Neil Sambursky graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1985, obtaining his B.S. in Accounting. Neil graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1988, during which he participated in the Stone Moot Court Competition and was a teaching assistant in a First Amendment class given in Boston University’s undergraduate School of Communications. Neil is admitted to practice before the State and Federal Courts in New York and New Jersey.

Neil became a partner in MSSSV in 2002, after having been a partner in a New York City law firm with a national practice, where he practiced for thirteen years.  Neil is an experienced litigator including trials, appeals, mediations and arbitrations throughout the country. Neil’s tort defense practice includes product liability, construction accident, automobile/trucker liability and premises liability cases. Neil also has extensive experience in the defense of professional liability claims for accountants, lawyers, architects and engineers.

Neil is also a well-established insurance coverage litigator, who is also frequently called upon to render coverage opinions for claims under general and professional liability policies. Neil has litigated environmental coverage disputes throughout the country and represents insurance companies in declaratory judgment actions on a wide range of coverage issues in various states. Neil is also called upon for his experience in defending bad faith claims.

Neil has argued numerous motions at both the trial and appellate levels and set forth below are just some of his reported and unreported decisions:

• Hanson v. Turner Construction, et al. 70 A.D. 3d 641 (2d Dept. 2010) (Labor Law/Insurance Coverage) (After successfully obtaining summary judgment dismissing the Labor Law case against a General Contractor, Neil also got the Appellate Division to reverse the trial court and dismiss a third-party action against his insurer client by a putative additional insured.)
• Fernandez v. Central Mine Equipment Company, 670 F. Supp 2d 178 (2009) (Product Liability) (District Court grants Daubert motion to exclude plaintiff’s expert and summary judgment dismissing complaint against product manufacturer in an amputation case.)
• Halliday v. Stevens, et al., 55 A.D. 3d 790 (2d Dept. 2008) (Product Liability) (Appellate Division affirms summary judgment dismissing product liability action against manufacturer of firefighter gear brought by a horrifically injured firefighter who claimed his injuries were caused by a defect in the gear.)
• Baughn v. Pride Mobility Products, et al., 221 Fed.Appx. 14 (2d Cir. 2007) (Product Liability) (Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirms summary judgment in favor of electric scooter manufacturer in wrongful death action.)
• Griffin v. 19-20 Industry Associates, et al., 37 A.D.3d 412 (2d Dept. 2007) (Premises Liability) (Appellate Division affirms summary judgment dismissing slip and fall claim arising from an alleged malfunction of a sprinkler system.)
• Hutzler v. State of New York, 282 A.D.2d 503, 722 N.Y.S.2d 772 (2d Dep’t 2001) (Labor Law) (Appellate division affirmed summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint based upon New York’s Labor §§ 240(1), 241(6) and 200.)
• Sheridan’s Children’s Healthcare Services v. Steadfast Insurance Co. (Insurance Coverage) (USDC Southern District of Florida Sept. 28, 2001)(Summary judgment in favor of Steadfast dismissing bad faith/punitive damage suit.)
• Andrei v. DHC Hotels and Resorts, Inc, et al, 99 Civ. 2555 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) (Premises Liability) (Dismissal of claim against Aruba Hotel based upon lack of personal jurisdiction.)
• Moore v. Nayer, et al., 321 N.J. Super 419 (App Div. 1999) (Insurance Coverage) (New Jersey Appellate Division affirms dismissal of Zurich “bobtail” trucker’s policy and refuses to hold that the policy violated New Jersey’s compulsory motor vehicle laws.)
• Tasayco v. Konica Corporation, 267 A.D.2d 467, 699 N.Y.S.2d 467 (2d Dep’t 1999) (Product Liability/Toxic Tort) (Appellate division reversed trial court and dismissed toxic tort case arising out of exposure to Formaldehyde in the workplace.)
• Essex Chemical Corp v. Hartford, et al., 993 F. Supp. 241 (D.NJ 1998) (Insurance Coverage) (Reversal of Magistrate Judge’s decision disqualifying joint defense group based upon implied attorney-client privilege and appearance of impropriety doctrines.)
• Employers Insurance of Wausau v. The Duplan Corp, et al. 1999 WL 777976 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) (Insurance Coverage) (Summary judgment that the sudden and accidental pollution exclusion barred coverage for clean-up claims in New York and the Virgin Islands.)
  

Presentations and Speeches

• “Trying The Environmental Coverage Case” (Mealey’s 1998)
• “Commercial Lines Insurance Coverage With Advanced Issues” (New York State Bar Assoc. 2004)
• “2005 Update and Overview of Premises Liability” (New York State Bar Assoc. 2005)
• “Commercial Lines: Coverage for the Construction Defect Claim” (New York State Bar Assoc. 2006)
• “2007 Insurance Coverage Update:  Focus on First Party Coverage Issues. (New York State Bar Assoc. 2007)
• “Can the Commercial General Liability Policy Survive?  Recent Developments Affecting Coverage for Bodily Injury Claims Under the CGL Policy”  (New York State Bar Assoc. 2008)
• “Additional Insured Coverage: Hot Topics & Critical Issues for 2009”  (New York State Bar Assoc. 2009)
• “Practical Skills – Basic Tort and Insurance Law Practice” (New York State Bar Assoc. 2010)
• In-house presentations for clients on coverage and defense issues.