A central principle that governs pre-trial investigation or discovery in civil litigation is that much of it can be done informally through private interviews rather than through the formal discovery practices outlined in Article 31 of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules. In fact, the New York Court of Appeals, in a case called Nieseg v. Team I, 76 NY2d 363 (1990), expressed the public policy preference that such informal discovery be available to all litigants: 

Costly formal depositions that may deter litigants with limited resources, or even somewhat less formal and costly interviews attended by adversary counsel, are no substitute for such off-the-record private efforts to learn and assemble, rather than perpetuate, information. More…

Section 3420 of the New York Insurance Law, which sets forth requirements for liability insurance policies issued in New York State, was amended recently in two important ways that will help injury victims. Liability insurance policies, including automobile and homeowner’s insurance policies, typically require that the negligent party inform his or her insurance company of any possible claims within a particular period of time. These notice provisions are designed to ensure that the company has an opportunity to investigate claims right away, while witnesses can still be located and evidence has not been lost or destroyed. More…

The United Way of Greater Rochester presented the Award of Excellence to Faraci Lange, LLP and its employees for their significant investments in the 2008 United Way campaign. The amount they raised during the 2008 campaign constituted a 10% increase over the prior year. Faraci Lange’s investment in the Greater Rochester area community will be used to help enrich the lives of those in need. Programs and agencies ranging from youth related programs to senior support will aid thousands of individuals throughout the year thanks to their generosity.

John A. Falk has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America Directory for 2009. He joins, Angelo G. Faraci, Paul K. Lange, Stephen G. Schwarz, Brian M. Zorn, Matthew F. Belanger and Joseph A. Regan of Faraci Lange in this prestigious directory, which is the oldest and most respected peer-reviewed publication in the legal profession. Angelo Faraci has been listed for the past 25 years and Brian Zorn and Stephen Schwarz have been listed for more than ten years each. More…

On September 27, 2008 Faraci Lange partner Brian M. Zorn was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers at the organization’s annual meeting in Toronto, Ontario. Brian joins his partners Angelo G. Faraci and Stephen G. Schwarz as Fellows in the College. Also at the College’s annual meeting was United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., who was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the College, joining all of the other justices of the United States Supreme Court and judges of Canada’s highest court. In addition, at the meeting Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, Judith S. Kaye, already a Fellow in the College, received the Samuel E. Gates Award for her outstanding contributions to the profession during her long and distinguished judicial career. More…

New York Public Health Law §2801-d provides a statutory remedy to nursing home patients for injuries suffered as a result of the deprivation of certain rights or benefits granted by contract, or by applicable federal and state law. The statute mandates an award of compensatory damages of no less than twenty-five percent of the nursing facility’s daily rate for each day the patient’s injury exists. In addition, it provides for punitive damages and attorneys’ fees in appropriate circumstances.

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The Rochester, New York law firm of Faraci Lange, LLP was recognized in the 2008 Upstate New York addition of Super Lawyers with five of its attorneys listed in this prestigious publication. Founders Angelo G. Faraci and Paul K. Lange were both listed in the personal injury section, while Joseph A. Regan, Brian M. Zorn and Stephen G. Schwarz were listed in the medical malpractice section. Faraci was also listed as one of the ten lawyers receiving the highest point totals (inclusive of all legal specialties) and Schwarz was listed as being in the top 50 for Upstate New York.

According to the Super Lawyers publication, only 5% of the lawyers in New York State are named to this list, which recognizes attorneys who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection is made after a rigorous process that includes peer review and nomination, as well as extensive background checks and research into each prospective candidate. More…

Recent advances in biomedical technology are now providing new tools that will help to scientifically establish a causal link between toxic chemical exposure and the development of cancer. This technology should considerably level the playing field and help victims of toxic exposures.

In the past, one of the most difficult aspects of bringing a lawsuit based on toxic chemical exposure has been proving a causal link between the exposure and cancer. Defendants in these cases often file countless motions challenging plaintiffs’ proof on the causation issue. With some regularity, defendants have succeeded in preventing certain cases from being decided by a jury. It has only been in cases involving rare malignancies, like mesothelioma, that establishing the necessary causal connection has been relatively straight-forward. That is because it has been proven that mesothelioma is caused only by exposure to asbestos. More…

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and predominantly trichloroethylene (TCE) have long been recognized as dangerous and persistent groundwater pollutants. Numerous epidemiological studies have established that TCE is a likely human carcinogen with the strongest evidence supporting a causal link to kidney, liver and lymphoma cancers. In the past, the most common route of exposure was through contaminated well water, whether by ingestion, inhalation of vapors or though contact with the skin. In many jurisdictions, government regulators were less aggressive where a plume of TCE or other VOCs was discovered in an area serviced by a public water supply, believing that residents were not being exposed.

In recent years, however, the danger of vapor intrusion is finally getting the attention it deserves from regulators and legislators across the country. One of the largest vapor intrusion sites discovered to date is in Endicott, New York. A plume of TCE and other VOCs are contaminating the air in hundreds of Endicott homes, requiring the installation of hundreds of individual vapor intrusion remediation systems. Faraci Lange, LLP, a Rochester, New York law firm, is involved in toxic chemical exposure litigation commenced against IBM on behalf of the victims of this contamination. More…

When you are injured due to someone’s negligence in an auto accident, truck accident, fall on defective stairs, or by a medical mistake or by toxic contamination released from a nearby manufacturing plant or by a defective drug or product, your remedy to recover damages is to make a claim within the civil justice system.

Introduction and background

The rules followed in this system are based upon a combination of statutory law (laws passed by the legislature) and what is referred to as common law, the law we inherited from the judicial precedents of English law, which have evolved through the judicial decisions of judges in the State of New York over the past few hundred years.
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