Overview
Joseph A. D’Avanzo is the managing partner of the firm’s New York office, with a broad-based practice that includes complex commercial and civil liability litigation in both state and federal courts. His clients include members of the aerospace, biotech and life sciences, construction, entertainment, fashion, sports, product manufacturing, real estate, and technology industries.
Joe regularly represents companies that are the subject of mass tort and class action litigation and has a proven track record as a trial attorney in “bet the company” cases. He is a former law secretary to a New York State Supreme Court Justice in Manhattan and is known by his clients and fellow members of the bar as an innovator, problem solver and trusted advisor. He is among a dwindling breed of attorneys with actual trial verdicts in high-exposure cases and with the sought-after judgment that comes with that experience.
Joe has become a “go to” attorney in the fashion industry as a result of the knowledge gained from being lead counsel for the defense in an antitrust class action against the leading fashion model agencies in New York (and other class actions that followed). He regularly represents fashion model agencies and fashion models in contract disputes, breach of restrictive covenants, representation agreement negotiations, branding, personal appearance and endorsement deals.
In addition, Joe has acted as lead trial and national coordinating counsel for Fortune 500 corporations and lead and liaison counsel in mass tort litigation. Whether it is antitrust, asbestos, breach of contract, civil rights, defamation, insurance coverage, personal injury, products liability, securities, toxic tort, or wrongful death claims, Joe has met his clients’ needs through cost-effective resolution strategies derived from vast experience.
Joe also serves as a mediator for the New York State Court system. In addition to training mediators for the New York State’s ADR program, Joe serves on the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge’s ADR Advisory Committee.
Experience
Representative Matters
Our firm is proud of the results it has achieved for clients, some of which are noted here. Of course, each legal matter is unique on many levels, and past successes are not a guarantee of results in any other pending or future matters.
Reported Decisions
- In re: Coloplast Corp. Pelvic Support Systems Prod. Liab. Litig., 2016 WL 6997350 (S.D.W.V. Nov. 29, 2016) (Goodwin, J.) (dismissing strict product liability and breach of warranty claims against the pelvic allograft implants).
- Kennedy-McInnis v. Biomedical Tissue Services, Ltd., 178 F. Supp. 3d 97 (W.D.N.Y. 2016) (summary judgment dismissing next-of-kin emotional distress claims against tissue bank that processed stolen body parts).
- In re Fashion Model Antitrust Litigation, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 698 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 16, 2003) & 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4502 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 23, 2004) (dismissing state law and Sherman Act claims).
- Goldmark Plastics International, Inc. v. Poly Line, Inc., No. 97 CV 5568, slip op. (E.D.N.Y., Feb. 4, 1998) (Gleeson, J.) (dismissal of breach of warranty, sale of goods for lack of “long arm” jurisdiction).
- Neher v. II Morrow, Inc., No. C94-1613WD, slip op. (W.D. WA. Jan. 15, 1997) (Dwyer, J.)(defense verdict for UPS following bench trial in multi-plaintiff products liability case).
- Benne v. International Business Machines Corporation, 887 F. Supp. 1395 (D. Kan. 1994), aff’d., 87 F3d. 419 (10th Cir. 1996) (granting summary judgment based on choice of laws and applicable statute of limitation).
- Sutera v. The Perrier Group of Amer., Inc., 986 F. Supp. 655 (D.MA. 1997) (Saris, J.)) (summary judgment in benzene exposure allegedly causing cancer, now widely cited for threshold requirements in toxic tort cases).
- Schneck v. IBM, 1996 WL 885789 (D.NJ. Jun. 25, 1996) (Brown, J.) (summary judgment following Daubert Hearing).
- Blanco v. AT&T, 223 A.D.2d 156, 646 N.Y.S.2d 99 (1st Dep’t 1996) (establishing applicable statute of limitations in repetitive stress injury cases).
- Tamburro v. International Business Machines Corporation, 232 A.D.2d 477, 648 N.Y.S.2d 935 (2d Dep’t 1996) (affirming summary judgment for industrial printer manufacturer in toxic tort case on statute of limitations grounds).
- In Re: New York County Data Entry Workers Product Liability Litigation, 167 Misc. 2d 496, 642 N.Y.S.2d 459 (Sup. Ct., N. Y. County 1994) (Crane, J.) (granting summary judgment to computer keyboard manufacturer in products liability case on statute of limitations grounds).
- In Re Repetitive Stress Injury Litigation, 11 F.3d 368 (2d Cir. 1993) (granting writ of mandamus and reversing consolidation of claims).
- In Re: Repetitive Stress Injury Litigation, 1992 WL 403023, MDL-955 (J.P.M.L. Nov. 27, 1992) (denying plaintiffs’ 28 U.S.C. §1407 application for creation of multidistrict consolidation).
Recognition
Honors & Recognitions
Selected for inclusion in the list of:
- New York Super Lawyers, Business Litigation, 2008 - 2022
- Martindale Hubbell, AV Preeminent lawyers
The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found at http://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process.html.
The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings list is issued by Martindale-Hubbell. A description of the selection methodology can be found at http://www.martindale.com/Products_and_Services/Client_Review_Ratings.aspx.
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News & Insights
News
Speaking Engagements
- Faculty, "Managing Domestic & Global Internal Investigations," Westchester-Southern Connecticut Association of Corporate Counsel (WESFACCA)
- Faculty, “Disclosure and Motion Practice Concerning Experts in Products Liability Cases,” N.Y.S. Bar Assoc., The Affinia Hotel, New York, NY.
- Faculty, “Traps for the Unwary: Ethical Issues for the In-House Counsel,” Westchester and Fairfield Counties Corporate Counsel Association (WESFACCA), Pepsi Bottling Co., Somers, NY.
- Faculty, “Winning Your Case in Federal Court,” New York County Lawyers’ Association, Committee on the Federal Courts, New York, NY.
- Faculty, “ABC’s of Civil Litigation: Complaints, Discovery & Pre-Trial Issues in New York Supreme Court,” The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, City Bar Center for Continuing Legal Education, New York, NY.
- Co-Chair and Presenter, “Repetitive Stress Injury Litigation,” Andrews Publications Seminar, Philadelphia, PA.
- “Ergonomics and the Law,” National Association of Manufacturers Meeting, “Managing Ergonomics: The Corporate Challenge,” Nashville, TN.
- “New Age Litigation: Prosecuting and Defending the Hot Topics in Products Liability Litigation,” American Bar Association, Section of Litigation 17th Annual Fall Meeting, Phoenix, AZ.
Publications
Associations
Community & Professional
- Instructor on the NYS Court System’s Early Neutral Evaluation program
- New York County Advisory Committee on ADR, N.Y.S. Supreme Court
- N.Y.S. Supreme Court, New York County Advisory Committee on Tort Litigation
- New York City Courts, Tort Advisory Committee
- N. Y. S. Bar Assoc. (Trial Lawyers Section)
- New York County Lawyers’ Association
- Law Secretaries and Law Assistants Collegium, Inc.
- Federal Bar Council
- Defense Research Institute
- Assoc. of Law Secretaries of the Supreme & Surrogate’s Courts
- American Bar Association (Section of Litigation, Trial Practice and Products Liability Committees; Torts and Insurance Practice Committee)
Practice Areas
Bar Admissions
- New York
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
Education
B.S., LeMoyne College, cum laude, 1979
J.D., New York Law School, cum laude, Law Review, 1982