Teresa M Cinnamond
Teresa.Cinnamond@kennedyslaw.com
+1 908 647 8390
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Profile
Education
- Hofstra University School of Law, JD (with honors), 1993
- University of Richmond, BA (cum laude), 1990
Teresa is a partner and has been with the firm since 2007. She has over 30 years of experience litigating a wide array of general liability, commercial and cyber litigation matters in state and federal courts in the United States.
Teresa is highly skilled at successfully defending property owners, property and construction managers, developers, general contractors, and subcontractors in all types of general liability and construction defect cases. A zealous advocate in the courtroom, Teresa is also a formidable negotiator at mediations and arbitrations. Teresa also focuses her practice on the litigation of complex commercial disputes in state and federal courts and counsels educational and health care providers and others as they navigate data breaches and respond to cyber events, including ransomware attacks, working to comply with notification requirements and minimize negative impacts to clients, their customers, and employees.
Recently, Teresa completed a secondment for an international insurer where she evaluated problematic general liability claims, directed defense counsel throughout the United States, and secured favorable settlements through negotiations, including during mediations and trials.
Teresa has published several professional articles in the New Jersey Law Journal and other publications. She lectures on a diverse range of legal issues. Working pro bono, Teresa has successfully represented victims of domestic violence and their children. She is an active member of the firm’s Mentorship Program.
Teresa graduated with honors from Hofstra University School of Law where she served as both a Staff Member and Editor of the Hofstra Law Review and received the Property Law Award for her graduating class. She also graduated with honors from the University of Richmond with a BA in Economics and Political Science and received the May Thompson Evans Scholarship in Political Science and a United States Army ROTC Scholarship.
Teresa is admitted to practice law in the states of Colorado, New Jersey and New York, several federal courts in those states, and appears in other jurisdictions on a pro hac vice basis.
Qualifications and admissions
- Colorado
- New Jersey
- New York
- US District Court, New Jersey
- US District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
- US Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Work highlights
- Secured a directed verdict as co-counsel for a defendant property owner and its manager in a catastrophic construction site accident case. Plaintiff, a roofing foreman, allegedly suffered paraplegia after falling 25 feet through a translucent skylight panel onto a concrete floor. After ruling on eight motions in limine and hearing live testimony before a jury from ten fact witnesses and two experts, the court dismissed plaintiff’s claims relying upon legal arguments and case law that had been cited in our pre-trial motions for summary judgment, reconsideration, and leave for interlocutory appeal.
- Successfully secured summary judgments and favorable settlements in numerous complex personal injury and construction defect lawsuits, extricating clients from costly protracted litigation.
- Secured summary judgment dismissing the complaint against a roofing contractor in a case involving a fall through a warehouse roof resulting in permanent injuries that required a life care plan. Successfully argued that the indemnification agreement contained in the contract between the plaintiff’s employer and the property owner was unenforceable under New Jersey law, provisions requiring compliance with “all applicable laws and standards” were too broad to be enforced, all common law claims were barred, and implied indemnity claims were without merit.
- Successfully settled a construction site accident case involving a fall from a ladder prior to trial. Located a non-party witness who admitted to erecting the ladder in question and secured contribution pursuant to another policy under which the general contractor client may have been an additional insured.
- Secured summary judgment dismissing the Complaint against a property owner and developer in a case of serious personal injuries sustained by a worker due to alleged hazards on the work site. Successfully argued that no duty of care was owed to plaintiff.
- Successfully settled a case with no contribution paid on behalf of a general contractor on a multi-trade construction project involving demolition followed by work of several trades including plaintiff’s employer. Plaintiff fell through demolition debris while traversing the debris to get to an entryway that was not cordoned off.
- Successfully settled a multi-party case at mediation on behalf of a condominium board and its property manager in federal court involving allegations of Legionnaire’s disease and mold related injuries.
- Successfully settled numerous construction defect lawsuits against contractors following attendance at site inspections and depositions.
- Successfully defended an excess insurer against an appeal in the New York Supreme Court, First Department. The Court held that the excess insurer’s disclaimer of coverage was proper where the parties seeking additional insured coverage had not entered into a direct contract with the named insured.
- Successfully prosecuted and defended numerous declaratory judgment actions and appeals on behalf of insurers.
Presentations and publications
- “Construction site injury litigation: Pursing or defending claims against site owners, contractors and third parties,” presented for Strafford Publications (October 2023)
- Co-author, “Beyond borders: how to obtain a plaintiff’s medical records located outside the US,” published for Kennedys (June 2022)
- Co-author, “Whose duty is it - crafting a defense in a construction site accident case,” published for Kennedys (February 2021)
Construction and engineering
Insurance and reinsurance