Newsroom
Andre J. Webb Presents at PBI’s Personal Injury Law Conference
Andre J. Webb presented at Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Personal Injury Conference 2023. Andre was a featured speaker on the PA Civil Procedure Primer and spoke on Discovery and Experts. The presentation was attended by nearly 200 attorneys throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
Successful Resolution of Lawsuit Alleging Foreign Object in Food
Andre J. Webb and Francis V. Bovio obtained a successful settlement on behalf of their client, a national restaurant chain, for a low four (4) figure settlement amount following a nearly six (6) figure initial demand. The matter involved allegations that a foreign object found in the Plaintiff’s food had to be surgically removed from the Plaintiff after being ingested by the Plaintiff at the restaurant. Following several requests and motion practice on producing the foreign object, Andre and Francis arranged for an engineer to inspect and test the object, which revealed that the object did not come from their client’s restaurant, resulting in a significantly lowered demand and successful outcome for their client.
GGM is pleased to announce its newest Litigation Associate Chantez Degraffenreid
GGM is happy to announce that we’ve added a new Litigation Associate to our growing team. Chantez Degraffenreid recently joined our Litigation group and will focus her practice on the defense of casualty, premises, products and trucking and transportation matters. Prior to joining GGM, Chantez was an Associate practicing in general liability, trucking/transportation, medical malpractice and insurance coverage. Chantez has experience in everything from pre-trial motions to arbitration briefs, depositions, hearings, motions, opinions and research. Chantez also previously served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Hon. Shanese I. Johnson in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas-Criminal Division.
Chantez graduated from Drexel University, Thomas Kline School of Law. She served as an Admissions Ambassador, Secretary of the Black Law Student Association, Mock Trial Team Member, Mock Trial/Moot Court Coordinator, a Marshall-Brennan Fellow, and a Diversity Pipeline Program Mentor. She also has experience in Pro-Bono matters.
Prior to Law School, Chantez received her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Political Science from Coastal Carolina University.
Andre J. Webb appointed Chair of ALFA International’s Future Leaders Practice Group
ALFA International is the premier network of independent law firms. Founded in 1980, ALFA International was the first and continues to be one of the largest and strongest legal networks. ALFA International has 140 member firms worldwide. ALFA’s 80 U.S. firms maintain offices in 95 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas, with the 60 international firms located throughout Europe, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Africa, Canada, Mexico and South America.
ALFA International’s Future Leaders Practice Group provides young attorneys with the professional development and practical skills needed to become the next generation of leaders who will carry ALFA International into the future.
Jeffrey Laudenbach Participates in the 2023 ALFA International Workers Compensation Seminar
The 2023 ALFAI Workers Compensation Seminar included a roundtable general session discussing the best strategies for achieving optimal performance from your claims and litigation team through the workers’ compensation claims process. To learn more about the topics presented, click here: https://bit.ly/3PYjFkh
German Gallagher & Murtagh Sponsors and Participates in the 5th Annual Philadelphia KCPA Golf outing.
German Gallagher & Murtagh was proud to sponsor and participate in the 5th Annual Philadelphia KCPA Golf outing. Another great event raising scholarship funds.
GGM is pleased to announce its newest Litigation Associate Audrey Melli-Mirza
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GM is pleased to announce the addition of a new litigation associate, Audrey Melli-Mirza. At GGM she will focus her practice on the defense of products liability, medical malpractice and casualty liability suites. Before joining GGM, Audrey practiced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, focusing on the representation of industry leadership and other management in various liability litigation, insurance defense and related matters in state and federal courts. Audrey also has experience in general business litigation, products liability, breach of contract, potential fraud and other misrepresentations.
Audrey graduated from the Temple University Beasley School of Law. While in law school, she served as Vice President of the Business Law Society; the President of the South Asian Student Law Association; the Vice President of the Affinity Group Coalition and a volunteer for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. Prior to Law School, Audrey received her BA in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy from Temple University.
Partner Jacob Lehman presents at ALFA’s Professional Liability Seminar in Chicago, Illinois.
On August 11th, Partner Jacob C. Lehman moderated the opening session at ALFA’s Professional Liability Seminar held in Chicago, Illinois. Entitled, Sword and Shield: Defeating and Defending Privilege in Professional Liability Claims, the session discussed the ways in which attorney-client and other privileges are implicated in professional liability matters and best practices for protecting or defeating privilege claims in furtherance of client objectives.
For more information or materials please contact Mr. Lehman (lehmanj@ggmfirm.com).
GGM Attorneys Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for 2024
GGM is proud to announce that Yana N. Shapiro has been selected to The Best Lawyers in America, and Andre J. Webb has been named to The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch.
The Best Lawyers in America recognizes the top four percent of practicing attorneys in the nation and is based on confidential client and peer evaluations, as well as extensive editorial research. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. For more information, please visit https://www.bestlawyers.com.
Jacqueline E. Schneiders and M. Dinora Smith Defend Order Granting Summary Judgment for Surgeon
Jacqueline E. Schneiders and M. Dinora Smith defended an Order granting summary judgment for a surgeon in a medical malpractice action filed in the NJ Superior Court in Camden County, New Jersey. Plaintiff moved to reconsider the Order, arguing the trial court erred in holding that Plaintiff failed to establish any deviation in the standard of care. Specifically, Plaintiff argued that her expert’s testimony that the standard of care was breached in not operating when CT findings required emergency surgery created a question of material fact. Also, Plaintiff argued that the trial court improperly applied a heightened burden of proof than required by New Jersey law.
Schneiders and Smith argued that the trial court properly granted summary judgment after spending 40 minutes reviewing Plaintiff’s expert reports during oral argument. Additionally, the trial court did not apply a new or heightened standard; it merely exercised appropriate judicial discretion in limiting Plaintiff’s experts to the opinions in their reports. Here, Plaintiff’s experts asserted an opinion against all physicians on the surgical team, even though the physicians treated the decedent on different days and at different stages of her condition. Plaintiff’s experts not only failed to specify how the defendant surgeon deviated from the standard of care, but also the care provided by the moving defendant surgeon aligned with the standard of care defined by Plaintiff’s experts. The trial court denied reconsideration of the Order granting summary judgment.
Thereafter, Plaintiff moved for leave to appeal the Order denying reconsideration in the NJ Superior Court – Appellate Division. Plaintiff argued leave to appeal should be granted as the trial court improperly usurped the role of the jury and placed a burden on plaintiff that does not exist in dismissing her claims against the defendant surgeon. Plaintiff further argued that interlocutory appeal was required to prevent a grave injustice as this case involved multiple defendants in a complex medical malpractice case with a pending trial date. Not addressing the purported error now could require the case having to be tried twice, which was unfair to the parties and a waste of judicial time and resources.
Schneiders and Smith argued that the motion should be denied as premature. Permitting Plaintiff to appeal was directly against the public interest and policy in New Jersey. “[A]ppeals prior to and during trial waste the time and resources of the parties. A system allowing frequent appeals before or during trial in many cases would result in the separate adjudication of each issue by the trial court and the Appellate Division.” Moon v. Warren Haven Nursing Home, 182 N.J. 507, 513, 867 A.2d 1174 (2005). Also, they argued the motion should be denied, because the trial court properly determined that Plaintiff failed to provide sufficient expert opinions to establish a prima facie case. The NJ Superior Court – Appellate Division agreed and denied Plaintiff leave to pursue an interlocutory appeal.
