KEY AIR SUED FOR BOOKING FATAL FLIGHT
December 14, 2006, Connecticut Post, by Matthew Higbee
NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol and his family are suing the town-based charter aircraft company they hired to arrange a November 2004 flight that crashed in icy conditions and killed Ebersol's 14-year old son, Edward "Teddy" Ebersol.
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DOCTOR VS. INSURANCE COMPANY IN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT CASE
November 3, 2006
A New Haven jury finds damages in excess of $850,000 for a Connecticut physician that sustained a brachial plexus injury in a car crash on the Merritt Parkway. The Stratton Faxon client, infectious disease specialist, Dr. Frederick Altice, sued Nationwide, his own insurer, for uninsured motorist / hit-and-run benefits, after the doctor was forced off the road by a hit-and-run driver. Nationwide did not believe that Dr. Altice was forced off the road and blamed him for the crash claiming it was his inattention that caused the mishap. The case illustrates how difficult it is for consumers to actually collect on their own automobile insurance policies - but the jury system in Connecticut continues to prove that insurance companies will be held responsible to their policy holders for the benefits they purchase. Please Note: In its original form, this article claimed that the jury's verdict was in excess of $900,000. This was erroneous. In fact, the verdict for damages was just in excess of $850,000 before comparative fault and apportionment party reduction. In addition, it was asserted in that article that Nationwide had made no offers prior to trial. In fact, Nationwide had made an offer of approximately $150,000 before trial. Stratton Faxon apologizes for this unintended and unnecessary puffery.

ANOTHER GROUNDBREAKING DECISION FROM THE CONNECTICUT SUPREME COURT
November 2, 2006
The Supreme Court ruled an exculpatory release forced on employees by an overreaching employer is void as against the public policy of the State of Connecticut. A Stratton Faxon client was badly injured when he was run down on a racetrack by a race car driver. Stratton Faxon sued the driver and others involved in the crash. The defendants attempted to avoid liability by arguing that regardless of the severity of their misconduct they could not be forced to pay damages because the plaintiff signed a mandatory release of liability. The trial court agreed and dismissed the case, but on appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the decision and held that Stratton Faxon's client could proceed with his lawsuit due to the inequity in forcing these types of releases on employees.
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POLICE CHIEF DEFENDS PROBE OF DROWNING
October 31, 2006, New Haven Register, By Marissa Yaremich
Police are doing everything in their power to determine what caused a local mother to drown underneath a Morgan Lane railroad trestle during a summer storm, including attempts to re-create the fatal water levels during Saturday’s downpour, said Police Chief Ronald M. Quagliani.
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FAMILY CLAIMS HARASSMENT OVER PHOTOS
October 30, 2006, New Haven Register, By Marissa Yaremich
The law firm representing Morgan Lane drowning victim Gladys E. Padula claims police threatened to arrest the family’s legal team when an investigator for the family took pictures of the officers’ accident reconstruction on the road.
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MEALEY'S PRODUCT LIABILITY & RISK
September 25, 2006, LexisNexis
After finding that a trial court did not err in refusing to apportion liability to an intervening employer, the Connecticut Supreme Court on Sept. 12 upheld a $2.19 million jury award to two workers injured when allegedly defective roof brackets caused scaffolding to collapse.
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STATE SUPREMES RECOGNIZE NEW TORT OF SPOLIATION
October 2, 2006, The CT Law Tribune, by Thomas B. Scheffey
Connecticut now expressly recognizes the tort of spoliation of evidence, the state Supreme Court announced today.
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STRATTON CONGRATULATES BEATMAN ON JOB WELL DONE
September 25, 2006, The CT Law Tribune, by Lisa Siegel
No rulebook could prepare Zeisler & Zeisler bankruptcy attorney Matthew K. Beatman for what lay ahead when Hartford Superior Court Judge Vanessa L. Bryant tapped him as the receiver for American Crushing & Recycling (ACR) — the Bloomfield-based company that owned the dump truck behind the deadly 20-car crash on Avon Mountain in July 2005.
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$2M AWARD FOR WORKERS NOT FREE AND CLEAR
September 16, 2006, New Haven Register, by Phil Helsel
A city carpenter seriously injured when he and another man tumbled from a roof at the New Canaan Nature Center eight years ago will receive part of more than $2 million from the company that manufactured a defective roof bracket, the state Supreme Court ruled this week.
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SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS VERDICT FOR STRATTON FAXON CLIENTS REQUIRING PAYMENT OF OVER $2.7 MILLION FOR INJURIES
September 12, 2006
The Connecticut Supreme Court today affirmed a jury verdict obtained by Stratton Faxon partner Joel Faxon for the injuries sustained by Neil Barry and Bernard Cohade. The union carpenters were shingling a roof in New Canaan in 1998 when the scaffolding they were using manufactured by Quality Steel Products of Massachusetts collapsed. The Supreme Court held that the manufacturer's efforts to thwart the verdict were baseless and ordered that the case be ended and the clients finally compensated. The case made new law protecting workers injured on the job by requiring employers to provide safety equipment to their employees as well as holding manufacturers of dangerous products accountable to the jury.
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INJURY SETTLED FOR SEVEN TIMES THE POLICY LIMIT
August 11, 2006, The CT Law Tribune, by Thomas B. Scheffey
Thomas Casciato, a clerk in the Bridgeport architectural firm of Fletcher & Thompson, suffered leg injuries in a November 2003 head-on collision in Shelton. Infinity Insurance Co., of Birmingham, Ala., represented the defendant driver, Luciano Marini, through its captive law firm, Levine & Sharp of Hartford.
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AVON MOUNTAIN ANNIVERSAY
July 27, 2006, New England Cable News
It has been a year since the deadly crash on Route 44 and victims of that crash are furious that nothing has been to make the roads safer. Brian Burnell reports live from Hartford with the story.
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ELLEN STOTLER CALLS ON DOT TO REPAIR ROADS
July 27, 2006, WFSB Channel 3 News
As part of a victim advocacy group formed by those affected by the deadly Avon Mt. Road crash, Ellen Stotler spoke out today about what has and has not been down to make residents of CT safer.
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CALL FOR SAFER ROADS: VICTIMS OF CRASH ON ROUTE 44 SPEAK OUT
July 28, 2006, Hartford Courant, by Daniel P. Jones
If it doesn't include a runaway-truck ramp, the road improvement project the state plans for Route 44 on Avon mountain won't prevent the kind of out-of-control truck crash that claimed four lives last summer, victims of the accident said Thursday.
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SAFE ROADS ADVOCACY GROUP COMPILES DANGEROUS ROADS LIST
July 27, 2006, by News Channel 8's Erin Cox
The widow of a man killed in a fiery crash on Avon Mountain last year wants the state to make roads safer. Ellen Stotler wants change before tragedy strikes again.
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OWNER OF TRUCKING COMPANY ARRESTED
July 25, 2006, WTIC AM Radio, The Ray & Diane Morning Show
Michael Stratton, attorney for Chip Stotler's family, speaks with Ray & Diane regarding David Wilcox, the truck owner involved in the Avon Mountain crash, who was arrested for manslaughter.
 HEAR AUDIO

TRUCKING COMPANY OWNER CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER
July 24, 2006, Associated Press
The owner of a dump truck that slammed into a line of cars at the bottom of Avon Mountain last year, killing four people, appeared in court Monday to face manslaughter and other charges.
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HOW THE BACKLOG WAS CRUSHED
July 3, 2006, The CT Law Tribune, by Thomas B. Scheffey
A decade ago, Connecticut trial lawyers complained bitterly about the waiting period of three years or more to bring a case to a jury trial.
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POLICE OFFICER BEARS MOST FAULT
June 19, 2006, The CT Law Tribune, by Thomas B. Scheffey
Greenwich police officer Andrew Kelly had his siren and lights on as he headed north on Lake Street toward a serious accident on the Merritt Parkway. He never made it.
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JURY FINDS OFFICER NEGLIGENT IN CRASH
June 10, 2006, Greenwich Time, by Martin B. Cassidy
A jury yesterday concluded that a Greenwich police officer's reckless driving caused a collision on Lake Avenue four years ago and awarded a town man $910,000 in damages for injuries he sustained in the crash, attorneys said.
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BRATTLEBORO SETTLES SUIT IN CHURCH SHOOTING
June 1, 2006, Rutland Herald (VT), by Daniel Barlow
Brattleboro has negotiated a settlement to end a wrongful-death civil lawsuit from the family of a Bellows Falls man killed by police in a church in 2001, lawyers for both sides said Wednesday.
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TRUCKER'S $26M AWARD SURVIVES POST-VERDICT MOTIONS
May 29, 2006, The CT Law Tribune, by Thomas B. Scheffey
Honorable Judge Hall issues decision in Pouliot case, denying all post-trial motions and therefore, affirming $26 million verdict obtained by Stratton Faxon.
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NAVIGATING THE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACT MINEFIELD
May 22, 2006, The CT Law Tribune, by Joel T. Faxon
Partner Joel Faxon comments on reformed state law intended to bolster the integrity of the malpractice system.
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES: AVON MOUNTAIN CRASH
April 2, 2006, WTXX-TV, Hosted by Shelly Sinland
State politicians address the tragedy's aftermath and SB 620.
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WIDOW: STATE KNEW ROAD WAS UNSAFE
March 25, 2006, WTIC AM Radio, The Ray & Diane Morning Show
Ellen Stotler testifies: Families Involved in the Avon Mountain Crash Should Be Able To Get Damages For Negligence.
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A WIDOW'S DAY TO TESTIFY
March 24, 2006
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FAMILY FAULTS DMR, GROUPHOME SUPERVISION IN MAN'S JANUARY CHOKING
March 11, 2006, Hartford Courant, by Colin Poitras
A lawyer on Friday filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family of a Branford man who choked to death while under the care of a private group home licensed by the state Department of Mental Retardation.
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EVIDENCE IN HAMDEN LAWSUIT SLATED TO BE DESTROYED
February 14, 2006, by News Channel 8's Alan Cohn
Lawyers representing Police Officer Bo Kicak sent letter to Hamden's Town Attorney threatening legal action if evidence is destroyed.
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JOEL FAXON COMMENTS ON RECENT SUPREME COURT CASE, URGING THE LEGISLATURE TO CHANGE UNFAIR WRONGFUL DEATH LAW THAT EXTINGUISHES MERITORIOUS CLAIMS
February 15, 2006, Hartford Courant, by Paul Marks
Sixty-one survivors of Pratt & Whitney employees who died of brain cancer lost their fight to sue the jet engine maker Tuesday when the state Supreme Court ruled against them.
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TRUCKER AWARDED $26.3 MILLION FROM JURY
January 24, 2006, Connecticut Post, by Michael P. Mayko
Not only was Shaun Pouliot left crippled when an 800-pound load fell on him in 2001, but his wife ran off with his best friend, leaving the paraplegic to care for three young children.
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