Kaitlyn Acerbo

Kaitlyn joins the insurance defense practice group as an Associate after working at the firm for over 7 years. Prior to joining the firm as an associate, Kaitlyn worked at the firm as a Paralegal and Summer Intern. She works on matters including construction site accidents, OSHA investigations, labor law violations, premises liability, and wrongful death claims. She is currently working on the defense of matters brought under the newly enacted New York Child Victims Act. Kaitlyn has also co-authored an article titled “Sports and Recreational Activities – Game Over? Or, Let the Games Begin?” regarding assumption of the risk doctrine as applied to recreational sports and playground safety. The article was presented at the 2019 annual Torts Insurance and Compensation Meeting.

Kaitlyn earned her Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Albany in 2009. In 2020, she graduated Cum Laude with her J.D. from Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. During her third year of law school, Kaitlyn was a Student Intern at the Pace Investor Rights Clinic, a part of John Jay Legal Services, where she represented investors of modest means in arbitrable securities disputes before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) Dispute Resolution. Additionally, Kaitlyn was a qualifier for the school’s National Moot Court Team and she participated in FINRA’s Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon.

Representative Matters:

• Represented a landowner and obtained summary judgment in Nassau County on a premise liability case where Plaintiff alleged a door swung shut too fast, striking her in the back, and causing her to fall sustaining injuries that required arthroscopic surgery. In granting summary judgment after oral arguments, the Court found that we established through the use of party deposition testimony, affidavits, and prior complaint logs, there was no evidence that the door was dangerous or defective, and the Plaintiff’s expert failed to raise a triable issue of fact in opposition. Additionally, Plaintiff was unable to provide evidence that she had reported issues with the door prior to the accident.

• Obtained summary judgment granting dismissal of a lawsuit against a construction manager, where a bicyclist allegedly hit a defect in the roadway and fell from his bicycle. The Court found that the we established through photos exchanged during discovery, and the sworn statements of Plaintiff, that the Construction Manager did not owe a duty to Plaintiff as it did not control or have special use of the area where Plaintiff’s accident occurred, nor did it create the condition in the road.