Page 14 - 2016_0523_TOPVERDCITS

2015
TOP VERDICTS OF NEW YORK
-Continued from p12
COMPOSITION 2 male/ 4 female
FACTS & ALLEGATIONS On May 30, 2008, plaintiff’s decedent Ramadan Kurtaj, 27, a laborer, and plaintiff’s decedent Donald Leo, 30, a crane’s operator, worked at a construction site that was located at 1765 First Ave., in Manhattan. Workers were constructing a 34-story building. Kurtaj was working on the ground, installing plumbing, and Leo was operating a freestanding tower crane. The crane sheared off of its supporting turntable, and it collapsed. The crane’s cabin, in which Leo was working, plummeted more than 200 feet, struck a building and landed on pavement. Kurtaj became pinned beneath the fallen crane. The men sustained fatal injuries.
Leo’s mother, Maria Leo, acting as administrator of her son’s estate, sued the crane’s owners, J.F. Lomma Inc. and New York Crane & Equipment Corp.; the president of those corporations, James Lomma; another company that was believed to be an owner of the crane, TES Inc.; the premises’ owner, 1765 First Associates LLC; the project’s manager, Leon D. DeMatteis Construction Corp.; the project’s developers, Mattone Group Construction Co. Ltd., Mattone Group LLC and Mattone Group Ltd.; a company that had welded the crane’s turntable, Brady Marine Repair Co. Inc.; an entity that had inspected the turntable’s welds, Branch Radiographic Laboratories Inc.; and one of the project’s engineers, Howard I. Shapiro & Associates, Consulting Engineers, P.C. The estate alleged that Howard I. Shapiro & Associates, J.F. Lomma Inc., James Lomma, and New York Crane & Equipment negligently failed to ensure the crane’s structural integrity. The estate also alleged that Leon D. DeMatteis Construction, Mattone Group Construction Co. Ltd., Mattone Group LLC and Mattone Group Ltd. violated the New York State Labor Law. The estate further alleged that Brady Marine Repair and Branch Radiographic Laboratories were negligent in their repair and/or inspection of the crane.
In a contemporaneous filing, Kurtaj’s cousin, Xhevahire Sinanaj, and Kurtaj’s widow, Selvi Sinanovic, acting as administrators of Kurtaj’s estate, sued J.F. Lomma Inc., James Lomma, and New York Crane & Equipment. The estate alleged that J.F. Lomma Inc., James Lomma, and New York Crane & Equipment negligently failed to ensure the crane’s structural integrity.
The cases were consolidated.
J.F. Lomma Inc., James Lomma, and New York Crane & Equipment impleaded Donald Leo’s employer, Sorbara Construction Corp. The first-party defendants alleged that Sorbara Construction negligently failed to ensure the crane’s structural integrity.
Plaintiffs’ counsel discontinued the claims against Howard I. Shapiro & Associates and TES. The plaintiffs, Brady Marine Repair, Branch Radiographic Laboratories and Sorbara Construction negotiated pretrial settlements. Brady Marine Repair agreed to pay $800,000; Branch Radiographic Laboratories agreed to pay $180,000; and Sorbara Construction agreed to pay $3.5 million
During the trial, plaintiffs’ counsel discontinued the claims against Mattone Group Construction Co. Ltd., Mattone Group LLC and Mattone Group Ltd. The plaintiffs, 1765 First Associates and Leon D. DeMatteis Construction negotiated a settlement. Those defendants agreed to pay a total of $1.75 million. The trial continued against J.F. Lomma Inc., James Lomma, and New York Crane & Equipment.
Plaintiffs’ counsel claimed that the crane’s collapse was a result of a defective weld. They further claimed that the defendants willfully and recklessly failed to ensure the crane’s structural integrity.
During the year that preceded the accident, an inspection revealed a large crack of the crane’s turntable. The New York City Department of Buildings ordered immediate suspension of the crane’s use. The agency also specified that it had to approve any party that would perform reparatory welding. Plaintiffs’ counsel claimed that the defendants determined that the crane had to undergo replacement and welding of a bearing that facilitated movement of the turntable. The work was assigned to a China-based company, RTR Bearing Co. Plaintiffs’ counsel claimed that RTR Bearing doubted its ability to adequately perform the required welding, that RTR Bearing suggested that a U.S.-based company could properly perform the weld, and that the defendants were aware of RTR Bearing’s concerns, but that the defendants retained RTR Bearing. They contended that the defendants prioritized the lower cost that would be incurred if RTR Bearing performed the entire job. Plaintiffs’ counsel also claimed that the New York City Department of Buildings was not asked to inspect RTR Bearing’s work.
The plaintiffs’ expert metallurgist opined that the crane’s collapse was a result of a deficiency of a weld that RTR Bearing performed. The plaintiffs’ expert welder estimated that the weld was defective, that the defendants should have rejected it, and that the weld should not have been placed on the crane. Sorbara Construction’s counsel presented an expert welder who opined that RTR Bearing’s weld was the worst weld he has examined.
The defense’s expert welder opined that the weld was partially defective, but that the crane was safe. Defense counsel suggested that the weld’s failure was a result of Leo’s improper operation of the crane.
Defense counsel also contended that Brady Marine Repair and Branch Radiographic Laboratories inspected and approved RTR Bearing’s work. However, Brady Marine Repair claimed that it did not inspect RTR Bearing’s work, that it performed nothing more than a secondary weld, and that its weld was inspected and approved by Branch Radiographic Laboratories.
INJURIES/DAMAGES Kurtaj was trapped beneath the fallen crane. He was transported to a hospital, where he died.
Plaintiffs’ counsel claimed that Kurtaj suffered 36 minutes of excruciating pain. He was sedated, but witnesses claimed that he was moaning. Witnesses also claimed that Kurtaj ran when he saw the crane falling. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Kurtaj experienced pre-impact terror.
Kurtaj, 27, died May 30, 2008. He was survived by a wife. Kurtaj’s estate sought recovery of wrongful-death damages that included unspecified amounts for the estate’s past and future loss of services, $10 million for Kurtaj’s pre-impact terror, $25 million for Kurtaj’s pain and suffering, and punitive damages.
Leo was trapped in the crane’s cabin. Witnesses claimed that he unsuccessfully attempted to steady the crane, that he braced himself, and that he prayed. Plaintiffs’ counsel claimed that Leo experienced pre-impact terror. Plaintiffs’ counsel also claimed that Leo suffered 27 minutes of excruciating pain.
Leo, 34, died May 30, 2008. Leo’s estate sought recovery of wrongful-death damages that included the cost of Leo’s funeral and burial, damages for the estate’s past and future loss of services, damages for Leo’s pre-impact terror, and damages for Leo’s pain and suffering.
The defense’s expert pathologist opined that sedation greatly diminished the extent of pain that Kurtaj experienced. The defense’s expert biomechanical engineer opined that Leo experienced a fraction of a second of pain, though he conceded that he could not confirm when or if Leo became unconscious.
RESULT The jury found that the crane’s collapse was a result of negligent acts or omis- sions of J.F. Lomma Inc., James Lomma, and New York Crane & Equipment. The jury also found that the defendants’ negligence was wanton and reckless. The jury further found that Brady Marine Repair, Leo and Sorbara Construction were not negligent. James Lomma was assigned 61 percent of the liability; J.F. Lomma Inc. was assigned 20 percent of the liability; and New York Crane & Equipment was assigned 19 percent of the liability.
The jury determined that damages totaled $95,971,644. After addition of the money recovered via settlements, the plaintiffs’ recovery totaled $102,201,644.
ESTATE OF
RAMADAN
KURTAJ $77,344 Personal Injury: Past Loss Of Services
$576,000 Personal Injury: Future Loss Of Services $24,000,000 Wrongful Death: Survival
$24,000,000 Wrongful Death: Punitive Exemplary Damages $7,500,000 Wrongful Death: pre-impact terror
ESTATE OF
DONALD
CHRISTOPHER
LEO $42,000 Personal Injury: Past Loss Of Services
$250,000 Personal Injury: Future Loss Of Services
$26,300 Wrongful Death: Funeral Burial Expense $8,000,000 Wrongful Death: Survival
$24,000,000 Wrongful Death: Punitive Exemplary Damages $7,500,000 Wrongful Death: pre-impact terror
ACTUAL
AWARD $102,201,644
POST TRIAL Justice Manuel Mendez denied the liable defendants’ counsel’s motion to set aside the verdict.
EDITOR’S COMMENT This report is based on information that was provided by plain- tiffs’ counsel, 1765 First Associates’ counsel, Brady Marine Repair’s counsel, Leon D. DeMatteis Construction’s counsel and Sorbara Construction’s counsel. Additional information was gleaned from court documents and from an article that was published by the New York Post. The remaining defendants’ counsel did not contribute.
14 VerdictSearch’s Top New York Verdicts of 2015