Brian P. Heermance

Brian is the Liaison Partner for the New York office of Morrison Mahoney.  He has over 35 years of experience in civil litigation on behalf of insurance companies and self-insureds, with an emphasis on trial work and the defense of cases involving professional liability, including medical, dental, legal malpractice, agent/broker and architect/engineer E&O, construction (NY “labor law”), construction defect, product liability, employment, transportation and tort liability, including premises and general liability.

Brian has defended cases involving death, catastrophic injuries and multi-million dollar exposures.

Brian is a frequent author and speaker for industry trade associations and universities.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Professional Liability

• Summary Judgment – medical malpractice 
  Plaintiff alleged that the client, an optometrist, failed to diagnose a macular hole which resulted in near blindness.  Plaintiff claimed over $3 Million in damages.
• Defense Verdict – dental malpractice
  Plaintiff claimed that the client, a general dentist, was negligent in performing extensive bridgework that failed when placed, and that related root canal and extraction work was unnecessary.
• Defense Verdict – dental malpractice 
  Plaintiff alleged that the client, an Endodontist, failed to obtain informed consent and negligently performed root canal treatment.  This manifested itself with numbness and tingling (paresthesia) in her lip, chin and cheek, which was diagnosed as a permanent condition.
• Defense Verdict – dental malpractice 
  Plaintiff alleged that the client, a periodontist, failed to obtain informed consent and negligently extracted a tooth, removing excessive bone and damaging the root of an adjacent tooth.
• Dismissal – legal malpractice 
  Plaintiff alleged that the client engaged in malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and prima facie tort.
• Summary Judgment – real estate agent E&O 
  Plaintiff brought suit against the seller of the property, the inspection company and seller’s broker (the client) alleging negligence, detrimental reliance, breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation and failure to disclose material defects.  Brian successfully argued that the brokerage owed no duty of disclosure to the plaintiff home buyer where the buyer was represented by her own realtor and had engaged a home inspection company to inspect prospective residential real property before her purchase.

Product Liability

• Summary Judgment – product liability 
  Plaintiff had his dominant arm amputated in the unguarded hopper of an industrial-sized ravioli producing machine.

Construction

• Summary Judgment – construction defect
  Plaintiff slipped and fell on black ice in the lower level of a parking garage.  She claimed that water leaked from the upper/outside level.  She sued all of the contractors who were involved with designing and constructing the garage, demanding $12 million.

General Liability

• Appellate Victory – premises liability 
  Argued and won case before NY’s highest appellate court.  Held that health club had no statutory duty to use an AED it was required to possess. Miglino v. Bally, 20 N.Y.3d 342.
• Defense Verdict – negligent security 
  Plaintiff had $1,200,000 in jewelry stolen from its store and claimed that the client negligently designed and installed the alarm system.
• Directed Verdict – premises liability 
  Plaintiff fell and sustained substantial injuries to her face and knees when attempting to mount a moving treadmill.  Plaintiff claimed that she could not see the moving belt due to sun glare and that the client’s employees failed to turn the machine off before she arrived.  The Judge held that plaintiff assumed the risk of injury because she claimed to have had a nearly identical fall at the club just two weeks prior.
• Defense Verdict – lead paint
  Infant plaintiff claimed brain damage resulting from lead poisoning at the client’s premises.

• Reported cases of Hamilton v. Ganias, 417 Mass 666 (1994) and Kelly v. Raytheon, Inc., 29 Mass App. Ct. 1000 (1990).