Brooklyn Boro

SKETCHES OF COURT: Fall due to yard debris yields $2.75 million damages award to plaintiff

December 4, 2017 By Alba Acevedo Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Court sketch by Alba Acevedo
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In this courtroom sketch, Hon. Karen Rothenberg listens as plaintiff’s attorney Ralph DeSimone (standing), of the law offices of DeSimone & Assocs., summarizes his arguments to the jury in the premises liability trial Longfellow v. Viera, Gonzalez, and Mi Escuelita. David Beke (second from left) is DeSimone’s co-counsel.

Christopher Longfellow attended a friend’s backyard party one evening in June 2012 in Williamsburg. He accessed the party through an alleyway, navigating around tree debris that a day care center tenant had bundled and placed after clearing their outdoor space. Leaving the party, Longfellow again crossed the alley in poor lighting with the assistance of his cellphone flashlight, but caught his footing in the branches of a large bundle. He was unable to stand after his fall, and left the scene by ambulance.

In the liability phase of the bifurcated trial, the jury determined that the tenant and the building owner were wholly responsible for the accident. A $450,000 settlement was reached with the tenant before the trial. Defendant’s attorney Jeffrey Kim (at left), of the law offices of Jeffrey Kim, Esq., represented the building owner.

Longfellow sustained bilateral quadriceps tears in the fall that avulsed his muscles, and sued for damages. The treating surgeon that operated on Longfellow’s tendon ruptures testified that it was inevitable that the 48-year old plaintiff will need double knee replacement and rehabilitation in the future. Longfellow has a life expectancy of 30 more years.

Kim noted that Longfellow’s complaints of pain on a scale of 10 were predominantly at the very low end. Notwithstanding, the jury returned a damages award against the owner for $800,000 as compensation for Longfellow’s past pain and suffering, and $1.5 million for future pain and suffering, in the trial that resolved last week in Kings County Civil Term. Court reporter Robert Frankel recorded the proceedings.

 

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