Office: New Haven

I have been working with business and insurance clients to resolve legal disputes for nearly 25 years. I am often called upon to litigate cases, but I also commonly conclude matters through negotiations, mediation or arbitration. I started my career with a civil litigation firm in New York with a national practice where excellent mentors provided opportunities for me to gain trial and appellate experience across the country. After becoming a partner, my case management responsibilities increased and became even more varied. In a given year, I might have trials in personal injury and employment discrimination cases, argue a federal appeal, mediate a series of construction worker injury and death cases, and litigate the cause of an aviation accident or the failure of satellites in orbit. I traveled to several continents over those years gathering discovery materials, securing affidavits from experts on foreign law and meeting with international clients.

To be closer to family, I joined Zangari Cohn Cuthbertson where I continue to utilize my experience and expand my practice. My partners here are accomplished in corporate transactions, estate planning, real estate and employment. I enjoy resolving disputes for our clients, while still handling the same types of matters that I litigated in New York. My practice includes business and shareholder disputes, probate litigation and trademark infringement, as well as wrongful death and personal injury defense and product liability.

Click on the link to the right to see a few representative decisions in cases I have handled over the years. However, many disputes should be, and thankfully are, resolved between the parties rather than by a trial. As a result, some of the most difficult, but successfully resolved matters do not end in published court decisions, but in confidential settlements. Here is a broad summary of some of my relevant experience:

When not in my office or in court, I spend my time with my family on our 18th century farm not far from the Connecticut shoreline, where our Australian Shepherds keep the deer from having a buffet with the produce that we grow. I try to keep my 13-year old from growing up too fast and I ride hunt seat at a local equestrian facility, where I have nearly mastered the art of falling off of a horse. Once or twice a year, I try to do some fishing and scuba diving.

Representative Cases:

• L.B. Windows & Doors, Inc. v. Signature Advertising, Inc., 2008 WL 5274345 (Conn. Super. Dec. 2, 2008)(successful result for defendant at trial and prevailed on counterclaim against plaintiff)
• Express Courier Systems, Inc. v. Brown, No. CV 064023011S, 2006 WL 3878086 (Conn. Super. Dec. 18, 2006) (granting former employer’s application for injunction to enforce restrictive covenants in employment agreements)
• Fallon v. The Matworks, et al., No. X01-CV-03-01854875, 2005 WL 896121 (Conn. Super. March 14, 2005)(granting motion of defendant U.K. manufacturer Heckmondwike FB Limited to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in Connecticut in action seeking damages for personal injuries allegedly caused by defective product)
• Sourial v Royal Air Maroc, No 99 Civ. 5993 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 18, 2000) (favorable result at trial for defendant in case where plaintiff, a discharged Royal Air Maroc employee, alleged employment discrimination and retaliation)
• Anamdi v. Sabena, No. 94-CV-482 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 10, 1997) (favorable result at trial for defendant in case where plaintiff alleged race discrimination with respect to services provided during international flight); see also related decision reported at 1995 WL 362524 (E.D.N.Y. June 13, 1995)
• Tiwari v. BWIA International, No. 96 Civ. 6649, 1997 WL 441944 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 1997) (granting airline defendant’s motion to dismiss on ground of forum non conveniens in action where plaintiff was arrested and incarcerated for possession of narcotics in Guyana)
• Roman v. Aviateca, 120 F.3d 265, 1997 WL 420177 (5th Cir. June 27, 1997) (decision on appeal relating to standing, jurisdiction and treaty rights between the United States and Nicaragua in action arising from aviation accident in Central America)
• Martin v. Purolator Courier, d/b/a Emery Worldwide d/b/a P. Chimento, No. 94 CV 1004, 1996 WL 429016 (E.D.N.Y. 1996) (granting defendant Emery’s motion for partial summary judgment in Title VII race discrimination case)
• Koehler v. Scandinavian Airlines System, 285 Ill.App.3d 520, 674 N.E. 2d 112 (Ill. App. Ct. 1996) (appeal affirming in part and reversing in part dismissal by trial court of action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under treaty known as Warsaw Convention)
• Cartas v. Smarte Carte, Inc., No. 92 Civ. 2597, 1995 WL 138841 (S.D.N.Y. 1995) (granting motion of defendants Mexican and Aer Lingus for summary judgment where plaintiff was attacked and stabbed at JFK airport)
• Cortes v. Delta Air Lines and Avianca , S.A. , 638 So. 2d 108 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994) (favorable result for defendant on appeal in action arising from personal injuries suffered by passenger embarking aircraft)
• Csizmazia v. Sabena Belgian World Airlines, No. CV-94-1593, 24 Av. Cas. (CCH) 18, 190 (E.D.N.Y. 1994) (granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the ground that plaintiffs’ claims were untimely)
• Liu v. Korean Air, No. 84 Civ. 0690 (S.D.N.Y. 1993) (favorable verdict for defendant in wrongful death damages trial arising from the Korean Air flight 007 shoot down by Soviet fighter jets on September 1, 1983); see also related decision cited at 1993 WL 478343 (S.D.N.Y. 1993) in which the Court granted in part the defendant’s motion in limine, excluding portion of expert testimony of plaintiff’s economist following a Daubert hearing.
• Levy v. Swissair, et al., No. 90 Civ. 7005, 1993 WL 205857 (S.D.N.Y. 1993), aff’d, 22 F.3d 1092, 1994 WL 126589 (2d Cir. 1994) (granting defendant’s motion for summary in action involving transportation of prisoner extradited from Cairo to U.S. )
• Gonzalez v. TACA International Airlines, Civ. A. No. 91-0175, 1992 WL 142399 (E.D. La. 1992) (favorable result for defendant at trial in action seeking damages for personal injuries, including heart attack, suffered during international flight)
• Bazzv v. Royal Jordanian Airlines, No. CV-92-1391, 23 Av. Cas. (CCH) 18,395, 1992 WL 106381 (E.D.N.Y. 1992) (granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment in action for lost cargo)
• Kleiner v. Qantas Airways, Ltd., 927 F.2d 593 (2d Cir. Jan. 4, 1991), affirming in part and remanding in part district court decision reported at 1990 WL 80047 (S.D.N.Y. 1990), and dismissal aff’d on second appeal, 970 F.2d 895 (2d Cir. 1992) (favorable result for defendant after two appeals in action seeking damages for personal injuries arising from foreign government ordered disinsectizations of commercial aircraft on flights entering Australia and New Zealand)
• Das v. Royal Jordanian, 766 F. Supp. 169 (S.D.N.Y. 1991) (favorable result at trial for defendant Royal Jordanian in case where the plaintiff sought damages for conversion of funds)