Attorney Gabriel Rogers Lependorf's Legal Cases

Trucking accident

Doe v. Solid Waste Services Inc

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OUTCOME: $2.5M in New Jersey Truck Crash Case

A trash hauling company agreed on March 3 to pay $2.5 million to a motorist injured in a crash with one of its tractor-trailers, settling a suit in Essex County. [The motorist] was driving on the Ne ... w Jersey Turnpike near Newark on July 23, 2001, when the truck tried to move from the left to the right lane, hitting the left front of his car. The car struck a guardrail, turned 180 degrees and lodged under the truck's trailer. [The motorist] sued Solid Waste Services Inc. of Harrisburg, Pa., and its truck-owning subsidiary J.P. Mascaro & Sons, arguing the truck driver negligently changed lanes when [the victim]'s car was in his blind spot. [The motorist] suffered severe clavicle and left hip fractures and a ruptured urethra that resulted in incontinence and partial sexual dysfunction. [He] is still employed as an administrator in Jersey City, but has nerve damage in his left foot, which makes walking difficult, said his lawyer, Gabriel Lependorf, of Lependorf & Silverstein in Princeton, who was assisted in the case by partner David Silverstein. The defendants, represented by Stephan Fenster, a partner at Gallo Geffner & Fenster in Paramus, were prepared to contest liability and argue that [the victim] failed to undergo a medical procedure that might have mitigated his incontinence and sexual dysfunction. The case had been listed for trial. The settlement was reached after two days of mediation with retired Superior Court Judge Edward Seaman. The defendants had a $1 million policy with Wausau Insurance of Wausau, Wisc., and an excess coverage policy with AIG of New York.

Personal injury

Doe v. Canal Pointe Condominium Association and The Brickman Group LLC

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OUTCOME: $375,000 for Injuries in New Jersey Slip and Fall

At 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2004, the plaintiff - a resident of Canal Pointe condominium community in West Windsor Township, opened her garage door and walked down her driveway to toss a bag of garbage i ... n the trashcan. She slipped on black ice and fell, injuring her wrist. The Canal Pointe Condominium Associated, responsible for coordinating snow removal, had hired out The Brickman Group LLC to conduct the actual removal. The plaintiff sued Canal Pointe Condominium Associated and The Brickman Group. Property management expert Fred J. Malone determined, through discovery, that both defendants were negligent for knowing about condition. Plaintiff had been on the priority list for snow and ice because she had a steep driveway. Counsel argued that the association manager should have been more familiar with the weather conditions and know of the premises, counsel alleged, and failed to take due precautions.

Personal injury

Luciano v. Wood Street Housing Partners

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OUTCOME: $300,000 for Fall from Window

A Mercer County judge approved a $300,000 payment on Aug. 31 to a child who fell from an apartment window that lacked window guards despite his mother's request for them. On May 13, 2001, 3-year-old ... Carlos Luciano Jr. fell from the second story of the Esperanza Apartments in Trenton. He broke no bones but about four months later, his mother Gladys Aranzazu, noticed he had problems with hyperactivity, attention deficit, violent behavior and sleeplessness, and a psy¬chologist diagnosed post-traumatic tem¬poral lobe epilepsy, according to the suit. Aranzazu had checked off a box to request window guards on a 1998 lease addendum but the guards were never installed, says the family's attorney, Gabriel Lependorf of Princeton's Lependorf & Silverstein. Aranzazu sued the owners, Wood Street Housing Partners, and the man¬agement company, Interstate Realty Management of Marlton. Proving causation would have been complicated by a family history of psy¬chiatric problems, says Lependorf. Defense counsel Robert Rue, a Tuckerton solo, says Aranzazu admitted to treating physicians that Carlos' prob¬lems predated the accident. Superior Court Judge F. Patrick McManimon approved the deal, to be paid by Admiral Insurance Co. It includes $50,000 for Aranzazu and a structure that will pay Carlos a total of $600,168 by age 40, starting with $50,000 at age 18.

Car accident

Poole v. National Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh

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OUTCOME: $1.2 Million Awarded for Neck, Back Injuries

An arbitration panel on June 4 recommended an underinsured motorist's insurance award of $1.2 million for a woman's neck and back injuries in a rear-end car crash, though the plaintiff will recover onl ... y $900,000 in UIM benefits. Sharon Poole, a saleswoman, was driving a company vehicle on Route 130 in East Windsor on April 25, 1997, when it was hit by another car, says her attorney, Gabriel Lependorf. Poole, 49, formerly of East Windsor and now of Doylestown, Pa., had two disc removals and vertebrae fusions, and a vertebrae decompression. She is unable to work because of her injuries, says Lependorf, who handled the case together with David Silverstein, his partner at Lependorf & Silverstein in Princeton. Allstate Insurance Co., the carrier for the other car's driver, paid Poole its full $100,000 bodily injury coverage. Poole then sought UIM coverage from National Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, the insurer for her employer at the time, Moore North America of Parsippany. When National Fire refused Poole's request for its $1 million policy limit, she sued in Mercer County Superior Court. The case was referred to binding arbitration, as the policy required in coverage disputes, Lependorf says. National Fire paid $900,000 because it was able to count Allstate's $100,000 payment as a credit, says Lependorf.

Gabriel Rogers Lependorf's Legal Cases (4)

Doe v. Solid Waste Services Inc

Doe v. Canal Pointe Condominium Association and The Brickman Group LLC

Luciano v. Wood Street Housing Partners

Poole v. National Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh