Appellate Advocacy
Brendan T. Fitzpatrick is the partner that heads up the Firm's Appeals Group. The Firm handles appeals in every Appellate Department in New York State, the New York State Court of Appeals and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Firm has briefed and argued appeals on a myriad of issues ranging from contracts, insurance law, indemnification issues, general negligence principles to Federal statutes, including the IDEA, ADA, and ADEA.
The Firm's Appeals Group not only handles appeals that originate within the Firm, but members of the group have been retained to write and argue appeals for other law firms, insurance carriers and businesses. In addition, Mr. Fitzpatrick is a member of the Defense Association of New York's (DANY) Committee on the Development of the Law. This Committee prepares amicus briefs on behalf of DANY for submission to the New York State Court of Appeals.
Precedent-setting decisions have included Toefer v. Long Island R.R., 4 N.Y.3d 399 (2005) (Labor Law § 240), Bower Assoc. v. Town of Pleasant Valley, 2 N.Y.3d 617 (2004) (property rights and 42 USC § 1983), Pecker Iron Works v. Travelers Ins. Co., 99 N.Y.2d 391 (2003) (contractual interpretation), Itri Brick & Concrete Corp. v. Aetna Cas.& Sur. Co., 89 N.Y.2d 786 (1997) (contractual indemnification), Smith v. Shell Oil Co., 85 N.Y.2d 1000 (1995) (Labor Law § 240), Maddox v. City of New York, 66 N.Y.2d 270 (1985) (assumption of risk), Walczak v. Florida Union Free Sch. Dist., 142 F.3d 119 (2nd Cir. 1998) (application of the IDEA), and Landscape Forms, Inc. v. Columbia Cascade Co., 113 F.3d 373 (2nd Cir. 1997) (tradedress).
The Firm's Appellate Group also works closely with the Firm's trial attorneys throughout the course of litigation. This collaboration allows the attorneys to come together and identify the immediate legal issues that affect the case as well as those that may develop during the litigation. With this coordination, the Firm is able to present a focused and effective case to the court. Mr. Fitzpatrick's article "Inside the Minds: Domestic and International Litigation Strategies: Learning to Deal with Uncertainty", Aspatore Publishing, 2007 detailed the value and assistance that appellate counsel can provide throughout the litigation process.