2015 NEWS…

• • • Harrington, Ocko and Monk, LLP (HOM), got into the holiday season this year by donating its time and efforts to two meaningful Westchester organizations, The SPCA of Westchester and The Pajama Program. Each year, the SPCA of Westchester has a Wish List of items needed for its shelter. HOM filled two baskets with needed items from their Wish List to help stock the shelves. HOM also donated goods to The Pajama Program whose mission is to provide One Million Good Nights. The organization holds reading parties for children who can pick out new pajamas and a new book. Again, HOM filled two baskets of new books and pajamas for the local Westchester Chapter. Additionally, Harrington, Ocko & Monk sent holiday cards to the American Red Cross to distribute to wounded American soldiers recovering in various hospitals letting them know their services are greatly appreciated.

• • • On December 2, 2015, Glenn Monk and Matthew Bremner of Harrington, Ocko & Monk, LLP, presented at the New York State Bar Association’s CLE program “Bridging the Gap” lecture series on Skillfully Handling Your First Deposition, 10 Tips for Success, which was attended by over 500 admitted lawyers and video-fed to locations throughout the state.

• • • In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals in Hutchinson v. Sheridan Hill House Corp., 26 N.Y.3d 66, 19 N.Y.S.3d 802 (2015) reviewed three trivial defect cases and ultimately set forth principles that make it challenging to win on this theory alone. In Hutchinson, the Court of Appeals cited to the Appellate Division, First Department case of Cassizzi v. Fordham University, 101 A.D.3d 645, 957 N.Y.S.2d 856 (1st Dep’t 2012), to reject Plaintiff’s argument that the trivial defect doctrine should be limited to municipal defendants or cases involving accidents on sidewalks. In Cassizzi, the Court affirmed the grant of summary judgment to our client, Fordham University, when the Plaintiff slipped and fell while descending an set of interior stairs within a building on Fordham’s campus. The Court in Cassizzi found that the photographs of the subject stair and the affidavit of plaintiff’s expert demonstrated that the defect in the stair was trivial. Further, the Court found that Cassizzi failed to present evidence indicating that the defect presented a significant hazard, notwithstanding its minimal dimension, by reason of its location, adverse weather or lighting conditions or other circumstances giving it the characteristics of a trap or snare. Glenn A. Monk and Dawn M. Foster litigated the case and Dawn M. Foster wrote and argued the brief at the Appellate Division.

• • • Harrington, Ocko & Monk LLP proudly announces that the firm has again been selected to the 2015 New York Metro Super Lawyers^® list. Harrington, Ocko & Monk, LLP congratulates its founding partners Kevin J. Harrington, Robert S. Ocko and Glenn A. Monk as well as our attorneys Adam G. Greenberg, I. Paul Howansky, Melissa (Walters) Cintron, Dawn M. Foster, Michael W. Freudenberg and John T.A. Rosenthal for their selection to the 2015 New York Metro Super Lawyers^® list. The firm would also like to congratulate Michael R. Wood and Matthew R. Bremner for their selection to the 2015 New York Metro Rising Stars. Additionally, Harrington, Ocko & Monk, LLP is proud to announce that Kevin J. Harrington and Glenn A. Monk were selected to the TOP 25 list of attorneys in Westchester County, New York.

• • • Paul Howansky, a partner in the firm’s Insurance Defense Litigation practice group, recently obtained summary judgment on behalf of its client in a wrongful death lawsuit involving a construction worker falling from a roof. In the motion, Mr. Howansky initially established that the accident arose out of the means and methods of the Decedent’s roofing work, not as a result of any dangerous worksite condition. Mr. Howansky then successfully argued that the client, as owner of the building, exercised no supervision or control over the Decedent’s work and therefore could not be held liable under Labor Law 200 or common law negligence. Consequently, we were able to obtain a conditional order of indemnification over and against the Decedent’s employer under both contractual and common law indemnification grounds, thus paving the way for reimbursement of the client’s defense costs.

• • Michael Freudenberg, Co-Chair of the Westchester County Bar Association Corporate & Commercial Law Committee will be the moderator and speaker at the WCBA CLE entitled “Catch It While You Can: Understanding the Duty to Preserve and Collect Electronic Evidence” on Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at Pace Law School.