Partner, Vincent Terrasi recently secured a win at a binding arbitration in the case of Scuorzo v. Safdar, et. al.  Scuorzo was a pedestrian struck by a black livery car in Manhattan in 2010.  The black livery car claimed that it was caused to hit the pedestrian due to the negligent operation of an ambulance that entered an intersection against a red signal. The ambulance driver activated an air horn in the direction of the livery car, startling the livery driver, which resulted in evasive actions that led to the accident.  WCM represented a black car dispatch company and the sole legal theory against the base was that they were vicariously liable for the acts of the driver on a theory of respondeat superior.

After 7 days of jury selection, the defendants settled with plaintiff and resolved the liability dispute amongst the defendants over the course of a two-day binding arbitration.  While fault for the accident was apportioned between the two drivers, WCM proved that the base was not an employer for the purposes of vicarious liability, resulting in a complete win for WCM’s client.