MICHAEL. FLAKE

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 18 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, motor vehicle 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 Labor Law case where the plaintiff, a painter, 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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. Plaintiff, claims to have slipped and fallen from the presence of accumulated snow and ice. Argued that the Village Code did not impose tort liability on landowners for failure to maintain the adjacent sidewalk.