Punitive Damages in Living Trust Fraud Case
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
New York Law Journal
Volume 231, Page 16, Column 4
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
A NASSAU County judge has awarded $2 million in punitive damages to a man who responded to an attorney’s advertisement for a living trust and was bilked out of $2,000. State Supreme Court Justice Edward W. McCarty III granted the award, which totaled about $2.4 million. It stemmed from a case in which attorney Roger A. Giuliani allegedly sent a non-attorney to the home of Gerald Campbell to execute the living trust. Mr. Campbell’s attorney, Anthony Ballato, in Massapequa, alleged that Mr. Giuliani and other defendants pocketed the money without providing the service. The amount awarded last week in Campbell v. Cammarota, 4636-03, was a result of the default of non-attorney, Michael C. Cammarota, who earlier pleaded guilty to grand larceny and a scheme to defraud five victims out of $1.8 million. He is expected to be sentenced in Suffolk County today. The civil action against the remaining defendants, including Mr. Giuliani, is pending. The law firm of Lazer, Aptheker, Rosella & Yedid, previously was granted a motion to withdraw as Mr. Cammarota’s counsel for nonpayment.
A GROCERY STORE chain is not liable for the injuries of a 3-year-old who fell out of a shopping cart after his safety strap came unlatched. Nassau County Supreme Court Justice F. Dana Winslow in Quail v. Stop and Shop Super Food Market Co., 2046-02, was convinced by testimony of an assistant store manager who said that he regularly conducted inspections of the carts and safety belts. Marianne Quail testified that her son, Connor, reached out for an item on a shelf when the belt snapped open. He landed on the floor, injuring his arm.
