On July 1, 2014 partner Mike Ryan presented at The Harmonie Group’s Construction Seminar in Chicago. The Group presented a mock trial of a construction defect claim brought in Illinois and Mike handled the direct examination of the insulation installer.

Mike also presented at the Group’s Transportation and Construction Litigation Seminar in Atlanta on July 23, 2014.

RRD partner Rob Laney recently obtained a dismissal of a legal malpractice case filed against his client.  The plaintiff lived in the first floor of a house owned by his elderly mother, who lived on the second floor.  In June 2009, the mother was removed from her apartment after the local police responded to a report from a Meals-on-Wheels employee that she had fallen and her apartment was not habitable.  She was taken to the hospital and then admitted to a long term assisted living facility two days later.  In order to get his mother admitted, the plaintiff signed an ad

On May 19, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a decision of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut granting a motion to dismiss filed by RRD Partner Michael Ryan and Associate Jonathan Zellner on the grounds that the underlying action was barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.  This doctrine—which developed from the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413 (1923), and District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S.

A federal district court handed RRD Partner Catherine S. Nietzel and Associate Jonathan C. Zellner a victory recently by dismissing a woman’s case against a West Haven police officer who she claimed failed to collect evidence of a motorist’s alleged intoxication.  She claimed the motorist who struck her as she crossed a street was obviously intoxicated.

On December 17, 2013, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a summary order affirming the judgment rendered in favor of RRD client Metro-North Commuter Railroad in a case tried in June of 2013. The case involved a claim by Metro-North employee Daniel Piroscafo, a conductor. Piroscafo sued Metro-North under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act, a federal statute that allows railroad employees to sue their employer in negligence for on-the-job injuries. Piroscafo alleged that he was injured when he fell on an icy train platform.

RRD partner John F. Costa and associate Liam M. West recently prevailed in the Connecticut Supreme Court on behalf of a defendant health care provider who allegedly failed to properly treat the plaintiff’s predilection for viewing child pornography.

RRD partner Beck Fineman obtained summary judgment on behalf of Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company in a case brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  In its decision dated March 12, 2014, the United States District Court found that neither Metro-North’s actions with respect to the plaintiff in this case, nor its practices overall, violated the ADA.

On March 5, 2014, a Hartford jury returned a defense verdict in favor of RRD’s client, a skilled nursing facility. RRD’s trial team of partner John F. Costa, associate attorney Nicole D. Wright and nurse consultant, Maureen Kaps, RN successfully convinced the jury that the nursing facility was not responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries.  The plaintiff’s attorney had asked for approximately $ 2 million in damages during summations. The 73 year-old patient had been admitted for rehabilitation following total hip arthroplasty.

Ryan Ryan Deluca, LLP is delighted to announce and congratulate its newest Partner, Beck S. Fineman of Stamford, CT.

2013 Super Lawyers® Business Edition magazine has named Ryan Ryan Deluca LLP the top mid-size litigation law firm in Connecticut for the third year in a row.

The firm was chosen based on the number of firm attorneys who have been selected to the Super Lawyers list in business practice areas, as well as a combination of metrics indicating the quality of those attorneys. Quality factors that were considered included the number of years selected to the list, inclusion on a top list and the average blue ribbon panel score.