Construction Accident Liability
General Property and Casualty Liability
Insurance Coverage Litigation
Product Liability
Professional Liability/ E&O/ D&O
Alcohol and Beverage Law
Call us : (212) 482-0001
Call us : (212) 482-0001
Cecil Floyd, a Partner in Russo & Gould's New York City and Hartford, CT offices, has more than 35 years of trial and litigation experience. Cecil's practice focuses on the defense of general liability matters including construction site accidents/Labor Law, premises liability, commercial transportation, automobile, Dram Shop claims, wrongful death, product liability, construction defects and property damage, as well as medical malpractice actions. He has represented a broad range of clients including construction companies, property owners and managers, restaurants, trucking companies, product manufacturers, gas stations, bus companies, utilities and small businesses.
Over his career, Cecil has taken dozens of high exposure cases to verdict on behalf of numerous major liability and casualty insurance carriers and has a substantial record of obtaining defense verdicts. More recently, a significant part of his work has included matters involving biomechanical analysis of injury causation. His published opinion, Shah v. Rahman, 167 A.D.3d 671 (2nd Dept. 2018) is frequently cited favorably in cases involving the admissibility of biomechanical testimony at trial and is referenced in the National Law Foundation's CLE materials on "Expert Witnesses in New York." Prior to joining Russo & Gould, Cecil served as a senior trial attorney for Nationwide and Scottsdale Insurance Companies, handling complex commercial cases from inception through verdict.
Cecil is a member of the New York State Bar Association and Defense Association of New York. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis and billiards. His favorite pastime is playing jazz, blues and classical guitar. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the American University, Washington College of Law, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Colby College.
In the matter of Bonczar v. AMC Theaters, the plaintiff filed suit claiming violations of Labor Law 240(1) after he fell from an A-Frame ladder he was using to install a smoke detection system. At his deposition, the plaintiff was equivocal on the issue of whether he had checked the ladder to ensure that it was locked in place when he ascended it prior to his fall, admitting that he may not have done so.
David Gould obtained a unanimous defense verdict in the Supreme Court, Nassau County, before Judge Catherine Rizzo in the Alexandra Jacques v. Thomas Joseph Oliveri and Stephen J. Oliveri case, Index Number 608950-20. The plaintiff, a 52-year old Nurses Aide at Northwell Hospital, was the driver of an SUV that was stopped in traffic on the Southern State Parkway in Nassau County when the defendant, Thomas Joseph Oliveri who was 17-years old at the time of the accident, made contact with the rear of her vehicle. The case was tried solely on damages regarding whether the plaintiff sustained a "serious injury". The plaintiff underwent a right knee and right shoulder arthroscopy within four months of the accident. One of the plaintiff''s orthopedic medical experts testified that in his opinion that she will require future cervical and spinal fusion surgeries at a cost of $150,000.00 each. Mr. Gould argued that the impact was merely a minor fender bender and thus it was not the proximate cause of her past surgeries as well as any surgeries that might occur in the future.
On April 28, 2023 Kevin Horbatiuk won a verdict in favor of our clients after a trial on liability in Queens County, Supreme Court in the case of El Hassan vs Munoz Trucking Corporation and Maria Theresa Corral.