobile Cases.” In addition, he has frequently lectured before institutional clients and risk managers.

 

Mr. Murphy is admitted to practice in New York and Florida, and before the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Nassau County Bar Association and the Florida Bar. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego (cum laude) and Albany Law School of Union University (cum laude).

 

“It is an honor to be selected to lead an organization with such a long history of serving Long Island’s legal community,” Mr. Murphy said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues and members of the judiciary to support and fulfill its mission.”

 

For more information, call (516) 747-4082 or visit www.mhms-law.com.

Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley’s Jim Murphy successfully argued that The Incorporated Village of Freeport (“The Village”) was not liable for injuries caused by a defective sidewalk. The case was brought against the Village in the Supreme Court of Nassau County after an individual tripped and fell due to a brick walkway installed by the Village. Although plaintiff testified that she was not looking where she was walking and did not see the depressed brick that caused the fall, she argued that the Village was liable for the injuries she suffered.
Continue reading “Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley Successful in Motion for Summary Judgment”

Michael A. Baranowicz, Donald S. Neumann, Jr., and Christopher T. Cafaro were successful in arguing the Supreme Court of Suffolk County’s decision to grant summary judgment in their favor should be affirmed in a personal injury manner.

 
The case was brought by an individual who was riding his motorcycle on Montauk Highway when he was allegedly struck in the chest by a wire that had come loose from a utility pole. The contact with the wire caused the motorcyclist to fall off his motorcycle and sustain injuries.  The individual brought an action against Verizon New York (represented by Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley) as they owned the subject utility pole along with additional defendants.  The additional defendants included DF Stone Contracting, Ltd., who was performing work in the location of the accident; Nelson & Pople, LLP, the engineering consultant on the subject project; and the County of Suffolk, the owner of the sidewalk and roadway in the area of the accident.

 
The Supreme Court of Suffolk County granted summary judgment in favor of Verizon New York along with the defendants Nelson & Pope, DF Stone Contracting and the County of Suffolk.

 
On appeal, the attorneys from Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley were successful in arguing Verizon New York was not liable for the motorcyclist’s injuries.  The Second Department found that the attorneys made a prima facie showing that they did not create the hazardous or defective condition.  Additionally, they found that Verizon New York had no notice of the existence of the downed wire.  Because the plaintiff was unsuccessful in raising an issue of fact, summary judgment was affirmed in favor of Verizon New York.

 
As for the other defendants, the Second Department noted that DF Stone was allegedly performing work at the time of the accident, and had been unloading asphalt from a dump truck whose bed, when fully extended, reached above the height of the wire which caused plaintiff’s injuries.  The court found that in their motion for summary judgment, DF Stone failed to eliminate any question of fact as to whether it created the dangerous condition.

 
For defendant N&P, the Court found that they made a prima facia showing that it did not have control over the work site or actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition. The Court elaborated, stating that N&P’s right to generally supervise the work and stop the contractor’s work if they are aware of a safety violation, does not amount to the supervision and control of the work site that would hold them liable for the negligence of the contractor performing the day to day operations.  The plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact regarding N&P’s control for the contractor.

 
Thus, the Second Department modified the Order of the Supreme Court of Suffolk County, denying the motion for summary judgment of DF Stone and affirming the decision to grant summary judgment to Verizon, N&P and the County of Suffolk.

 
To read a full copy of the decision click here.