Congratulations Suzanne Halbardier and Claire Rush: 2024 Super Lawyers Top Women of New York Metro

Barry McTiernan & Moore LLC is pleased to share that Suzanne Halbardier (Executive Partner) and Claire Rush (Partner and Senior Trial Attorney) have been selected for the Thomson Reuters, 2024 Super Lawyers Top Women of New York Metro List. This honor highlights the hard work and dedication they bring to their practice, as well as decades of experience in litigation.

Congratulations to Ms. Halbardier and Ms. Rush for receiving this recognition from their fellow peers and for being among New York’s top five percent of attorneys selected to Super Lawyers.

Congratulations to BMM’s 2023 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.

Barry McTiernan and Moore is excited to congratulate 7 of our lawyers who were recognized as 2023 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars!

BMM’s 2023 Super Lawyers are, Executive Partner, Suzanne Halbardier was selected for her fourteenth consecutive year for Environmental defense. Managing Partner, Alex Malino was selected for his second consecutive year in Constructional Litigation defense. Partner, Claire Rush was selected for her eleventh consecutive year for Personal Injury defense. Of Counsel, Roger "Paul" McTiernan Jr. was selected for his tenth consecutive year for Construction Litigation defense. Of Counsel, Richard Wedinger was selected for his tenth consecutive year for Civil Litigation defense.

We are also excited to announce BMM’s 2023 Rising Stars! Senior Associate, Ryan Rayder was selected for his first year for Personal Injury defense, and Associate, Edoardo Maffia was also selected for his first year for Civil Litigation defense.

Barry McTiernan and Moore’s dedicated and award-winning attorneys truly make us unique as a firm and well-known to the Tri-state legal community. They continue to show their enthusiasm, great work ethic, and individuality on a daily basis which puts BMM on the path to legal success.

Partner Claire Rush Obtains Defense Verdict in High Stakes Damages Case

Partner Claire Rush recently obtained a defense verdict in New York County in a high stakes damages case. Plaintiff was a passenger in a car driven by her son that had a minimal policy. Plaintiff sued her son and the Authority claiming that our client’s bus caused the accident because the defendant bus driver pulled out from a mid-block bus stop on Madison Avenue and struck the co- defendant's car.   Plaintiff argued that the bus crossed into the car’s lane, striking the right-side rear door causing the car to turn in front of the bus which resulted in the car being pushed 20-30 feet. The Authority maintained that the accident occurred in the intersection and was caused by plaintiff making an illegal right turn.   

Plaintiff, 48 years old at the time of this incident, alleged significant injuries, including left shoulder surgery, a right knee arthroscopy, a cervical fusion, and a lumbar laminectomy. Plaintiff allegedly developed failed back syndrome and experienced chronic unremitting pain.  She claimed that the pain rendered her unemployable. Since the lumbar discectomy plaintiff had 4 lumbar electrical stimulator devices inserted. Plaintiff’s demand was $17M. A future life care plan alleged up to $5M in future medical costs.  

Plaintiff identified one of her sons as damages witness on the eve of trial.  Ms. Rush took the son's deposition and elicited testimony that the plaintiff and her defendant son had made declarations against interest that undermined plaintiff's liability position. Through testimony from our client’s bus operator, the responding Police Officer, a passenger on the bus and cross-examination of the codefendant, plaintiff and the non-party witness son, Ms. Rush successfully argued that it was the plaintiff’s son who was the cause of the accident.  

After hearing the evidence, the jury found in favor of our client.  Congratulations to Claire Rush for another phenomenal result.

Suzanne Halbardier and Claire Rush selected to the 2023 Top Women Edition of New York Metro Super Lawyers

BMM is proud to announce that Executive Partner Suzanne Halbardier as well as Partner and Senior Trial Attorney Claire Rush have been selected to the Thomson Reuters, 2023 Top Women Edition of New York Metro Super Lawyers. This recognition is a testament to their work, dedication, and decades of litigation experience.

Each year, the Super Lawyers list recognizes New York's top five percent of lawyers based on independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.

Congratulations to Ms. Halbardier and Ms. Rush on receiving this recognition from their peers and being evaluated based on their professional achievements in their respective practice areas.

• Suzanne Halbardier is featured on the Environmental practice list

• Claire Rush is featured on the Personal Injury practice list

Claire Rush Named to the City & State NY 2023 Law Power 100 List

Barry McTiernan & Moore LLC is excited to announce that Partner and Senior Trial Attorney Claire Rush has been named to the City & State NY 2023 Law Power 100 List. This list recognizes the most influential legal professionals in the world of New York politics and government. The list includes high profile partners at prominent law firms who advocate for change and argue cases before our highest courts. As President of the Defense Association of New York, Ms. Rush vigorously urged Gov. Kathy Hochul's office to veto a Bill that would have radically expanded the class of persons and types of damages recoverable in wrongful death cases. She wrote op-ed pieces for newspapers and magazines and was quoted extensively in the New York Times and New York Law Journal regarding the myriad reasons why this bill would have undermined the stability of our civil justice system and denied civil defendants their due process rights. See,  https://www.cityandstateny.com/power-lists/2023/03/2023-law-power-100/384008/

In recognition of her advocacy work, Ms. Rush was appointed earlier this month by the Center for Law and Public Policy, a national defense think tank, to join their State Legislation and Rules Task Force.  On the State front Claire was tapped by the Supreme Court, Kings County to serve on a committee to develop a uniform discovery protocol for the handling of New York Labor Law § 200, 240 and 241(6) cases.  In addition to this advocacy work Ms. Rush maintains a busy trial schedule and has obtained 8 defense verdicts in the last year.

The firm congratulates Claire on her accomplishments, appointments, and honors.

Claire Rush Successfully Obtained a Defense Verdict in a Cyclist Collision Accident Jury Trial

Claire Rush, Senior Trial Attorney and Partner, obtained a defense verdict on November 1, 2022, before the Honorable Lyle Frank in Supreme Court, New York County. This case was commenced by a bicyclist who was struck by a cab. The cab driver had been precluded from testifying because he did not appear for a deposition. Ms. Rush was brought in as trial counsel when the plaintiff's counsel demanded the policy plus. Plaintiff claimed psychiatric problems, multiple injuries in the lumbar spine, to the shoulder, and fractures in several areas of the body. Plaintiff had multiple years of physical therapy and lumbar epidural injections.

Since Ms. Rush didn't have a liability witness she focused on attacking the plaintiff's medical claims. She made a number of motions in limine including one which successfully excluded an expert report served on the eve of trial, which claimed that the plaintiff would require over $1M in future medical treatment. During cross-examination, Ms. Rush demonstrated where the plaintiff initially sought treatment had excluded any fractures in the ankle and hand. She then established that these records showed that plaintiff never complained of back, shoulder, wrist, or psychiatric problems in the hospital. Further demonstrated the records showed that the plaintiff had previously sought treatment at a pain management clinic for low back pain. Finally, Ms. Rush demonstrated that plaintiff had falsely claimed he had discontinued treatment with the no-fault medical clinic because of Covid. Having undermined the plaintiff’s credibility on his damages claim Ms. Rush was able to successfully argue in summation that the plaintiff had failed to make out a prima facie case on the issue of negligence.

The jury accepted this argument and returned a verdict finding no negligence on the part of the defendant. Ms. Rush extends her sincere gratitude to the client and BMM trial prep team for the outstanding work they did to help obtain this verdict.

Senior Trial Attorney, Claire Rush Obtains a Directed Verdict in Supreme Court, Kings County

Senior Trial Attorney and Partner, Claire Rush obtained a directed verdict in Supreme Court, Kings County after almost two weeks of jury selection and trial.

The case involved a middle-aged woman who slipped and fell on a grassy area abutting a well-lit covered emergency parking area, after a rainstorm. The accident was captured by a surveillance camera. Prior counsel had moved for summary judgment and the Court had noted that a landowner is not required to protect against an open and obvious condition that is inherent or incidental to the nature of the property. The court found that the plaintiff should have anticipated the ground to be slippery because of the rain. The Court, however, denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment finding that a material issue of fact existed with respect to the adequacy of the lighting. Ms. Rush made a motion in limine to limit the scope of the trial to the adequacy of the lighting, under the theory of "law of the case". The trial court granted the motion and the trial proceeded. Ms. Rush moved for a directed verdict at the close of the plaintiff’s case and after resting. Ms. Rush argued that a landowner does not have a generalized duty to illuminate all areas of its property at night and that given the fact that the surveillance video demonstrated, and the defendant’s employees testified, that the area was well lit, the plaintiff needed expert testimony to establish that the lighting was somehow inadequate. The Court reserved the decision and instructed return for Summation the following week. Upon returning the Court announced that it was rendering a decision on the motion for a directed verdict. The Court noted that the plaintiff had failed to introduce proof that the lighting was inadequate, and that any verdict would be based upon pure speculation. The Court accordingly dismissed the plaintiff’s action.

Defense Association of New York (DANY) Names Claire Rush as President

Senior Trial Attorney and Partner Claire Rush was elected to serve as President of the Defense Association of New York (DANY) effective July 18, 2022. Prior to her becoming President, Ms. Rush established DANY's award-winning pipeline diversity program to empower economically challenged and diverse college students. The program has been extremely successful in not only offering participants a pathway to law school admissions, but also in placing them with internships offered by various members of the bench and DANY member firms. This program has won state-wide awards from The New York Law Journal for the most outstanding diversity program in an organization, and also received national recognition, receiving the Diversity Resources Institute (DRI) award for the most outstanding diversity efforts by a state-recognized organization.

Most recently, Ms. Rush was instrumental in the development of DANY's first intensive trial advocacy course, which included lectures from well-respected attorneys on all aspects of a trial, such as opening statements, witness examinations, and closing statements. Additionally, mock trials were conducted over the course of two weekends. The course was well attended and has been recognized as a fundamental program for training a new generation of junior defense attorneys to become trial advocates.

Ms. Rush specializes in the defense of high-exposure personal injury actions. She has received a Preeminent AV rating of 5.0 / 5.0 from Martindale- Hubbell and has been identified as one of the top personal injury defense attorneys in the Metro New York area by Super Lawyer Magazine and American Legal Media. Ms. Rush has been recognized by the Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers, the New York Times, and AVENUE Magazine as one of New York City’s top women lawyers in the area of trial practice. She regularly lectures and writes articles about important substantive and procedural issues that impact the defense of personal injury litigation.

Ms. Rush has been published in DANY’s publication, the Defendant, and is a frequent lecturer of DANY. She also chairs the DANY Judicial Sub-Committee which screens candidates for judicial positions. For the first time, due to these founding efforts, DANY has interviewed potential Court of Appeals candidates as well as local judicial candidates, which earned DANY the opportunity to submit formal recommendations.

As DANY President, Ms. Rush plans to continue the commitment to creating opportunities for women attorneys and developing trial skills for junior attorneys.

Partner Claire Rush Successfully Obtains Defense Verdict in a Jury Trial

Partner Claire Rush recently tried a case in Supreme Court Queens County where the jury deliberated for ten minutes before returning a verdict in favor of our client. Ms. Rush represented a major New York City entertainment venue. Plaintiff claimed that he slipped and fell on water and sustained a herniated cervical disc and torn left rotator cuff when he visited the premises. Ms. Rush utilized a series of demonstrative aids to show that plaintiff’s testimony about the amount and size of the alleged puddle was unbelievable as a matter of law. She additionally argued that even if the jury found that the plaintiff fell on water, the venue’s robust cleaning and inspection schedule mitigated against plaintiff’s claim of constructive notice. The jury quickly agreed with the defense arguments and returned a verdict in favor of Ms. Rush’s client. Where a case cannot be settled pretrial, BMM has tremendous trial attorneys such as Ms. Rush to present compelling arguments and obtain the best results for our clients.

BMM Attorneys Have Been Named to the 2022 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists

BMM is pleased to announce that six of our New York and New Jersey-based attorneys have been named 2022 super lawyers and 2022 rising stars for their excellence in a range of practice areas. Only 5% of attorneys in New York receive this distinction, reserved for those who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

The following attorneys are listed for Super Lawyers 2022:

Suzanne M. Halbardier

Alex Malino

Paul McTiernan, Jr.

Claire Rush

Richard Wedinger

Super Lawyers Rising Stars recognizes the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less. No more than 2.5 percent of total lawyers are selected for inclusion in the Rising Stars list.

The following attorneys are selected for Super Lawyers Rising stars 2022:

Patrick W. Kenny

Partner, Claire Rush to speak at the 2022 CLM Alliance Annual Conference

Partner, Claire Rush will be presenting at the CLM Alliance Annual Conference on the session titled “New Strategies for Defending Questionable Spinal Fusion Claims”. The CLM conference will take place from March 23rd to March 25th., 2022 in Palm Desert, CA.

Session Description - “New Strategies for Defending Questionable Spinal Fusion Claims”

Senior-level claims officers, trial attorneys, and a board-certified radiologist will discuss innovative strategies for identifying and defending cases that are likely to result in spinal surgery and seven-figure demands. Learn how the spine works, the tell-tale signs that a spinal fusion surgery is in the offing, best practices for pre-trial discovery, strategies for mediation and trial, and rebutting themes related to COVID-19 isolation claims and reptile theory approaches.

Defense Association Of New York (“Dany”) Releases Ratings for The Judicial Vacancy on The New York State Court of Appeals

The Defense Association of New York (“DANY”), today released its ratings of the seven nominees recommended by the New York State Commission on Judicial Nominations to fill the Associate Justice seat on the New York State Court of Appeals that was vacated by the untimely passing of the Hon. Paul G. Feinman.

DANY’s 9-person Judicial Screening Committee was chaired by Barry McTiernan and Moore partner Claire F. Rush, current Vice President of the Defense Association of New York. Patrick W. Kenny, a partner at Barry Mc Tiernan and Moore and member of The Board of Directors of the Defense Association of New York also served on the panel. Other committee members included Glenn Kaminska of Ahmuty, Demers and McManus; Tom Liptak of Kenny Shelton Liptak Nowak; James Feretic, of Hannum Feretic Prendergast & Merlino, LLC; Andrew Zajac of McGaw, Alventosa & Zajac; Steven Dyki, Esq., Assistant Vice President of Litigation at Berkshire Hathaway Guard Insurance Companies; James M. Begley, Esq., recently retired Deputy General counsel for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Orla Thompson of Cozen O’Connor; and Patrick Butler of Maroney O’Connor LLP.

The Committee rated the candidates after an extensive screening and interviewing process as follows:

HIGHLY QUALIFIED 

Hon. Anthony Cannataro – Administrative Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York, and a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, New York County.

Hon. Erin M. Peradotto, – Associate Justice, Appellate Division Fourth Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

Hon. Troy Karen Webber – Associate Justice, Appellate Division First Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

QUALIFIED

Michael S. Bosworth – Partner Latham & Watkins

Hon. Denise A. Hartman – Acting Justice of the Supreme Court, Albany County

Hon. Judith J. Gische – Associate Justice, Appellate Division First Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

Caitlin J. Halligan – Partner- Selendy & Gay

Barry McTiernan & Moore LLC Attorneys Recognized As 2021 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Barry McTiernan & Moore LLC is excited to announce six of our New York and New Jersey-based attorneys have been named 2021 Super Lawyers or 2021 Rising Stars across a wide range of practice areas.

The following attorneys were selected for Super Lawyers 2021 inclusion:

Suzanne M. Halbardier

Paul McTiernan, Jr.

Claire Rush

Richard Wedinger

Super Lawyers, part of Thompson Reuters is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. No more than five percent of total lawyers in a state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers.

The following attorneys were selected for Super Lawyers Rising stars 2021 inclusion:

Patrick W. Kenny

Cara E. Manz

Super Lawyers Rising Stars recognizes the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less. No more than 2.5 percent of total lawyers are selected for inclusion in the Rising Stars list.