George M. Vinci Jr. and David B. Picker receive further coverage in Law 360 in GMG/Margolis Case

By SGR July 12, 2024 Featured, News

In response to new developments regarding the ongoing litigation being handled by Shareholder and Director George M. Vinci Jr. and Senior Litigation Counsel David B. Picker, Law 360 has recently published an article regarding Mr. Vinci’s appearance before the full Delaware Supreme Court in the Margolis Edelstein/GMG Insurance Agency case, in which Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci P.C. represents Margolis Edelstein.

Mr. Vinci’s argument before the high court was quoted extensively in the article regarding his perspective on the ongoing litigation. He argued that GMG Insurance’s purported negligence wasn’t the reason they settled an underlying dispute for $1.2 million, and therefore, the malpractice suit against Margolis Edelstein should not be revived.

During oral arguments before the full high court, Mr. Vinci informed the justices that the idea that the firm’s representation was the proximate cause of the settlement was not demonstrated by GMG Insurance Agency.

Vinci remarked, “My whole argument is based upon causation, because as Your Honors know, negligence alone doesn’t establish liability… You need to establish causation, that is, that the negligence of the defendant was the proximate cause of the injury. What was the injury in this case? The injury in this case is the settlement.”

The case centers around legal services Margolis Edelstein provided to GMG and its former employee, Howard Wilson. GMG argued that Wilson was left in a vulnerable litigation position causing him to agree to an unfavorable $1.2 million settlement.

Last year, a Delaware Superior Court ruled that GMG did not prove Margolis Edelstein was at fault for the insurer’s settlement. GMG appealed this decision to the Delaware Supreme Court, asserting that a jury was the proper body to determine the fault of Margolis in Wilson’s interpretation of and actions based on the testimony provided by Margolis Edelstein.

George M. Vinci, Jr. is Shareholder and Director of Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci P.C., a Member of the Executive Committee, and Chairman of the Insurance Coverage & Casualty Litigation and Professional Liability & Malpractice Litigation practice groups. Mr. Vinci focuses his practice on civil litigation with a strong emphasis on professional malpractice, hospitality, employment, and insurance disputes.

Mr. Vinci’s litigation experience involves cases throughout the United States. Recently he obtained one of the highest verdicts in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000), in a fraud case against Grant Thornton. The case involved the sale of an abusive tax shelter. (William J. Yung et al v. Grant Thornton, LLP, et al., Kenton Cir. Ct., Fourth Division, Commw. Of Kentucky, Case No. 07-CI-04647.) He was involved in a groundbreaking election fraud case (Marks v. Stinson) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which was aired on Court TV.

Mr. Vinci has successfully handled a wide variety of complex commercial litigation matters including tortious interference, civil RICO, FDCPA, Class Action Wage and Hour disputes and bankruptcy litigation. He also represents a large number of Long Term Care facilities in Florida.

Mr. Vinci is a member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Professional Liability Underwriting Society and DRI. He served for six years as a panel member with the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Mr. Vinci has consistently been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer. In 2019, he was recognized with the Professional Excellence Award from The Legal Intelligencer, the oldest law journal in the United States, in the category of Distinguished Leaders. Mr. Vinci was also a recipient of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2019 Best of the Bar Award. In 2021, he was one of only 30 attorneys nationwide to be named an Insurance Law Trailblazer by the National Law Journal.

Combining careful analysis with clarity and forcefulness of expression, while never losing sight of clients’ practical needs, David B. Picker has broad experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in both trial and appellate courts in a wide range of commercial litigation matters, including contracts, commercial fraud, creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, professional malpractice, real estate, letter of credit, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and trust and estate matters. Mr. Picker regularly serves as an arbitrator for the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia.

Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci P.C. has represented clients nationally and internationally for nearly 50 years and provides counsel and expertise across the entire spectrum of legal practice, from complex litigation to sophisticated transactional and corporate matters. The firm has offices in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Florida, and New York.