When David Kwass represented the estate of a golf pro who was killed during a fierce storm that swept through the Philmont Country Club, he faced at least three significant hurdles. Was Justin Riegel’s infant, born out of wedlock to Justin’s girlfriend, really his heir? Who was Justin’s employer? And was an “act of God” responsible for the storm?

But the biggest question David faced was how could an 83-foot-tall, 36,000-pound tree – the tree that killed Justin when it toppled onto a cart storage building where he was sheltering during the storm – be both healthy and hazardous?

Tune in as David joins host Brendan Lupetin for a behind-the-scenes look at how he navigated all these challenges to secure a $9.1 million verdict.  

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☑️ David Kwass | LinkedIn

☑️ Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky

☑️ Brendan Lupetin | LinkedIn

☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC

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• David’s focus on catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and construction accidents, especially those involving a crane or large equipment tipping over.
• When he worked on the defense side, David was a “square peg in a round hole.”
• Background of Hannon v. Concert Golf Management, in which David represented the estate of golf pro Justin Riegel, who was killed when a tree fell at the club where he worked. 
• David’s legal theory in the case: The tree that fell during the storm should have been removed before the storm hit and the club’s weather preparedness program should have been more robust.
• The issue that a focus group outlined and that David hadn’t expected: Was Justin Riegel the father of his girlfriend’s infant, born just weeks after the accident? 
• The other complicating issue: Who actually controlled the club where the accident occurred?
• How David’s team prevailed on the issue of who employed Justin Riegel.
• Was the storm that felled the tree an “act of God”? David’s team prevailed in getting “act of God” off the verdict form.
• The biggest problem: The tree was healthy. How to convey that a tree can be both healthy and a hazard?

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