Author Biographies: New York Motor Vehicle Accidents

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New York Motor Vehicle Accidents

About the Authors

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Gary B. Pillersdorf leads a New York City firm that specializes in personal injury work. He is immediate past president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) and recently was chairman of the Small Office Practice Section and chair of the Sections and Litigation Counsel of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA). He is a past president of the Melvin Belli Society, and a member of the Million-Dollar Advocates Forum.

Mr. Pillersdorf has lectured on motor vehicle accidents for ATLA and on No-fault benefits for NYSTLA. He teaches trial advocacy courses throughout the country and serves as Dean of the New York State Trial Lawyers Institute.

Mr. Pillersdorf has taken over 200 cases to verdict and has had over 20 verdicts of a million dollars or more. Noteworthy among those is a $25 million verdict in Delosovic v. NYC and International Harvester, a case that held NYC responsible for improperly timed traffic lights, and International Harvester responsible for a sight line design defect in their vehicles.

John F. Scarzafava is a trial lawyer from Oneonta who limits his practice to plaintiff’s personal injury law. He is a charter member of the President’s Club of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and is a member of the Million-Dollar Advocates Forum.

Mr. Scarzafava has lectured nationally for ATLA, Melvin Belli Seminars, National College of Advocacy, and the New York State Bar Association.

Mr. Scarzafava has handled many sophisticated auto cases, and has to his credit a $3 million punitive damage verdict against a leading auto manufacturer. He was also joint trial counsel in Denny v. Ford Motor Company, which helped redefine New York product liability law. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

J. Michael Hayes is a trial lawyer practicing in Buffalo. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocates. He is a Charter Member of the Buffalo Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Mr. Hayes lectures frequently and has presented numerous seminars for the New York State Bar Association and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

Mr. Hayes has taken many difficult cases to successful verdict. He was the first attorney in New York State to obtain a verdict under a new alcohol social host statute; the jury awarded his client over $2 million. He helped the estate of a truck driver who rear-ended the vehicle in front of him during a blinding whiteout to an $800,000 verdict, including $125,000 for an hour of conscious pain and suffering.