Michael A. Flake

Partner

Michael is a litigation partner in the Insurance Defense practice group handling matters in state and federal courts. He attended Brooklyn Law School and earned Law Review honors.

For 24 years, Michael has been an experienced litigator and appellate advocate with a stellar record of success in defending cases at each stage of litigation from pre-trial motions, settlement, mediation, and trial and appellate wins. He has defended individuals, co-ops, homeowners, business owners and major retail corporations against personal injury claims. Michael focuses his practice on premises liability, construction and Labor Law claims, and various other negligence actions. Michael’s experience also includes the defense of insurance companies in first-party and third-party claims and coverage issues.

Prior to joining the firm, Michael was the lead partner in the White Plains satellite office for Smith Sovik Kendrick & Sugnet P.C..

Representative Matters:

• Represented a general contractor and won summary judgment in Westchester County on a difficult Labor Law case where the plaintiff and his co-worker were painters preparing the walls in one of the rooms of a one-family residence. The Court ruled plaintiff was unable to identify the source of the materials on his boot, and the debris present on the subject construction site was an open and obvious condition that was readily observable and not inherently dangerous. As a result, the Court dismissed the complaint in its entirety.
• Represented a contractor and obtained summary judgment in defense of a shoulder injury case where Plaintiff alleged the defendant failed to install temporary safety railings on the deck it constructed for Plaintiff. The subject construction contract specifically excluded the construction of deck railings. The Supreme Court and the Appellate Division, First Department rejected Plaintiff’s arguments and found no breach of contract because the Company only contracted to build a deck, not the railings.
• Represented a contractor and obtained summary judgment in defense of a shoulder injury case where Plaintiff alleged the defendant failed to install temporary safety railings on the deck it constructed for Plaintiff. The subject construction contract specifically excluded the construction of deck railings. The Supreme Court and the Appellate Division, First Department rejected Plaintiff’s arguments and found no breach of contract because the Company only contracted to build a deck, not the railings.
• Represented a snowplow contractor and obtained summary judgment in King County Supreme Court where the plaintiff, a pedestrian, argued that the defendant snow removal contractor was liable for her slip and fall on an icy sidewalk adjacent to co-defendant landowner’s property. Michael successfully argued that the contractor owed no duty of care to the plaintiff and otherwise did not launch a force or instrument of harm in its snow removal efforts a week prior to the accident.
• Represented the ramp contractor inside a medical office building and obtained a summary judgment award in the Bronx County Supreme Court. The plaintiff alleged that he tripped and fell while wheeling a filing cabinet on a hand truck, up a ramp at the defendant/third-party plaintiff’s premises. The Court determined that there was no evidence that our client created or had actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition.
• 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.
• Represented a restaurant in a sidewalk slip and fall action and obtained an award of summary judgment in Westchester County Supreme Court and successfully defeated plaintiff’s appeal to the Appellate Division, Second Department. This action allegedly occurred on the public sidewalk outside the premises in Ossining, New York when plaintiff claims to have slipped and fallen from the presence of accumulated snow and ice. Argued that the Village of Ossining Code did not impose tort liability on landowners for failure to maintain the adjacent sidewalk.
• 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.
• Represented a Westchester College and obtained an award of summary judgment in Suffolk County Supreme Court where the plaintiff alleged that she fell on a hole in a grassy area while setting up for a drive-in movie event. Michael proffered evidence that the grounds keeper inspected the 16,745 square foot lawn area from a push mower and found no hole condition. The Court determined that the College neither created nor had actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition.
• Represented a Bronx County University and obtained an award of conditional contractual indemnification against the co-defendant cafeteria in a subsequent fall on liquid at the university cafeteria. Michael defeated plaintiff’s claim of spoliation of evidence of the recently renovated staircase, and the Court determined plaintiff’s testimony demonstrated that the University had no notice of inadequate lighting.
• Represented property owners and a construction company in Queens County Supreme Court on a difficult Labor Law case where the plaintiff allegedly tripped and fell over a shovel. Our motion for summary judgment was granted on the grounds that plaintiff’s employer was responsible for the shovel and the housekeeping on the floor of the accident so as to not constitute a violation of New York’s Industrial Code.
• Represented a Queens County University at trial and obtained a pre-verdict settlement whereby the co-defendant subcontractor agreed to pay for 80% of the settlement.
• Michael Flake won summary judgment, which was recently affirmed at the Appellate Division, First Department, in a New York County case in a difficult Labor Law case. While on a skyscraper rooftop, the commercial window washer Plaintiff was walking on the building roof at ground level when he allegedly slipped on moisture present on a metal grated platform cover, causing several injuries, including multiple lumbar surgeries. The First Department ruled that the Lower Court properly dismissed the Labor Law §241(6) claim became the statute does not apply to routine exterior window washing. The Lower Court also properly dismissed the common-law negligence and Labor Law §200 claims because defendants established that they lacked actual and constructive notice of the wet grille on which plaintiff allegedly slipped and fell.