Kahana Feld’s National Appellate Litigation & Consulting Group defends its clients from catastrophic property & casualty losses by applying world-class analytic and advocacy skills to the toughest problems in litigation. And we do so from the outset.
A misconception haunts the notion of appellate practice – all too often, private clients and carriers assume appellate intervention starts after a verdict. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our group represents the new modern hybrid of appellate practitioners who flourish when embedded in a case from the outset. Many of our clients now retain us on significant risks at the complaint stage, and occasionally even for purposes of pre-complaint liability and damages analyses. Our group handles traditional appeals, certainly – and writes post-trial motions, monitors trials, drafts and assists the nation’s preeminent trial teams with motions in limine, situates cases for mediation, and drafts and argues mediation statements, dispositive motions, and discovery motions. In short, we add value throughout the course of litigation to constantly apply a full-court press to shorten and end litigation, and substantially reduce our clients’ litigation and indemnity costs in even the most dangerous cases. And we do this seamlessly and in cooperation with the existing defense team, never interfering with, only supplementing, the defense strategy. This is why we are the industry gold standard and why the nation’s top litigation groups routinely request our retention.
Kahana Feld’s national group sets the cutting edge of this modern approach, applying their skills to fight for insured and private clients in all types of high-exposure property & casualty cases in all jurisdictions. As our clients know and appreciate, we are industry thought-leaders, and one of the fundamental concepts underlying our strategic approach is aggressive early intervention to avoid what we call “the end spend” – the devaluation of monies spent on litigation by spending too late in the process when the investment receives a far lesser return (higher indemnity and litigation costs). The same monies spent at the outset are a superior investment strategy, and make all the difference in positioning the case to the client’s advantage at the earliest possible opportunity. In the sage words of Ben Franklin, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ Even when retained late in the case, this strategy concept still applies, to the extent practicable, to predicting and attacking problems rather than reacting to them.
Illustrative Results
Secured summary judgment dismissing punitive damages and negligent hiring claims in a trucking case involving a wrongful death and a traumatic brain injury, which later resolved for a mere fraction of the $120M+ demand.
Won summary judgment for trucking defendant in 15-fatality, national headline-news-making bus crash case involving approximately two dozen plaintiffs, and even after a defense-side motion for recusal of the motion court on the basis of bias.
Obtained reversal of motion court decision and summary judgment in favor of insured in $170 million subrogation action arising from electric generating plant explosion on basis of contractual limitation capping damages below $5 million. Following a $20.7 million verdict against insured arising out of skiing accident, obtained a new trial on liability and remittitur of damages on appeal; later, in the middle of the re-trial, obtained complete dismissal of action on a motion to dismiss at close of plaintiff’s proof.
Obtained victory in nationally-reported mid-town Manhattan explosion on behalf of contractor; in this mass tort action involving over a hundred property and personal injury claims, following complex motion practice against massive commercial entity represented by three law firms, the grant of a hearing precipitated by our motions resulted in capitulation and discontinuance of the entity’s claims against our client.
Obtained victory on appeal and vacatur of $50 million verdict in motor vehicle accident resulting in quadriplegia to 22-year-old, and ordering of new trial on basis of evidentiary error and plaintiff attorney misconduct.
Obtained over $50 million in damages reductions in a New York Labor Law 240(1) action involving traumatic brain injury.
Obtained an over $4 million arbitration award following multi-day international commercial arbitration over valuation of stock warrants.
Obtained summary judgment dismissal/withdrawal of all claims against client and grant of common law and contractual indemnification against all remaining defendants in high-profile Manhattan East-Side mall premises liability matter arising from a shopping cart thrown over a pedestrian bridge that resulted in a $45+ million verdict against the remaining owner and security defendants.
Obtained multiple appellate victories following $30+ million verdict in bus crash litigation ultimately resulting in complete defense verdict on retrial.
Obtained late trial motion dismissal of all punitive and active negligence claims against client general contractor and contractual indemnification for the remainder in historic 11-month trial of multiple wrongful death crane collapse litigation ultimately resulting in $95 million verdict against the remaining defendants.
Obtained lengthy seminal decision curbing improper IME discovery practices by plaintiffs and resulting in new trial and costs and attorneys’ fees award against plaintiffs.
Obtained reversal and vacatur of $20+ million verdict and obtained new trial on liability and damages on basis of trial error.
Obtained extremely favorable $6 million settlement during pendency of appeal from $68 million judgment in traumatic brain injury case.
Obtained subrogation/indemnification recovery of $31 million out of $32 million judgment against recalcitrant third-party defendant in complex recovery action arising out of paraplegia injuries.
Obtained reversal of liability judgment against client in sex discrimination case.
Obtained reversal of summary judgment against insurer in subrogation action arising from wrongful death construction accident, ultimately resulting in $7+ million recovery by insurer.
Obtained vacatur of $12.7 million judgment against client for delay damages in Atlantic City “The Walk” construction project on basis of consequential damages waiver clause. Obtained dismissal of complaint in catastrophic quadriplegia injury product liability action against RV manufacturer.
Obtained remittitur of $100 million pain and suffering verdict to $1.8 million for catastrophic anoxic brain injury. The foregoing is just a sampling.
For a complete list of successful results of Kahana Feld’s litigation strategy and appellate practice group, please see https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-capowski-98794a4/ or request a pdf copy from tcapowski@kahanafeld.com.
