Date: April 9, 2019

Foley & Mansfield Prevails at California Appeals Court Defense Verdict in Severe Construction Accident Case Affirmed

by foleyandmansfield
Date: April 9, 2019
by foleyandmansfield

Foley & Mansfield Prevails at California Appeals Court Defense Verdict in Severe Construction Accident Case Affirmed

 

Foley & Mansfield secured an appellate victory for our client, ACCO, in a case involving indemnity and negligence at a worksite in Berkeley, California.

In 2016, Keith Ameele and Lou Klein of the Los Angeles office of Foley & Mansfield successfully obtained a defense verdict on behalf of ACCO, a mechanical services contractor, in a severe construction accident case in Northern California. Plaintiff sued the general contractor as a result of injuries sustained while working on a construction site. The general contractor in turn sued ACCO, a subcontractor, on a cross-claim. Importantly pursuant to the contract, if the jury found ACCO even 1% at fault, it would have been responsible for the entire verdict.

After a four-week trial, the jury awarded the plaintiff more than $2.6 million dollars in damages, finding that the general contractor was 100% liable for plaintiff’s injuries and ACCO was not negligent in any respect. The trial court awarded ACCO the attorney fees it had incurred in defending the indemnity claim brought by the general contractor.

On appeal, the Court of Appeals found the jury verdict was supported by the evidence. The Court of Appeals also affirmed the award of attorney fees to ACCO. The general contractor argued that ACCO had not suffered damages because the attorney fees incurred by the subcontractor were paid by insurance. The Court of Appeals noted the attorney fees were a contractual provision and that the general contractor should not be able to avoid its contractual obligation “based on the fortuitous circumstances that they sued a defendant who obtained insurance coverage providing a defense.” As a result, all the attorney fees and costs incurred by our client were the responsibility of the general contractor.

Margaret I. Johnson and Louis Klein of the Los Angeles office of Foley & Mansfield wrote the appellate briefs, while Johnson argued the matter to the Court of Appeal.

 

We invite to learn more about these remarkable attorneys – follow the links on each name. 

 

Margaret Johnson, Of Counsel, Foley & Mansfield

 

Related News

Partners Margaret Johnson and Mary Street Named Co-Chairs of Foley Mansfield’s Appellate Practice Group

Foley Mansfield is pleased to announce that partners Margaret “MJ” Johnson of Los Angeles and Mary Street of Miami have been named Co-Chairs of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. Margaret has over 30 years of appellate experience. She is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Associations Appellate Court […]

LEARN MORE

Foley Mansfield Achieves Mansfield Certification “Plus” Status from Diversity Lab

Foley Mansfield is proud to announce that the firm has again achieved Mansfield Certification, receiving the additional “Plus” status for the first time. The Mansfield Certification, facilitated by Diversity Lab, recognizes the structural changes and actions we have taken over 18 months to diversify candidate pools, pitch teams and pipelines […]

LEARN MORE

Foley Mansfield Welcomes Experienced Litigator Jonathan Lively to its Chicago Office

CHICAGO, April 6, 2023 – Foley Mansfield, a national law firm with 14 offices across the U.S., announced today that highly experienced civil litigator Jonathan Lively has joined the firm’s Chicago office as a Partner with the Toxic Tort/Mass Tort practice group. Jonathan has over two decades of experience defending […]

LEARN MORE