NJ Judge Still on Bench Despite Mental Illness Finding – NBC New York
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The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has caused massive disruptions to businesses of all types, shapes, and sizes. In both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, “non-essential” businesses have been ordered to shut their doors for at least two weeks. Put another way, with a few exceptions, only gas stations, pharmacies, and grocery stores are permitted to continue business as usual. For bars, restaurants, breweries, and other hospitality establishments, take-out is an option, but the revenue from that will not fully make up for the lost revenue from the inability to open their doors to the public. Manufacturers will face disruptions in their supply chain. Construction companies will be unable to deliver projects due to disruptions with their contractors and suppliers. All business sectors will be facing some loss and looking to share the loss with their business partners and insurers. Here are a few legal issues that business owners should keep in mind in the weeks to come:
• Employment – For those businesses that can continue to operate, work from home should be strongly considered. Employers are encouraged to create set guidelines on how their employees should work from home. Employers should also be mindful that any injuries suffered by employees during working hours are subject to the employer’s worker’s compensation policy. Employers should also make it clear to their employees that while work from home during a pandemic is a viable option, employees should not construe this as a blanket “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and that in the future, all requests for such accommodation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
• Contracts – With so many businesses closing (either permanently or temporarily) or reducing operations, their ability to honor their contracts will be jeopardized. We can review any such contracts and determine if the business can state a valid basis for its inability to perform under the contract during a pandemic.
• Leasing – while most commercial lease agreements permit the tenant to suspend or reduce rent payments in the event that the space becomes unusable, in a situation like this, it is unclear if the tenant could make a valid case for failing to pay rent. Lack of revenue is not a sufficient justification, but this event is unprecedented in modern history. We can review all commercial leases to determine and potentially negotiate payment plans or settlements with landlords so that businesses can stay in operation.
• Insurance – business interruption insurance policies are available to businesses of all shapes and sizes to cover losses stemming from unforeseen events. In addition to traditional business interruption insurance, there is also contingent business interruption insurance which covers financial loss caused by disruption with customers and suppliers. Several lawsuits have already been filed against multiple insurance carriers seeking coverage for losses relating to the coronavirus pandemic and the New Jersey legislature is considering legislation that would require insurance carriers to cover losses incurred by businesses due to the pandemic. We can review your policies to determine if there is coverage for business losses
resulting from the pandemic. We routinely represent policyholders in disputes with their insurers and can take the necessary steps to get the insurer to honor the coverage you purchased.
Feel free to contact any of our attorneys if you have any questions. We are all in this together, and we are willing to do what is necessary to make sure that your business stays afloat.
The Ferrara Law Group, P.C. announces that on June 24, 2019, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey issued an order granting preliminary approval of a class action settlement regarding the fire that occurred at the Avalon at Edgewater on January 21, 2015.
Under the proposed settlement agreement, class members who submit a valid claim during the claim period will be entitled to an award of $3,000 per unit. The Court has scheduled a hearing for September 25, 2019 to determine whether to grant final approval to the settlement.
For more information about the settlement, a copy of the order granting preliminary approval can be accessed here. A copy of the proposed settlement agreement is available here.
Published 12/09/2017
Ralph Ferrara Esq. joins Construction Lawyers Society of America
The Construction Lawyers Society of America is an invitation-only, selective and limited membership international association of the world’s best construction lawyers. The composition of the CLSA is aggressively diverse, with recognition of deserving, experienced and highly qualified lawyers across all practices relating to the construction industry.
Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 :: workcompcentral.com
Judge Sanctions Applied Underwriters, Orders Attorney to Submit to Deposition
By Emily Brill
A federal judge in Nebraska has approved sanctions against the embattled Berkshire Hathaway affiliate Applied Underwriters for failing to produce documents, fully answer questions and make its attorney available for a deposition during litigation against New Jersey employment agency Tops Personnel.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Zwart ordered Applied to answer Tops’ questions fully, give Tops access to emails it requested and, in an unusual move, allow Tops’ attorneys to depose Applied’s attorney, Jeffrey Silver, who is also an executive at the company.
Applied Underwriters sold Tops Personnel a workers’ compensation insurance policy through its EquityComp program, which promised to save small businesses money by adjusting payments based on the number and cost of claims that were filed.
When enrolling in the program, employers sign an insurance contract with an Applied Underwriters affiliate, and a “reinsurance participation agreement” with Applied Underwriters, which governs the terms of the profit-sharing agreement at the heart of the company’s promise to save employers money.
The company has drawn fire for the way its RPA is worded — workers’ compensation consultant James Moore said he was “baffled” when he read it, and “the normal business owner never would have been able to figure it out” — and the fact that Applied Underwriters failed to file the document with state insurance officials.
The EquityComp program also drew fire for hitting employers with steep fees when they canceled their policies. A slew of dissatisfied employers alleged in lawsuits that the program was deceptive and failed to live up to its promise to save them money, often leaving them owing money instead.
Applied has responded by saying its programs save money for certain employers, and the dissatisfied companies faced price hikes only because of their workers’ compensation claims.
Tops Personnel signed an RPA with Applied Underwriters in December 2011. By May 2014, Tops was no longer insured through the EquityComp program. That month, the employment agency signed a document called a “promissory note” indicating that it owed Applied Underwriters $119,645.13. When Tops hadn’t paid by the next year, Applied sued.
Identifying who drew up the promissory note on Applied’s behalf has become a point of contention in the litigation currently playing out in Nebraska federal court.
During the lawsuit’s discovery phase, Tops asked Applied to describe the negotiations that led to the creation of the promissory note. The agency also asked which Applied employees had been involved.
After some back-and-forth, it came out that Silver, Applied’s general counsel, had negotiated the note on behalf of Applied. After this information came to light, Zwart decided to approve Tops’ motion to depose Silver.
Attorneys have to meet a heavy burden of proof in order to depose the opposing counsel, because deposing the opposing counsel can amount to a “harassing practice,” the federal court has held. In order to meet the burden, attorneys must prove that deposing the opposing counsel is the only way to gain relevant, nonprivileged information that is crucial to preparing their case.
In approving the motion, Zwart wrote that court documents filed during the discovery phase “clearly state that Mr. Silver is the only individual who was involved in negotiating the note on behalf of the Applied Underwriters.”
Applied argued that Tops could obtain the same information from deposing Tops’ insurance broker, Ted Juszczak, the other key party involved in the negotiations. But because Juszczak represented Tops in the negotiations, “he is not in possession of the same information known to Mr. Silver,” Zwart wrote.
One of Tops’ attorneys, Ralph Ferrara of the Trenton, New Jersey-based Ferrara Law Group, said that it came as a surprise to learn that Silver was a principal at Applied. Silver is listed as vice president of Applied in Zwart’s order. The company called him their general counsel in a recent press release.
“We found out that he was intimately involved with these negotiations, and we directed discovery toward that issue,” Ferrara said.
Ferrara said it isn’t illegal for Silver to represent Applied in litigation over a note that he was involved in drafting. But there are “conflicts involved,” he said.
Silver did not respond to requests for comment sent via email and left with his assistant on Thursday afternoon. Asked if Applied plans to appeal Zwart’s order or comply with its directives, Rob Stutzman, a public relations consultant working on the company’s behalf, said, “Applied is considering all of its options.”
In addition to compelling Silver to submit to a deposition, Zwart’s order sanctioned Applied for failing to comply with certain discovery requests. Zwart ordered the company to provide Tops’ attorneys with every email related to the note negotiation process. Applied said in court documents that the emails were unnecessary, and the discovery requests amounted to a “fishing expedition.”
“This case is analogous to a well-established football strategy — the best defense is a good offense,” Silver wrote in a court document filed July 7. “Tops has taken that concept to a new level, reflecting a pattern and practice of doing all that it can do to avoid addressing the merits of the lawsuit, which quite simply involve an unpaid promissory note.”
The court has not yet determined the cost of the sanctions, which will be linked to attorney’s fees and expenses. Ferrara estimates it will be about $10,000.
View this story online, with subscription, at WorkCompCentral.com by clicking here.
Published 31 January 2017
IR Global, the world’s largest exclusive network of advisory firms is delighted to introduce Ralph Ferrara of Ferrara Law Group P.C.. Ralph has joined IR as our exclusive Construction Law Member in US – New Jersey.
Ralph Ferrara Esq. is the founder of The Ferrara Law Group. His area of focus is on general litigation matters with a particular emphasis on construction and complex commercial litigation. Named one of the top attorneys in South Jersey (SJ Magazine, 2003 and 2004), Mr. Ferrara has extensive trial experience, having handled more than 200 trials, hearings and arbitrations combined. He also counsels clients in business practice, real estate development and acquisition and professional negligence.
Prior to starting FLG, Mr. Ferrara started and managed the Princeton, NJ office of Richardson & Patel, LLP. Mr. Ferrara was previously Managing Partner of the Cherry Hill, NJ office of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, LLP and was Chair of the firm’s Construction Practice Group as well as member of the firm’s Litigation Department. Prior to joining Obermayer, he chaired Wolf Block’s Construction Industry Group. Prior to that, he chaired the Litigation Department at Flaster Greenberg.
Mr. Ferrara was named as one of New Jersey’s “Super Lawyers” for 2009, 2010 and 2011 in both the New Jersey Super Lawyers magazine and New Jersey Monthly as well as in Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition highlighting construction/surety attorneys nationally (May/June 2010).
If you have a requirement in this area, please get in touch with Ralph directly or with the IR Global head office for an introduction.
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