Biography
Mr. Bermack is a partner in the New York office and is the Co-Leader of the firm's Retail Industry Team. He is a skilled trial attorney with significant first chair jury trial experience and numerous reported defense verdicts. He focuses on civil claims involving products liability, construction and labor law, premises liability, trucking liability and personal injury, professional and medical negligence and he litigates commercial disputes involving land use, banking, shareholder rights and fiduciary breach. He represents national retailers, trucking companies, automobile manufacturers, medical and legal professionals, self and large retention insureds and liability insurance carriers. He has successfully prosecuted and defended insurance coverage suits on behalf of carriers and insureds and has substantial experience defending federal class action law suits brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Mr. Bermack is a New York State licensed property and casualty insurance broker and regularly counsels clients on risk management, safety, insurance and indemnity issues.
Legal Experience
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LeClairRyan, New York, New York, November 2009 - Present
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Callan, Koster, Brady & Brennan, LLP, New York, New York, 1989 - 2009
Memberships and Affiliations
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Council on Litigation Management (CLM): Chair, New York Labor Law Subcommittee of the Construction Committee
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New York State Bar Association
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Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS)
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National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association (NRRDA): Member, Board of Directors
Distinctions
- Elected to New York Super Lawyers 2011 in the areas of Personal Injury Defense: Products, Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice, Construction Litigation
- Listed in the Corporate Counsel edition of Super Lawyers in the area of Personal Injury Defense: Products, 2010
- Elected to New York Super Lawyers 2009 in the areas of Personal Injury Defense: Products, Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice, Construction Litigation
- Elected New York Super Lawyers 2008
- Appointed to NYS Bar Association, Committee on Civil Practice Laws and Rules
- Defense Verdict selected as "Best of 2004" in a Special Section of the March 21, 2005 New York Law Journal: Scott W. Bermack's August 2004 jury trial victory in B&S Auto Paint Distributors, Inc. v. Hanover Insurance Co is cited as one of the top defense wins of the year
Experience
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Premises Liability
- Obtained a defense verdict on damages in a case brought by a pedestrian who claimed to have sustained brain damage when was struck in the head by a slab of glass that fell from the marquee of a Manhattan skyscraper. The jury found that the plaintiff did not lose consciousness as he claimed and believed he was exaggerating the extent of his injuries to such a degree that he deserved no damages.
- Awarded summary judgment dismissing all Labor Law and negligence claims brought against a leading importer of wine and spirits and its general contractor by a dockworker, who fell from a floating stage while repairing a bulkhead. The plaintiff sued under New York's "scaffold law" which provides for strict liability if a worker is injured while working at an elevated worksite.
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Products Liability
- Won a defense verdict in favor of a Michigan corporation in a product's liability case involving a conveyor-driven document shredding system. The case was brought in Brooklyn, NY by a paper sorter who claimed his arm became caught in the machine due to a defective design and a failure to warn by the manufacturer. The jury disagreed, determining that the product was reasonably safe and that the accident happened because the plaintiff did not heed his employer's instructions and because he failed to exercise common sense.
- Won summary judgment on behalf of the developer and general contractor of a Midtown Manhattan luxury apartment building. Plaintiff, an employee of the concrete subcontractor, was seriously injured when the crane's bucket dropped uncontrollably, causing him to be struck by falling construction materials. Summary judgment had been granted against our clients under Labor Law Section 240 and we pursued a products liability claim against the lessor of the tower crane, successfully arguing that because they provided a defective tower crane, they were required to indemnify our clients for the full amount of any judgment.
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Tort Defense
- Won a motion for summary judgment filed on behalf of a driver involved in a serious motor vehicle accident that occurred in Poughkeepsie, NY. The plaintiff sustained catastrophic injuries while a passenger in a vehicle being operated by the co-defendant. He brought suit in New York State Supreme Court, Dutchess County, alleging that each defendant shared fault for the accident. After considering our motion, Justice Pagones disagreed with plaintiff, ruling that our client was not negligent and that the co-defendant was solely responsible for the horrific crash.
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Insurance Coverage
- Retained by the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy after the carrier denied coverage on the basis of non-payment of premium. Suit was instituted and the carrier paid in full.
- Provided counsel to leading manufacturer of artisan bakery products on the submission of a proof of loss claim to its insurance carrier following a catastrophic failure of a new oven. As a result of our efforts, the insurer reversed its position and tendered its full policy limits.
- Won a jury trial in Supreme Court, Bronx County, on behalf of a national insurance carrier sued for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, violations of the Insurance Law, negligence and bad faith following the denial of insurance coverage after a fire. At trial, we argued that the denial of coverage was proper under the terms of the insurance contract because the insured intentionally submitted altered invoices and fraudulent evidence of loss. The jury, in unanimously finding in favor of our client, determined that despite sustaining a complete loss as a result of a devastating fire, the plaintiff wilfully misrepresented material facts by falsely swearing to their alleged damages.
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Medical Malpractice Defense
- Obtained a dismissal of all claims made against a prominent Manhattan Internist accused of malpractice by the family of a 79-year-old stroke victim who developed decubitus ulcers and died of osteomyelitis. Following a three-week jury trial, during which we successfully established that our client's care of the seriously ill patient was exemplary, all causes of action were dismissed with prejudice.
- Won a defense verdict in favor of a prominent Bronx orthopedic surgeon who was accused by one of his patients of mismanaging a lateral malleolar fracture. It took the New York County jury less than two hours to return a verdict in favor of our client, unanimously concluding that the doctor did not deviate from the standard of care.
- Won a defense verdict on behalf of an anesthesiologist charged with improperly giving spinal anesthesia to an anti-coagulated patient. The patient, who now suffers from severe nerve damage to both legs, claimed she developed a spinal hematoma in her thoracic spine as a result of the procedure. On behalf of the doctor, we proved to the satisfaction of the jury, that the spinal anesthesia was appropriate since the warfarin anti-coagulation therapy, which was started the night before her surgery, had not yet caused a hypercoagulative state. Moreover, we argued that the spinal lesion that led to her current disability was actually a calcified herniated thoracic disc, entirely unrelated to the spinal anesthesia.
- Secured a dismissal of all claims of medical malpractice brought on behalf of a brain damaged child against a Brooklyn ob/gyn who provided labor and delivery care.
- Won a defense verdict in New York State Supreme Court, New York County, on behalf of a accomplished Manhattan ophthalmologist accused of medical malpractice in the manner in which he evaluated a patient for monovision correction and in the technique used for LASIK correction. The patient, a successful 53 year old business executive, alleged vision loss, glare, halo, loss of ability to drive at night and loss of binocular vision and depth perception as a result of the surgery. Following a 6 day trial, the jury rejected the plaintiff's claims in their entirety and found our client complied with the standard of care in all respects.
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Other Representative Matters
- Obtained summary judgment, dismissing a putative class action law suit brought against a worldwide debt collection agency, sued for alleged violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In denying plaintiff's motion and granting our motion, U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser (EDNY) recognized that our client's collection efforts were perfectly appropriate.
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Education
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J.D., The American University, Washington College of Law, 1989
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B.A., Economics, Brandeis University, 1986
Bar Admissions
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New Jersey, 1989
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New York, 1990
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District of Columbia, 1991
Court Admissions
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U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1989
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U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1991
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U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1991
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United States Supreme Court, 2004
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