February 5, 2010
Mr. Caleo and Mr. Bodzin defended a major retail department store during a 2 month trial in the Summer of 2001 where the Plaintiff sought damages following a fall that left him in a permanent vegetative state. Prior to the trial, the court ordered that they could not pursue their claim of contractual indemnity against their client's landlord until after the trial. Prior to verdict, they settled their client's claim for $4,000,000, which was significantly less than what would have been paid following the jury's verdict. Subsequently, Mr. Caleo, Mr. Bodzin and another attorney filed suit on behalf of the department store's insurers and pursued the contractual indemnity claim which was based on the lease provision that shifted the risk of paying for such a loss to the landlord and its insurers. Based on this theory, they were able to facilitate settlement of the claims of their client's primary and excess insurers for $1,950,000. This recovery permits the major retail department store to significantly correct its loss history and procure better insurance rates in the future.