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What is it Like to be Sued: Who Am I?

Attorney Ferry and Attorney Foley recently defended a claim made against them by Attorney Charles Brower and his client, James McCann, based upon a claim initially brought by the Law Office of Kevin C. Ferry, LLC against Mr. McCann and his company, RSS Consulting Services, LLC. Mr. McCann is the founder of Options Unlimited, a community living arrangement not-for-profit business whom the Law Office of Kevin C. Ferry, LLC sued in 2013 for severe physical, mental and sexual abuse perpetrated by approximately eight employees of Options Unlimited. Mr. McCann is currently being sued by Options Unlimited for fraud.

Attorney Foley and Attorney Ferry spent eight full days at trial defending themselves with the assistance of Kerry Callahan and Valerie Ferdon, both of Updike, Kelly & Spellacy. Attorneys Callahan and Verdon were very prepared and performed admirably at trial. Attorney Foley and Attorney Ferry were called as witnesses by Attorney Brower. Every effort was made to point to Attorneys Ferry and Foley as not having a good faith basis to sue his client. The jury saw through Attorney Brower’s misguided efforts to obtain a payday for his client and quickly returned a Defendant’s verdict on all counts. If the jury decided for the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff was going to be seeking punitive damages under numerous counts, including double damages pursuant to §52-568(1) under two counts; treble damages pursuant to §52-568(2) under two counts; and exemplary damages by way of attorney’s fees claimed to have been incurred defending the lawsuit brought by Law Office of Kevin C. Ferry, LLC.

This was an excellent learning experience that Attorney Foley and I hope to never be put though again; however, we gained valuable insight into the mind of a civil defendant throughout the process, and we also learned several valuable lessons at trial. While it would be going a bit far to thank Mr. Brower for suing us, I can say that your biggest enemies can be your best teachers if you are open to looking at it from that angle. –KCF

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Download Kevin’s Accident App

ferry law accident app

Be careful driving this holiday! Download our FREE app for peace of mind. This is your first stop after you’ve been in an accident. Our Accident App tells you everything you need to know when you’ve been in an accident with quick links and easy access to help.

Click link to download for iphone iPhone App

Click link to download for Android Android App

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Glastonbury Teen Death – Social Host Liability

            For the Glastonbury family whose daughter was killed in a motor vehicle accident following two nights of teen drinking at a Glastonbury home in 2013, the litigation nightmare is over. The party house in Glastonbury in 2013 was “Finks House”. The Finklestein’s home was where the juniors in High School would gather most every weekend. Every gathering would be an occasion to consume alcohol, smoke pot and have sex. For the 16 and 17 year old Glastonbury kids, a place to play grownup. The end result of the Las Vegas in Glastonbury for the Glastonbury High School students, Class of 2014, is that a beautiful, promising girl, never got the chance to graduate.

            The problem with it is 16 year old kids don’t have the maturity to understand the dangers of alcohol. In fact, our case law says very clearly. In Ely v. Murphy, 207 Conn. 88, 89-90, 540 A.2d 54 (1988), the Court first held that adults could be responsible for serving/providing/purveying alcohol to minors due to their incompetence and inability to understand the specific dangers of drinking while driving.  The law also says that a homeowner is responsible for the results of underage drinking in his home. Relevant case law suggests that homeowners may be liable when they have created a permissive atmosphere of underage drinking. Whether home when the damage is done or not, is irrelevant. In Schwarz v. Piro, No. FSTCV106004487S, 2015 WL 522060, (Conn. Super. Ct. Jan. 9, 2015), the Court held that a defendant may incur social host liability where he or she has provided a venue for consumption of alcohol by minors; see also Reynolds v. McAvoy, Superior Court, judicial district of Danbury, Docket No. CV–02–0346701–S (November 4, 2004) (Nadeau, J.); and Geise v. Gipstein, Superior Court, judicial district of New London, Docket No. CV–09–5010726 (January 25, 2011) (Martin, J.) (holding that “a duty of care exists on behalf of the social host of a party where underage drinking is encouraged, regardless of whether the intoxicated minor consumed alcohol purchased by the social host, or alcohol brought from outside the premises. Whether that duty of care was breached … and the defendant knowingly or negligently provided a venue for his minor guests to consume alcohol, constitutes a genuine issue of material fact …”).  In addition, our Courts have consistently held that most defenses, such as assumption of the risk, are not viable against an underage drinker or victim that is driven by an intoxicated driver. 

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LOKCF Selected for 2017 Connecticut Super Lawyers list

We are very proud and excited to announce our office being selected for the 2017 Connecticut Super Lawyer list. This is an honor received by no more than 5% of the attorneys in our state.

From Super Lawyers:

“Super Lawyers recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their legal practice. Our patented selection process is rigorous and results in third-party validation of your professional accomplishments.

We would like to take this chance to recognize all the help and support from our team members, clients, family and friends throughout the years. Without you, none of this would be possible.

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The Cost of Civil Litigation

The price to bring a simple claim for compensation due to injuries caused by a negligent person is now $360.00 to file the complaint and writ of summons in court.

See C.G.S. Section 52-259.

Lawsuits in Connecticut must be filed electronically, so there is no cost whatsoever to the state to accept a filing since it never touches human hands. To serve the writ of summons and complaint, the law allows an indifferent person or a State Marshal to make service of the papers. Most attorneys use State Marshals and they are paid depending on how many pages the complaint contains, how many parties must be served, and the distance of travel needed to effectuate service. If you elect a jury trial instead of a judge trial, you must pay a jury fee of $440.00. See Connecticut General Statute Section 52-258. Oddly, the jury fee must be paid early in the case and is not refundable even if you settle the case and do not need a jury. This is another rip off tax decoyed as a court fee.

So, the cost to bring a case to court when you have requested a jury will be at least $860.00. Approximately 90-95% of all civil cases settle before getting to the jury. Why then does the state keep 100% of the jury fee money? With all that extra money, why is the state laying off Judicial staff, and why does our capitol city Superior Court have only 3 civil judges and other courthouses have 5 or more who are simply not that busy?

A fair and just civil justice system shouldn’t price out people from bringing claims and a just judiciary should not be reeling in a 90% windfall on the outrageous jury fee.

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ZERO PAY RESULTS IN $1.7 MILLION AWARD — APRIL 2017, NEW BRITAIN SUPERIOR COURT

A New Britain jury awarded over $1.7 million dollars to a 22 year old Avon woman…

who was badly burned on her back when she caught fire while standing next to a propane heater.

The Christian Youth Fellowship d/b/a Mountain Lake Bible Camp, Inc., in Warren, Connecticut, permitted a caretaker to perform personal repairs to his son’s truck in a small garage on its property. The caretaker’s son and our client were in the garage for a couple of hours when the caretaker came to check on them. They said it was cold and asked him to bring a propane tank so they could light the construction style, top hat heater. The heater was so old that the labeling was worn off and nobody would determine the make or model. The fire investigators testified that similar units have a clear to combustible of 6 to 10 feet.

Although our client admitted to hospital personnel that she was standing too close to the heater and caught fire, the jury found her just 20% at fault. The defense argued that plaintiff was a trespasser. We argued that she was a gratuitous licensee by virtue of the owner of the bible camp not objecting to other friends of the caretaker’s son who he discovered in the garage weeks earlier.
Nobody claimed ownership of the heater. The defendants blamed the caretaker for supplying the propane, the son for lighting the heater and the both of them for not warning the plaintiff to stand back. The Warren fire marshal and state trooper fire investigator agreed that the heater was not supposed to be used inside a building filled with flammable and combustible materials. The Warren fire marshal testified that the garage should have had a fire extinguisher.

Plaintiff filed an offer of compromise for $925,000.00 within 18 months of the return date, so approximately $220,000.00 in interest will be added to the verdict when the court enters judgment.

Attorney Monique Foley and certified legal intern Cara Cavallari assisted Attorney Ferry at trial.

P.S. You can also read the article written by US News about this case.

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Join Us At the Connecticut Breast Health Intiative’s “Race In the Park”!

Hi, I’m here to invite you down to the Connecticut Breast Health Initiative annual fundraising race in Walnut Hill Park.

Our office is in the park, and we happen to be, I think, an Amethyst sponsor this year. So we’ll have a tent, and we’ll be giving away some t-shirts, Law Office of Kevin Ferry t-shirts, some of our wristbands. And this is a really fun event, so please come down, consider running. Just come down and just cheer the other people on. But it’s a great event, you can register from noon to 6:00 p.m. the day before, which is May 12th. The actual event is the 13th.

And if you’d like to register for one of the events, there’s running, walking, races. You show up at 6:30 the day of the event you can still register. There’s still time for that. So please come on down and support this awesome cause. I think this is our fourth year, and I can’t say enough about the Connecticut Breast Health Initiative. I know a lot of the people involved because I played in a golf tournament they sponsor for I think going on like eight years, and they’re really great people.

So I hope to see you there. Thank you.

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For Victims of the Danbury/Glastonbury Sex Trafficking Ring

Hi, Kevin Ferry here. I want to tell you about some disturbing news I’ve learned about recently.

I’ve been in trial and really, really focused on that, but some big headlines hit the news end of March. The human sex trafficking ring the FBI had been investigating for a while, there’s been a few arrests out of Danbury. But a lot of the victims in this human sex trafficking ring are from the Glastonbury area, but I’m sure spread out throughout the state of Connecticut. If you’ve been a victim of this ring, please call me. I want to help take these guys out and down and bankrupt them, and not allow them to have any money to do anything ever again.

So please call us if you’ve been a victim of this. This is an absolutely atrocious activity. This type of stuff should never happen. And the fact that it is is just disgusting and scary, and these people need to be stopped. Hopefully, they’re gonna be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but let’s help bankrupt them, too. So please call me so I can help you get the justice that you deserve for whatever you’ve been through. You’ll remain completely anonymous. The suits are brought in a pseudonym, so your identity is hidden. The public will never get to know who you are as a victim of something like this. And you have all kinds of rights that I’d like to explain to you. So please call us and I’d like to talk to you and see if we can help.

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2016 Holiday Wish from The Law Office Of Kevin C. Ferry, LLC

We wish peace, health and happiness to all. We wish everyone on earth realizes we are all standing in the same room and have to behave well, support each other and seek common ground. We wish that people would stop labeling each other as labels separate us and bring mistrust, animosity and violence. We wish that the people of the USA recognize that we must control our own destiny and protect and preserve our natural resources and environment and not rely on our Government. We wish those who are in Government seek ways to benefit all people and not just certain groups and especially not themselves. We wish everyone can see the value of putting in a little work at self growth and realization. When you find peace within yourself, you help heal the world. We wish every politician who has served two terms introduce legislation for term limits as a first step to rebuild ethics, morality and service in the public service sector. We wish that wherever you are in your life, you awaken and live a live of ease and understand that all of the conditions for happiness exist right now and nothing in the future will ensure that things are better so make the absolute best of today. We wish everyone could appreciate the blessings in front of them, freely offer blessing to those around you and enjoy each and every day as if it were your last. Love, serve and remember God, whoever your God may be. Kevin C. Ferry

My Christmas wish is for peace and happiness to people who are suffering and struggling to find happiness within themselves. I wish people reached out more often to friends, family, or even acquaintances and let them know they’re cared about and thought about. If people understood how much others valued, appreciated, or admired them even for little things that they bring to the world, it would bring more peace and happiness to everyone. Cara Cavallari.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year! It’s the season to remember the gifts that cannot be bought and offer them to others such as a kind word, a hug or just doing something extra for someone. Emily Saja Cummisky.

For Christmas 2016, I wish for there to be less negativity in the world. If everyone would take at least 5 minutes out of theeir day to meditate and focus on positive energy, their overall well-being would improve a great deal. Leslie Valdes.

My Christmas wish for the world would be that everyone can be accepted for who they are as a person; not by their political affiliation, race or by their sexual orientation. As a Hispanic person has faced racist comments before, I fee that our country has come for and surpassed so many difficulties on so many levels and history should not repeat itself. Love is love is love is love!! Virgen Rodriguez.

My wish is that we all find compassion for each other and learn to treat others with respect, regardless of age, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion or political affiliation. This past year has taught me that violence (by terrorists, between public and police and even among politicians) has no place in our world and we need to learn to treat each other fairly, with understanding and compassion. Now, more than ever, we need peace and kindness. Our children deserve it the most. Monique Foley

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Construction Zone Injury—Settlement- $610,000.00; September 2016

Defendants: Bartlett Brainard Eacott, McPhee Electric, Grub & Ellis Property Management & CRF Flooring, Inc.

Our client was an employee of one of the largest insurance companies in the world in Hartford, Connecticut. He sustained a knee injury and back injury when the raised floor he was walking on caved in on him. Plaintiff alleged that the construction manager, two subcontractors, and property manager listed above all played a role in failing to properly ensure construction site safety.

Various theories of negligence, indirectly providing inadequate trained workmen and proper instruction and supervision were alleged. The case settled after six jurors and two alternates were selected. Of note is that the Judge who assisted the parties to reach settlement ordered Liberty Mutual’s client and the Traveler’s client to appear in court before trial. The judge was ready to put on the record that Liberty Mutual Insurance was not properly protecting its insured’s interests. The case settled as that was about to happen in the courtroom.

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Motorcycle Accident- Confidential Amount; Settlement Pre-Suit; February 2016

A helmeted motorcyclist became pinned with his right leg under an 18-wheeler truck (owned by a major office supply distributor) after the truck made an improper left turn directly in front of the path he was traveling.

When EMS extricated him, they noted that the right leg appeared to be 95% amputated below the knee. He sustained significant injuries including: post traumatic amputation of the right leg secondary to motor cycle accident; fracture L3; fracture right clavicle, first and record ribs; intracranial punctate bleeds times two; and degloving laceration left thigh and left calf.

His injuries required immediate surgery and amputation of the right lower leg. Total losses resulted in over $400,000.00 in medical bills and lost wages. Our office brought claims on behalf of the motorcyclist, his wife for loss of consortium and his three minor children for familial consortium claims based on a recent change in the law allowing loss of consortium to be brought by minor children.

We presented a “Day in the Life” video at a meeting with lawyers and adjusters for the office supply distributor and resolved the case prior to filing suit.

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Truck Driver Runs Over Pedestrian—$2.134 Million Dollar Jury Verdict; May 2016

TOTAL AWARD: $2.89 Million – Jury awarded $2,800,000.00 to Plaintiff and $90,000.00 to Plaintiff’s wife. Plaintiff’s award was reduced to $2,044,000.00 after jury found Plaintiff 27% comparatively at fault. Final verdict $2,134,000.00.

Construction site work zone injury brought under the exception to worker’s compensation statute– negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Plaintiff sustained foot injury after being run over by a 2,000 lb. trailer towing a 7,200 lb. Skid-Steer bobcat. Eyewitness standing next to Plaintiff testified that Plaintiff walked into the path of the trailer.

The Defense hired an engineer to scientifically test Plaintiff’s version of the accident, testifying that it could not have possibly happened the way that Plaintiff said.

Defense had over 130 hours of surveillance of Plaintiff, and had but 13 hours of tape. Defense showed around 1 hour of tape, while we showed around 1 hour and 10 min. of the surveillance to prove how bad Plaintiff’s injuries really were.

We also called a truck driving expert, pain management doctor, and an orthopedist to trial.

Travelers Insurance Company had a 1-million-dollar insurance policy and an umbrella policy above that. Travelers’ highest offer was $500,000.00. Several judges who pre-tried the case suggested the case would settle for 1 million dollars and in New Britain, it would be hard to convince a New Britain jury to provide a verdict higher than that. This case proved that a New Britain jury can be fair and care about people who are injured.