The attorneys recognized are:

• Matthew F. Belanger, in the practice area of personal injury plaintiff: general. The Brighton resident is listed for the second time.
• David L. Cook, in the practice area of business litigation. Cook, of Pittsford, has been named to New York Super Lawyers in three previous years from 2007 – 2009.
• John A. Falk, in personal injury plaintiff: general. A Brighton resident, Falk is listed for the second time.
• Angelo G. Faraci, in personal injury plaintiff: medical malpractice. Faraci, who resides in Rochester, has been listed in New York Super Lawyers since 2007.
• Paul K. Lange, in personal injury plaintiff: general. First named to New York Super Lawyers in 2007, Lange resides in Rochester.
• Joseph A. Regan, of Rochester, in personal injury plaintiff: medical malpractice. Regan has been named to New York Super Lawyers since 2008.
• Stephen G. Schwarz, of Fairport, in personal injury plaintiff: medical malpractice. He was first named to New York Super Lawyers in 2007.
• Brian M. Zorn, in personal injury plaintiff:  medical malpractice. Zorn, of Victor, has been named to New York Super Lawyers since 2007.

Only five percent of the attorneys in Upstate New York are named to the Super Lawyers list. Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a multi-phase process combining peer nominations and evaluations with third-party research. Candidates are evaluated based on peer recognition and professional achievement. The publication aims to provide a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel.

Tweet

Faraci Lange associate attorney and recipient of the 2011 Up & Coming Attorneys Award from The Daily Record, Hadley L. Matarazzo, poses with (from left) her father Staffan Lundback, Faraci Lange managing partner Stephen G. Schwarz, and her husband Todd Matarazzo.  This year’s event was held at the Hyatt Regency Rochester.

Tweet

Tweet

Thus began a saga that took the Goldsteins through negotiations with their builder, litigation and eventually a jury trial in June of 2010. In the process they learned that the corporation that they contracted with to build their home, Brookwood Building Corporation, did not have any employees and was merely a shell corporation. They also learned that Spall Homes, the entity named on the website where the development was advertised, was no longer an active corporation either and that the mastermind behind this empire, Ted Spall, had created multiple shell corporations in attempt to shield him from any accountability for building defects caused by faulty construction of any of these homes. Eventually, Spall Realty Corp., the entity that hired the contractors and supervised the construction was added to the lawsuit, but just as quickly, a new corporation named Spall Management Corporation took on all of the employees who had worked for Spall Realty leaving that corporation only a shell as well.

At the trial, the Goldsteins, represented by Faraci Lange, proved that the mold was caused by improper construction, which resulted in excessive water and moisture in the basement. Dr. and Mrs. Goldstein were forced to take out a second mortgage to cover the costs of fixing these construction defects and remediating the mold so that it was once again safe to inhabit their home. These costs when added to the value of property that had to be destroyed due to mold infestation exceeded $100,000. The jury awarded the Goldsteins a total of $189,000 to cover both their economic losses caused by their mold as well as pain and suffering related to illnesses caused by the mold and loss of the use of their home during the remediation.

In spite of that verdict in June of 2010 in Monroe County Supreme Court, their wait for justice was not over. For the next 8 months Faraci Lange pursued the defendants for payment of the judgment. Ted Spall, through his attorneys, claimed that neither of the corporations found responsible for the Goldstein’s damages had any money left and could not pay the judgment. It was only after Spall himself was subpoenaed to testify under oath about the pathway of money out of the corporations and the amounts that he pocketed that payment in full was finally made for the entire judgment plus interest from the date of the verdict. A satisfaction of judgment was filed last week.

“We are happy that this ordeal is finally over and we can pay off what we borrowed to fix and clean up our house and move forward” said Patti Goldstein. “It has been an incredibly stressful and frustrating five years but it is nice to see that the system can work”. Added Dr. Neil Goldstein “there were times when I was so made I could hardly speak and we both found it hard to sleep worrying about whether we were going to come down with some illness all because of slip shod construction. I learned a lot about how houses are supposed to be built that I did not know before and simply assumed that my builder of a high end home did. I also learned about how people can play the corporate system to try and escape all accountability. Fortunately for us, he did not get away with it.”

Stephen Schwarz, managing partner at Faraci Lange, who tried the case summed it up this way: “there were many times that I thought my clients would just decide to throw in the towel and say it is not worth it, but I admire Neil and Patti so much for their perseverance. They insisted that we not compromise in pursuing the entire amount owed and in the end, justice was served.”