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Advocates for a Cause
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The partners and staff of Wilkofsky, Friedman, Karel & Cummins have won unprecedented property damage verdicts in the millions of dollars and are responsible for numerous landmark decisions which have enhanced the rights of consumers in confronting insurance company misconduct.
This history of success has served our clients well. We have regularly won compensation for the losses, damage and pain they have suffered at the hands of insensitive insurance companies who are often acting in bad faith.
We take great pride in the contributions we have made to improving our clients' lives. We are proud as well of the positive influence we have had on the insurance industry.
What We Do
Wilkofsky, Friedman, Karel & Cummins has been in existence since 1987. Our firm concentrates most of its work in the field of first-party insurance litigation and property damage litigation, representing clients in the Federal and State Courts throughout the New York-New Jersey and Pennsylvania metropolitan regions, and elsewhere.
The firm specializes in representing victims of disasters such as fires, floods, storm damage, theft, collapse, and other casualties as well as representing those with disabilities and personal injuries, protecting the rights of the consumer with an aggregate of over 100 years insurance litigation experience. In addition, the firm has personal injury and commercial litigation teams and has successfully litigated toxic tort, legal malpractice and civil rights litigation.
Who We Are
Jonathan J. Wilkofsky is our founding and managing
partner. He has been litigating insurance and property damage claims for more than 20 years. He has represented victims of catastrophes occurring all over the world including the
"Monrovia Fires" in West Africa as well as one of the largest gas pipeline explosions in the country in the
"Hellgate" case, which led to a multi-million dollar settlement during trial. Mr. Wilkofsky, who has yet to lose a jury verdict, has represented several thousand victims of insurance company misconduct.
Mr. Wilkofsky was lead counsel in the matter of Riordan v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company. That case, tried before the Chief Judge of the Southern District of New York and argued before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, was the first case in the history of the State of New York where an insured successfully prevailed against an insurance carrier for attorneys' fees and punitive damages for deceptive acts and practices.
Additionally, Mr. Wilkofsky was lead trial counsel in Newark Center Building Co. adv. Atlas Assurance Company, which represents one of the largest property damage verdicts in New York Supreme Court history at $12.6 million. The case involved the asbestos contamination and resulting abandonment of the former New Jersey state office building in Newark, New Jersey.
Mr. Wilkofsky has been the Executive Director and General Counsel of the New York Public Adjusters Association since 1994 and is General Counsel and on the Board of Directors of Citizens Against Unfair Insurance Practices, a consumer lobbyist.
Mr. Wilkofsky has also drafted insurance related legislation and insurance regulations to better protect the consumer. He drafted and spearheaded the passage of legislation requiring language to be added to every property policy issued in New York which requires the insurance company to share their experts' reports upon demand by the insured. (Insurance Law ?407(a)). The bill was signed into law by Gov. Pataki on September 15, 2001. Mr. Wilkofsky drafted and lobbied for the passage of a law requiring minimum standards and mandatory continuing education for insurance adjusters.
He has lectured for the New York State Bar Association on the subject of trial tactics, and has spoken on the subjects of
"The Appraisal Process" and the role of the public adjuster in the adjustment process. He is also the author of the legal treatise The Law and Procedure of Insurance Appraisal.
Mark L. Friedman has been litigating
insurance-related cases for more than 25 years. During this time, he has successfully protected policyholders against false claims of arson and fraud in hundreds of jury trials in state and federal court. He has also assisted countless disabled individuals in obtaining disability benefits which were wrongfully withheld by insurance carriers, including UnumProvident
and Paul Revere. As an outgrowth of this practice, Mr. Friedman also pursues
class actions against insurance carriers for widespread abuses against the
public at large.
Mr. Friedman is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School and began his career
in criminal law providing the rich underpinning of his present practice which emphasizes trials and appeals.
David B. Karel has been litigating first-party
insurance, property damage and disability insurance cases for sixteen years. In addition he litigates the
firm's construction matters and economic claims, as well as representing clients in commercial litigation, discrimination and malpractice claims. Mr. Karel obtained his law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and thereafter obtained an L.L.M. in Taxation from New York University.
Mr. Karel served four and one half years in the Kings County District Attorney's office, culminating in his position as Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Economic Crimes and Arson Bureau. He has also briefed and argued numerous appeals before many respected appellate courts including the New York State Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, primarily on insurance and property damage issues. He also has extensive trial experience in state and federal courts.
Mr. Karel has lectured on behalf of The New York State Bar Association
and has addressed attorneys, brokers and adjusters. He has written and
lectured on the topic of Ethics in Public Adjusting for the New York Public
Adjusters Association.
Harry A. Cummins a graduate of New York Law
School and the State University of New York at Binghamton, has been litigating and trying first party and third party property damage cases for the past fifteen years. He regularly handles appellate work in those areas of law.
Mr. Cummins handles disability litigation, both those matters involving privately held policies as well as ERISA claims. Mr. Cummins handles a significant volume of insurance litigation on behalf of one of the nation's leading mortgage lenders. He has handled numerous coverage disputes on behalf of building owners involved in liability and related litigation. He established and oversees the firm's growing personal injury and commercial practices.
Herbert J. Marek is the senior associate at the firm.
He is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School and graduated with honors from Pace University. Mr. Marek was a senior associate at Weg & Myers, P.C. where he handled first and third-party property damage claims and insurance matters. Subsequently, Mr. Marek was an Associate Vice-President at Prudential Securities, handling securities matters and has been counsel for Chubb and Sons. Mr. Marek has practiced before the state and federal courts of New York and New Jersey for more than 15 years and is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States. His hard work and diligence have been well known for many years in our personal injury and commercial insurance litigation practices. Frank P. Winston an associate with the firm, is a
graduate of New York Law School and has been admitted to practice for more than 8 years. Mr. Winston is an expert in the field of insurance law, having successfully represented corporate and individual policyholders in actions involving fire, theft, water damage and windstorm losses. He specializes in the litigation of disability insurance claims on individual and group policies of disability insurance. Recently, in a case of first impression in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, Mr. Winston successfully argued that a "conversion plan" offered to an employee was not subject to the regulation of ERISA as the employee had left his job. This case is significant as ERISA preemptions deny insureds the right to a jury trial and often grant the insurance company deference in their decision making process.
His other areas of practice include toxic tort matters, personal injury and premises liability.
Alan H. Casper is Of Counsel to the firm in our
Philadelphia and New Jersey offices. He received his JD cum laude from American
University's Washington College of Law in 1986. He is admitted to both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bars, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eastern and Middle District Courts of Pennsylvania and the District Court of New Jersey. Since 1992, Mr. Casper has represented the insurance policyholder with regard to a variety of insurance policies: property, liability, life, health and disability insurance - both private and ERISA plans. He is also experienced in fire, insurance coverage and insurance bad faith litigation. He is Executive Director and General Counsel of the Pennsylvania Association of Public Insurance Adjusters. Mr. Casper also contributes a feature column on Fire & Property Insurance Litigation for the PaTLA News and has published articles in the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, The New Jersey Trial Lawyer and The New Jersey Employment Law Quarterly. Mr. Casper is a former Chair of
ATLA's Bad Faith Insurance Litigation Group. Mr. Casper has lectured on insurance and bad faith issues for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Mealey Publications, and National Business Institute and the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.Sandra Dozis is Assistant to the
Managing Partner Jonathan Wilkofsky. She has worked in the insurance industry handling first party claims for policyholders for more than 25 years. She is a graduate of New York Paralegal School and has been with the firm since 1994. The combination of her vast knowledge of insurance, her first hand experience with insurance industry leaders as well as her paralegal skills make her a valuable asset to the firm and its clients. Ms. Dozis has also been Administrator for the New York Public Adjusters Association for the last 9 years.
Vishwas
Kadam has been the office manager of the firm
almost since its inception. He is responsible for supervising the
firm's paralegal, clerical, bookkeeping and office service staff. His expertise on matters of court rules and procedures has been beneficial to the
firm's clients for many years. Mr. Kadam is also responsible for supervising and managing the firm's extensive libraries, computer and data management systems.
Mr. Kadam also manages the physical plant and equipment utilized by the firm which encompasses the entire 17th floor at our New York office.. The firm maintains extensive high-speed copying, fax and communications equipment to support the firm's day-to-day operations and its clients' needs.
Mr. Kadam has his degree in Public Administration and a post graduate diploma in Labor Law from the National Institute of Law in Bombay.
A sampling of our clients
National Bank of New York City, The Indonesian Mission to the United Nations, Loehmann's, Adolfo, Peter Kalikow, Kikit, Jordache, San Giorgio, Liberian American Insurance Company, Barthman's Jewelry, The Guggenheim Trust, Cliftex, Inc., Village of Rockville Centre, Waste Management of New York, Churchill Furniture, Donovan Data Systems, Ginori China, the artists Isabelle Borgotta, James Rizzi and Virginia Jaramillo, Tuv Taam Corp., United States Small Business Administration, The Macklowe Organization, The Durst Organization, Levites Realty Corp., The Trump Organization, Pet Assure, Inc., Heller Realty, Residential Management, Roma Furniture, Citizens Against Unfair Insurance Practices, GMAC, Homecoming Financial Network, Pearl Artist and Craft Supply Corp, Sikh Cultural Society, Thurcon Properties, Ltd., Susan Magrino Agency, Inc., and thousands of other commercial and residential victims.
Contact Information
- New York Office
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Telephone (212) 285-0510
Fax (212) 285-0531
299 Broadway, Suite 1700
New York, New York 10007
E-Mail: info@wfkclaw.com - New Jersey Office
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Telephone (888) 285-0510
Fax (856) 722-1485
504 Birchfield Drive
Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054
E-Mail: info@wfkclaw.com - Philadelphia Office
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Telephone (215) 546-1124
Fax (215) 735-9004
1500 Walnut Street, Suite 1100
Philadelphia, PA 19102
E-Mail: info@wfkclaw.com
Send mail to info@wfkclaw.com with questions or comments about this web site.
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