Michael Gallay (Partner-White Plains, NY) and John Vitagliano (Associate-White Plains, NY), assisted by office paralegal Michelle Natoli, obtained a defense verdict in the New York, in favor of Wilson Elser’s client, a Nassau County police officer, successfully concluding a contentious ten-year legal battle. The plaintiffs in this matter brought suit on behalf of the decedent, who died as a result of head injuries sustained in a motorcycle collision. The plaintiffs allege that our client and his partner (co-defendant with outside counsel) recklessly engaged in an unwarranted pursuit of the decedent for a low-level offense without flashing lights or a siren, causing the decedent to flee from the approaching SUV, which he allegedly didn’t recognize as a police vehicle. Our client and his partner observed the decedent riding a motorcycle after midnight without illuminated headlights or taillights. When the officers attempted to stop the decedent for a VTL (vehicle and traffic law violation) by turning on the vehicle’s flashing lights, he fled at high speed, proceeding through two stop signs and colliding with a car crossing the intersection. Wilson Elser contended that the client did not pursue the motorcycle when it sped away but proceeded in the same direction, arriving at the collision site soon after it occurred. Mike presented expert accident reconstruction testimony, establishing that the decedent was traveling 60 mph in a 30 mph zone just before the collision and that only the motorcycle’s rear brakes were applied, preventing the decedent from stopping in time to avoid the collision. After deliberations, the jury found that the decedent’s actions were the sole cause of the crash.

Case Note: Mike stepped in for trial after Janine Mastellone managed the file for 10 years through extensive discovery and multiple motions against a very contentious plaintiff’s attorney.​