Nuzzo & Roberts, L.L.C.

Best's Recommended Insurance Attorneys - General Defense

One Town Center, Cheshire, Connecticut 06410

Telephone: 203-250-2000
Fax: 203-250-3131
E-Mail: help@nuzzo-roberts.com
Website: www.nuzzo-roberts.com

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 747, Cheshire, CT 06410

Practice Areas
About Us
Client Information
Personnel
Additional Links
Service Areas

Practice Areas

Insurance Defense
Professional Liability
Legal Malpractice
Directors and Officers Liability
Workers' Compensation
Construction Litigation
Premises Liability
Product Liability

Toxic Torts
Appellate Practice
Employment Litigation
Municipal Liability
Coverage/Bad Faith Issues
Motor Vehicle Tort
Retail, Restaurant & Hospitality
Trucking & Transportation

About Us

Nuzzo & Roberts, L.L.C., an insurance defense law firm, handles trials and appeals in all federal and state courts in Connecticut. The firm’s attorneys are highly trained, effective advocates for our clients. We are committed to working closely with our clients to provide cost-effective, proactive and practical service. We pride ourselves on providing high quality yet efficient service to our clients. We value excellent communication, early diagnosis, active decision making and a driving desire to bring matters to a successful conclusion.

Our firm is A-V rated in Martindale Hubbell, and listed in A.M. Best and Connecticut and New England Super Lawyers. Our attorneys are active in local, state and national bar associations and other professional organizations. Rick Roberts is a past president of the New Haven County Bar Association and the Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association. Nuzzo & Roberts attorneys are frequent writers and speakers on many tort issues and enjoy a reputation as excellent trial attorneys.
We understand that the insurance world is changing, and not only comply with the letter of our client's guidelines, but the spirit of those guidelines by developing strategies with our clients to resolve cases successfully and expediently.

Practice Areas

Bad Faith/Coverage

Nuzzo & Roberts' clients benefit from our extensive knowledge of coverage issues and our reputations as tough negotiators and litigators. The Bad Faith/Coverage Group provides direct representation to insurers in matters of coverage, coverage litigation and bad faith. The firm's coverage attorneys have vast experience analyzing all types of claims and lawsuits and providing clear and concise coverage analysis of all issues that apply to each claim to assist insurers in properly reserving rights, preserving coverage issues and, when appropriate, denying claims based on coverage. The group also represents insurers in declaratory judgment actions in both state and federal court involving issues of insurance coverage. Additionally, Nuzzo & Roberts represents insurers in complaints before the insurance commission and in bad faith claims, providing advice, support, experience and our highly effective litigation skills.

Construction Litigation

The Construction Litigation Group represents general contractors, subcontractors, project managers, developers, design professionals, architects, engineers and property owners in various disputes arising out of negligence, design and construction defects, product defects, breach of contract, breach of warranty, unfair trade practices, insurance coverage issues and indemnity claims. The group represents clients in all Connecticut state and federal courts, tribal court and arbitrations. Our clients range from large construction firms to small businesses. We pride ourselves in providing clients in the construction industry with knowledgeable representation in complex and technical matters.

Employment Litigation

The Employment Litigation Group primarily represents management, either the business entity itself or managers and supervisors who have been sued individually, in employment-related matters. The group has handled all types of employment litigation, including representation before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the State of Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, as well as representation in federal and state courts. We handle a variety of employment litigation, including employment discrimination (including sexual and racial harassment complaints, disability discrimination, equal pay claims and sexual orientation claims), wrongful discharge, breach of employment contracts, employment-related torts (including defamation and misrepresentation), and violations of federal and related state laws (including the Family Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and Occupational Safety statutes).

Motor Vehicle Tort

The Motor Vehicle Tort Group is made up of highly skilled and able attorneys that can handle any matter, whether simple or complex. We handle all types of motor vehicle cases, from simple soft-tissue claims to catastrophic losses, including wrongful death claims. The trial attorneys in our group have tried over 80 cases since the late 1990s alone, and have handled numerous arbitrations and mediations.

We have a particular expertise in uninsured and underinsured motorist law, and have argued over ten appeals in that area of law alone. We are often called upon to try cases on the eve of trial and are able to respond to the challenge. When necessary, we work with accident reconstructionists, high quality investigators and members of the medical community who routinely testify in Connecticut.

Premises Liability

The Premises Liability Group has vast experience in premises liability and homeowner’s liability matters. Cases can range from slip and falls and dog bites to inadequate security and nuisance claims. We have litigated virtually every kind of defect from snow and ice to raised sidewalks, handicap ramps, fire escapes, curbs and stairways. We are familiar with applicable building codes and work with experts in the fields of forensic engineering, human factors, accident reconstruction and security. We also focus on shifting liability to third-parties through apportionment and indemnity claims, and aggressively seek the defense and indemnity from other insurers particularly in landlord tenant matters.

Product Liability

Nuzzo & Roberts' Product Liability Group has successfully represented product manufacturers, designers, distributors and retailers of a wide variety of consumer, industrial, automotive, recreational and health related products. We pride ourselves on gathering the facts immediately and familiarizing ourselves with the steps that go into the manufacture, assembly and installation of each product. When appropriate, we aggressively seek voluntary withdrawals when our client’s products were either not involved or played no role. We also work to shift liability to third parties and seek defense and indemnity through vendor’s endorsements. The group has worked with a variety of experts in different product fields in order to effectively defend our client’s interests.

Professional Liability

Nuzzo & Roberts is one of the leading Connecticut firms in the area of Professional Liability. We are sensitive to both protecting our client’s reputations and finances, as well as the negative personal impact related to being charged with malpractice. We pride ourselves in seeking early creative solutions and avoid protracted litigation, though our attorneys are experienced in trials and Alternative Dispute Resolution. We also utilize risk management to both avoid potential claims, as well as minimize future claims.

The Professional Liability Group represents professionals in a number of different industries, including:

Legal
Healthcare (hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, nurses and nursing agencies, home health aides and agencies, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, naturopathic doctors and chiropractors)
Directors and Officers
Insurance (agents, brokers, third party administrators, claims professionals, adjusters and investigators)
Real Estate
Accounting
Financial

Toxic Tort

The Toxic Tort Group has represented manufacturers, premises owners and contractors in a variety of toxic tort and environmental litigation. We have handled cases ranging from mold litigation, gas leaks, oils spills and exposure to hazardous substances, such as asbestos and other chemicals and substances.

Workers' Compensation

The Workers' Compensation Group works with workers’ compensation insurers, third party administrators and self-insured employers in the representation of employers in workers' compensation claims at informal hearings, pre-formal hearings and formal hearings. The group also handles intervening complaints in third party litigation, as well as appeals to the Compensation Review Board and the Connecticut Appellate Court. The group also counsels employers on risk management issues, including taking actions to reduce risk of worker injury.

The firm's attorneys try cases in all civil courts in the State of Connecticut. In addition to jury trials, our attorneys are involved in mediation, arbitration, courtside trials and administrative proceedings. Nuzzo & Roberts' attorneys have also argued numerous cases in the Appellate and Supreme Courts of Connecticut, including precedent setting cases in the field of uninsured motorist law.

Newsletters

The Workers' Compensation Group publishes quarterly newsletters with analysis of recent legislative updates and supreme court and appellate court decisions relevant to the interests of our clients. The newsletters include case details as well as editorial comment, and keep our clients abreast of important changes and developments in workers' compensation law.

Our Commitment

Nuzzo & Roberts is committed to fulfilling our mission of working in concert with our clients to make a difference in the outcome of the case by delivering timely, highly skilled legal services while minimizing cost and exposure. We take pride in our firm's attorneys, paralegals and staff and work to continually provide the best service possible to our clients.

Client Information

Insurance Clients

Non-Insurance Clients

Broadspire
Compass Group USA, Inc.
Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc.
Griffin Hospital

Trinity Health of New England
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
Yellow Freight System

Personnel Information

Managing Partners

Richard A. Roberts

Cheshire, CT

E-Mail: rroberts@nuzzo-roberts.com

Admitted

Connecticut, 1984
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 1985
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2006
U.S. Supreme Court, 2008

Additional Biographical Details:

Factfinder and Arbitrator, Superior Courts; Lecturer, Legal Studies, Quinnipiac College; AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell; AVVO: Highest Rating (10); Connecticut Super Lawyer® (2007-Present); New England Super Lawyer® (2007-Present); Court Appointed Arbitrator

Memberships:

American (Past District Representative-YLD), Connecticut and New Haven County (Past President) Bar Associations
Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association (Past President)
Defense Research Institute (Past District Representative)
Connecticut Civil Commission (Past Member)

Publications:

Co-Author: "A Defense Perspective of Tort Reform," Connecticut Law Tribune, June 1995
Presenter: "Preparing and Trying the Accident Case," PESI, 1995
"Advanced Personal Injury," NBI, 2000

Education:

State University of New York at Binghamton, B.A., 1979
State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, J.D., 1983

Honors:

Moot Court Board

Born: 1959

David J. Weil

Cheshire, CT

E-Mail: dweil@nuzzo-roberts.com

Admitted

Connecticut, 1988
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 1989

Additional Biographical Details:

AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Memberships:

Connecticut Bar Association (Workers' Compensation Section, Past Chair 2011-2013)

Education:

Franklin & Marshall College, B.A., 1982
The George Washington University Law School, J.D., 1988

Born: 1960

Partners

Jane S. Bietz

Cheshire, CT

E-Mail: jbietz@nuzzo-roberts.com

Admitted

Connecticut, 1994
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 1995
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2015

Memberships:

Connecticut Bar Association

Education:

Bowdoin College, B.A., 1991
University of Connecticut School of Law, J.D. (with honors), 1994

Law Review:

Notes and Comments Editor, Connecticut Law Review

Born: 1969

Michele C. Wojcik

Cheshire, CT

E-Mail: mwojcik@nuzzo-roberts.com

Admitted

Connecticut, 1998
Massachusetts, 2017
Virginia, 2021
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 1999
U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, 2021

Memberships:

Connecticut Bar Association
The American College of Coverage Counsel
Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
Claims and Litigation Management Alliance

Education:

Central Connecticut State University, B.A., 1993
University of Connecticut School of Law, J.D., 1998

Born: 1969

Jennifer J. Cavalier-Mozzer

Cheshire, CT

E-Mail: jcavaliermozzer@nuzzo-roberts.com

Admitted

Connecticut, 1999
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 2003

Memberships:

Connecticut Bar Association

Education:

Bryant College, B.S., 1994
Quinnipiac College School of Law, J.D., 1999

Born: 1972

Kevin C. Hines

Cheshire, CT

E-Mail: khines@nuzzo-roberts.com

Admitted

Connecticut, 2002
Massachusetts, 2002
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 2003
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2010

Additional Biographical Details:

AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell; Connecticut Super Lawyers® Rising Star: Civil Litigation, Construction Litigation, Personal Injury (2009-2014); New England Super Lawyers® Rising Star: Civil Litigation, Construction Litigation, Personal Injury (2009-2014)