An Introductory Letter From Mario Biaggi, Jr.

Thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself and my firm. With over 25 years of experience as a seasoned litigator and trial attorney, I welcome your referrals to assist in litigation matters you may not handle. Whether it is working with one of my own clients or a client that has been referred to us, I make the same commitment.

For me, practicing law is about striving for excellence. You may not always achieve it but in striving for it, you inevitably enhance the quality of your work. That philosophy, as much as any other, has enabled me to help the people who come into my office looking for a trial attorney on a wide range of matters, including personal injury, civil rights, commercial litigation, employment law, probate and estate litigation, real estate litigation, among others.

I have tried cases throughout the New York Metropolitan area in both state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, as well as in the Eastern and Southern Districts of Federal Court. In addition, I have argued numerous appeals in the Appellate Division, First and Second Departments, the Federal Court's Second Circuit of Appeals, and the New York State Court of Appeals.

Please Click Here to download our Firm Overview, featuring testimonials and results on behalf of our clients. Please look upon me as a resource to you during the course of litigation. I would be happy to discuss appropriate fee sharing arrangements and the potential for referrals to your practice.

Sincerely,

Mario Biaggi, Jr.

Come Join Us On September 26th

It’s been an exciting year for the new state senator from the 34th State Senate district. After defeating a long term incumbent who spent unprecedented sums of money in an unsuccessful attempt to keep his seat, Alessandra became an intricate part of a prolific legislative session that included her playing a key role as the sponsor of Senate Bill S6577 which was recently signed into law by the Governor.

This important piece of legislation expands protections against sexual harassment and discrimination, and holds New York employers, agencies, and organizations liable for all forms of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination. After holding the first public hearings on the issue in 27 years and months of advocacy, she successfully saw the passage of what is being hailed as a major victory for survivors and workers across the state.

But there is much work to be done and with that in mind, please join her father Richard and I in a fundraiser for her on Thursday September 26th at Maestros in the Bronx. It would be great if we could see you there or, if you can't attend, perhaps you could make a contribution.

Please click the invitation above if you want to donate online or you can click and print the attached reply card below and mail a check.

All the very best for a healthy and happy remaining summer season.

Click Here To Print and Mail RSVP

Sincerely,

Mario Biaggi Jr.

212-233-8000

CONTESTING A WILL IN NEW YORK

It is amazing and sometimes just simply unfortunate what people will do for money. And when it comes to estates, particularly estates of substance, that concept can be particularly relevant. My office was involved in one estate litigation in which a decedent's heir tore up the decedent’s will because she correctly believed that she would have received more of the decedent’s assets under New York State’s intestacy laws.

When a person dies without having a valid will, a decedent’s property passes to his or her heirs in a certain statutorily defined manner pursuant to what is called “intestate succession”.

Unbeknownst to the heir, however, the decedent had executed a subsequent will and it was that will which became the subject of a heated will contest litigation.

In New York the five grounds for contesting a will are as follows:

Improper Execution of the Will: When the people involved in the will’s execution do not follow New York’s formal requirements concerning will execution.

Forgery: When the signature on the will is proven not to be that of the testator.

Lack of Testamentary Capacity: When the decedent does not have the mental capacity at the time he or she executed the will to understand what they owned, who their relatives and friends were and/or what was in their will.

Fraud: When the decedent signs his will after being mislead about what is in the will or certain relevant circumstances outside of the will.

Undue Influence: When the decedent is manipulated generally by someone who they trust into making a will for that person’s benefit.

As you might suspect, these objections are far more involved than the brief reference made to them herein. And so, if you ever find yourself in need of either challenging or defending a challenge to a will, please contact our offices to discuss these and other relevant issues in more detail.

In the meantime, please remember to keep your will and a copy of it in a safe place and advise your executors named in the will where that is.

Sincerely,

Mario Biaggi Jr.

212-233-8000

MOST OF OUR CLIENTS BECOME OUR FRIENDS HERE IS WHAT ONE OF THEM HAD TO SAY

Mario,

I'm sure that my family isn't the only one who regard you in this light - but thanks to your diligence, killer negotiating style and honesty (an oxymoron when describing most attorneys) you have helped my family from some seriously sticky situations that we believed were hopeless. Above and beyond your great work, thanks to the settlement that my family received, my step-mother's life was extended for a minimum of 3 years.

Placing a woman who had not only been incredibly successful, bright and most importantly the love of my dad's life in a Medicaid nursing home where they may not have been able to deal with the multitude of her medical issues broke all of our hearts.

Your efforts resulted in a settlement that not only made it possible for my dad to keep his home but my step-mom continued to be able to remain in a private home where she was given dedicated private nursing care.

Sadly we lost her toward the end of last year, but your work kept her going an extra 3 years and during that time she was able to be present at her daughter's wedding and even had the opportunity to meet her adorable granddaughter.

I doubt we're the only family you have saved, but as far as we're concerned you're always the first attorney we reach out to regardless of the matter because we trust your judgment implicitly and know that you put the truth and our needs ahead of a billable hour.

Again, thank you for making me remember why I wanted to practice law. Few care enough in just about any industry to put in the effort that you and your team have for us and while we probably pester you too much – I wanted you to know we are extremely grateful.

Daphne


Sincerely,
Mario Biaggi Jr.
212-233-8000

BIAGGI WINS STATE SENATE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

September 13th was indeed a special night for the Biaggi family as my brother Richard’s oldest daughter, Alessandra, defeated Senator Jeff Klein in a hotly contested primary race in which the long term incumbent spent upwards of three million dollars to defend his seat. This staggering amount for a New York State Senate seat was reportedly more than Cynthia Nixon spent in her primary challenge against Governor Cuomo. But it wasn’t enough!      Moreover, the fact that the margin of victory was ten percentage points underscored that indeed the political capital in the 34th State Senate District is not money but people.       See below Alessandra celebrating her victory flanked by two huge supporters, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer amidst an electric and supportive crowd on campaign night.

CONGRATULATIONS ALESSANDRA!!! THE SKY’S THE LIMIT!!!

Sincerely,
Mario Biaggi Jr.
212-233-8000

SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF FORTY-SIX PLAINTIFFS' CLAIMS

The practice of law has many dimensions and many tools at one's disposal to accomplish a resolution of a contested matter. Most recently, our firm engaged in a multi-party mediation involving forty-six claimants and a handful of defendants. The initial lawsuits centered on a very serious bus accident involving one death and multiple extensive injuries to numerous passengers. The very real legal concern for all the defendants was that the value of the injuries far exceeded the ten million dollars of available insurance coverage. This exposed our client to millions of dollars of potential liability which in turn threatened its very corporate existence.

Fortunately, we were able to resolve all forty-six claims within the policy limits without any contribution from the client. There were several key factors that contributed to this successful outcome but three stand out.

First, the importance of securing an experienced mediator with a track record of resolving multi-plaintiff tort cases cannot be understated. Thus, a good practitioner must thoroughly research the mediator's credentials and check references before selection. 

Second, the attorney must be factually prepared to defend his valuation of each case within a settlement range that enables the cumulative valuation to fall within the policy limits. 

And thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, is the need to impress on all plaintiffs' counsel that they are in effect competing with the other plaintiffs for a limited pot of money. They need to be advised that if they do not to resolve their claims at the mediation, they will not receive more later on during the litigation and indeed their individual position may worsen to the extent that the remaining plaintiffs settle for the balance of the available proceeds.

The combination of these factors, coupled with a united and cooperative front amongst defense counsel, produced a successful resolution that enabled our client to continue its operation uninterrupted.

If I can ever be of service, please feel free to reach out.

Sincerely,
Mario Biaggi Jr.
212-233-8000

CLASS ACTION WAIVERS A NECESSARY PART OF EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS

The United States Supreme Court recently validated the enforceability of class action waivers in an employer's arbitration agreement with its employees. As a result, in those agreements which contain a class action waiver provision, all employee-employer disputes must be resolved in one-on-one arbitrations rather than through a collective or class action.
       
The judicial circuits had been divided on the authority of such waivers prior to the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this month. In New York, however, which is within the jurisdiction of the Second Circuit, such class action waivers were already enforceable. Indeed, we were able to use the enforceability of such class action waivers in severely undermining a class action brought in the Second Circuit by employees in the hospitality industry.
       
In reality, a class action for wage violations is often motivated in large part by the employees' attorneys and the fact that if they are successful in proving a violation of the wage laws, they are statutorily entitled to have the employer pay, in addition to any other damages, the plaintiffs' attorney fees. This award is allowed even if the violation is relatively minimal.
       
In one case I tried several years ago, the plaintiffs' demand was almost two million dollars for ten plaintiffs. After trial the jury awarded $15,000 which was doubled to $30,000 because the violations were found to be intentional. The problem was that the plaintiffs' attorney had incurred in excess of $200,000 in attorney fees which the employer was required to pay in addition to the fees the employer had to pay my firm. By reducing these matters to individual claims, the financial incentive for the attorney is significantly undercut because he/she will only be receiving fees to prosecute one individual claim at a time, not a large group of claims.
       
This a huge decision for employers but it does not provide any benefit to them if they have not taken the time to incorporate the proper language in their employment agreement.
       
So if anyone is either an employer or is aware of any employers who have multiple employees working for them, please let us know. We can be of substantial service to them.

Sincerely,
Mario Biaggi Jr.
212-233-8000