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Gray·Duffy: Year in Review
By: Gary S. Gray, Managing Partner
The Year 2010 was an extraordinarily successful one for Gray·Duffy. We diversified and broadened the firm’s expertise with the addition of two new attorneys and achieved noteworthy settlements on behalf of our clients in many of our practice areas. Here are just a few of our representative successes:
In the area of construction law, we negotiated a creative settlement involving a repair protocol agreed to by the parties in order to bridge the gap between the claimed damages and the moneys available for settlement due to significant coverage issues with two separate insurance carriers. Ultimately, the case was settled for less than 10 percent of the original claim.
In the area of professional liability, our client, a surplus and wholesale lines insurance brokerage, was sued in a multi-party lawsuit for insurance broker malpractice and theories such as negligence, fraud, breach of contract, and unfair business practices. We obtained a dismissal with prejudice in favor of a client exchange for a waiver of costs.
Our employment law practice specialists obtained a settlement on behalf of a staffing agency in a retaliation claim filed by an employee and achieved a dismissal of a related claim of serious and willful misconduct. The plaintiff had alleged discrimination by our client, claiming that it refused to rehire him because he filed an Application for Benefits with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board after an industrial accident.
In a serious injury case involving a crane accident, the plaintiff made a settlement demand of $1,750,000 to cover medical expenses and lost income. After extensive settlement negotiations, we reached an agreement on behalf of our client, awarding the plaintiff only $80,000.
In a business litigation case, we represented a telecommunications contractor which was sued by a healthcare company alleging business interruption loss due to water intrusion. Plaintiffs’ initial settlement demand of $282,503.29 was eventually lowered to $29,750 after our thorough discovery revealed significant weaknesses in the claims. The plaintiffs accepted the final offer of $2,600 we made on behalf of our client.
We’re also proud to announce the addition of two attorneys who bring a wealth of experience to our litigation, mediation and personal injury practice areas. In our Redwood City office, we welcomed partner Richard M. Williams, who brought many clients from his large mediation and arbitration practice, including school districts and a major supermarket chain in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, a new geographic area for Gray·Duffy. In our Encino office, we welcomed Jack M. Liebhaber, whose particular specialty in automobile, motorcycle, and pedestrian accidents expands our personal injury practice area.
We wish you all a very promising new year and we look forward to 2011. |
