Hardin, Kundla, McKeon & Poletto, P.A.

Best's Recommended Insurance Attorneys - General Defense

George R. Hardin

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Insurance Law
• Product Liability
• Toxic Torts
• Mass Tort
• Professional Liability
• Construction Law
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Appeals
• Litigation

Admitted

• New Jersey, 1974
• New York, 1981
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1974
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second and Third Circuits, 1978
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1983
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1990

Additional Biographical Details:

AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®

Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. Mr. Hardin is a cum laude graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law and a former judicial law clerk in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County. Prior to his law career, Mr. Hardin was employed as a labor relations representative for General Motors Corporation. At that time, he gained extensive corporate experience, including a working knowledge of manufacturing processes and the labor field.

Mr. Hardin is admitted to the New Jersey and New York State Bars, the Bar of the United States District Courts for the District of New Jersey and the Southern District of New York, the Bar of the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits, and the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. He is a litigation and appellate attorney with extensive experience in matters involving insurance coverage, professional liability and errors and omissions claims, products liability, and construction claims. He represents clients in mediation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution proceedings. Mr. Hardin has been handling insurance and product liability cases since first entering the practice of law, and has had extensive involvement in multi-party environmental, toxic tort, and asbestos litigation cases which have arisen over the past three decades. He has also been involved in defending claims against public entities and public employees under Title 59, the New Jersey Tort Claims Act.

Mr. Hardin is Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. He has successfully conducted, through trial and appeal, many cases involving large exposures and significant issues to the firm’s clients. He oversees the firm's litigation practice encompassing multi-party, complex, and high-exposure cases.

Memberships:

• American (Tort and Insurance Practice Section), New Jersey State, Essex County (Past Trustee & Past Chair, Legal/Medical Committee, Products Liability Committee) and Union County (Judicial and Prosecutiorial Appointments Committee) Bar Associations
• New Jersey Defense Association
• Defense Research Institute

Certifications:

• Certified Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey

Education:

• Seton Hall University, B.A., 1968
• Seton Hall University, J.D. (cum laude), 1974

Clerkship:

Law Clerk, Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County

Born: 1946

Mark S. Kundla

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Product Liability
• Fire & Explosion
• Professional Liability
• Transportation
• Construction Law
• Business Law
• Commercial Law
• General Defense Civil Litigation

Admitted

• New Jersey, 1981
• New York, 1990
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1983

Additional Biographical Details:

AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®; Listed in New Jersey Super Lawyers®; Top Attorneys in New Jersey, Peer Recognition and Professional Achievement, New Jersey Monthly; Top Rated Lawyers, New Jersey's Legal Leaders, Wall Street Journal

Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. Mr. Kundla graduated Seton Hall University in 1978, receiving his B.A. degree cum laude after earning Honor's List distinction and Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society membership throughout his collegiate years. In 1981, Mr. Kundla received his J.D. degree cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law, where he was Associate Editor of the Law Journal. Following graduation, he served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable John J. Geronimo, Civil Assignment Judge, Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Hudson County.

Mr. Kundla has focused his practice on defense litigation largely in the fields of products liability, fire and explosion, professional liability including attorney malpractice, medical and dental malpractice and brokers' errors and omissions, and social services and behavioral health. His litigation unit also is responsible for transportation law, construction law, business and commercial law, and general negligence claims, including claims against public entities under Title 59 of the New Jersey Tort Claims Act.

Mr. Kundla is Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. He has successfully tried numerous complex products liability, medical malpractice and accident reconstruction cases, achieving outstanding results for the Firm's clients.

Memberships:

• American, New Jersey State and New York State Bar Associations
• LP Gas Defense Association
• Defense Research Institute

Certifications:

• Certified Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey

Education:

• Seton Hall University, B.A. (cum laude), 1978
• Seton Hall University, J.D. (cum laude), 1981

Law Review:

Associate Editor, Seton Hall University School of Law Journal

Clerkship:

Law Clerk to Hon. John J. Geronimo, Civil Assignment Judge, Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Hudson County

Born: 1956

John F. McKeon

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Personal Injury Litigation
• Medical Malpractice
• Health Care Liability
• Negligence
• Commercial Law
• Professional Liability
• Government Affairs
• Real Estate
• Long-Term Care
• Human Services Litigation (including Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health, and Behavioral Health)

Admitted

• New Jersey, 1983
• New York, 2017

Additional Biographical Details:

AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® New Jersey Super Lawyers® Top Rated Lawyer; Young Lawyer of the Year, New Jersey State Bar Association

Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. For the past 25 years, Mr. McKeon has served as National Coordinating Counsel to Human Services Programs. As such, he has extensive experience in the fields of developmental disabilities, mental health, behavioral health and social services/foster care. He has managed high exposure litigation in 40 States, inclusive of training claims professionals, recruiting and monitoring panel counsel, and working closely with forensic experts. Beyond participating in a number of jury trials, he has conducted hundreds of arbitrations and mediations on behalf of service providers.

Certified by the Supreme Court as a Civil Trial Attorney since 1991, Mr. McKeon is a senior partner at Hardin, Kundla, McKeon & Poletto.

Concurrent with his legal career, Mr. McKeon served six years on the Township Council prior to being elected Mayor of the Township of West Orange, a position he held for 3 consecutive terms from 1998 through 2010. Contemporaneously, Mr. McKeon was elected to the New Jersey State Assembly and has represented the 27th Legislative District continuously since 2001. In addition to having served as Legislative Counsel to former New Jersey Governor, Richard J. Codey, Mr. McKeon is a past chairperson of the Judiciary Committee and Environmental & Solid Waste Committee. He currently services as chairperson of the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.

Memberships:

• New Jersey State and New York State Bar Associations
• New Jersey General Assembly (Chairman, Judiciary Committee)

Certifications:

• Certified Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey

Education:

• Muhlenberg College, B.A. (cum laude), 1980
• Seton Hall University, J.D., 1983

Clerkship:

Law Clerk, Hon. Joseph M. Thuring, Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Hudson County

Born: 1958

Janet L. Poletto

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Professional Liability
• Medical Malpractice
• Long-Term Care
• Mass Tort
• Toxic Torts
• Insurance Law
• Complex Litigation
• Class Actions
• Environmental Law
• Life Sciences Litigation

Admitted

• New Jersey, 1980

Additional Biographical Details:

AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®

Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. Ms. Poletto is a 1976 graduate of Bucknell University, where she earned her B.A. magna cum laude with special recognition and highest honors in Psychology. In 1980, Ms. Poletto graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and was admitted to the New Jersey State Bar that same year.

Ms. Poletto has been primarily engaged as a civil litigation attorney, working on matters involving all aspects of defense litigation as well as the analysis and litigation of insurance coverage issues. She has extensive experience in litigating matters in the fields of professional liability; defending claims against doctors and other healthcare professionals dating back to the beginning of her career. That experience has extended to the defense of Long Term Care claims as they have developed over the years. She has also become involved in the defense of legal malpractice, real estate and insurance agent malpractice claims.

Ms. Poletto has also had significant involvement in analyzing and litigating questions relating to insurance coverage including issues of bad faith and extra-contractual claims, and has developed special expertise in the analysis and litigation of insurance coverage disputes relating to environmental and latent injury claims. Her involvement with environmental and mass tort coverage litigation dates to the mid 1980s and she has been extensively engaged in litigating these issues since then. Her experience includes the trials of a number of significant pollution coverage cases and she is counsel of record in a number of appellate division decisions in New Jersey addressing pollution coverage issues. Her involvement also extends to litigating environmental liability claims, including contribution claims among potentially responsible parties.

Ms. Poletto has further become engaged in the defense of Life Sciences claims including, biomedical and medical device, pharmaceutical, toxic tort, chemical exposure, and other mass tort claims.

Her practice includes the appeals of litigated matters and she has successfully argued before the New Jersey Appellate Division, New Jersey Supreme Court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. She also has extensive experience in representing clients in mediation, arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.

Ms. Poletto is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a civil trial attorney having successfully litigated, through trial and appeal, a significant number of cases. This recognition is accomplished by less than 5% of New Jersey attorneys.

Ms. Poletto's decades of litigation experience has culminated in more recent years in intensive involvement in high exposure, complex, multi-party litigation, including the litigation of class actions and matters handled through the Federal Multi-District Litigation program. In a number of these matters she has been appointed to serve as defense liaison counsel, acting as the conduit on behalf of the defense in communications with the court and plaintiff's counsel. This experience has gained Ms. Poletto particularized knowledge and skill in handling document intensive litigation and stewarding and strategizing electronic discovery issues and vast data repositories.

Memberships:

• New Jersey State Bar Association
• Professional Liability Defense Federation
• Defense Research Institute

Certifications:

• Certified Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey

Education:

• Bucknell University, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1976
• Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1980

Born: 1955

John S. Favate

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Litigation
• Insurance Coverage
• Employment Practices
• Professional Liability
• Complex Litigation

Admitted

• New Jersey, 1985
• New York, 2017
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
• U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second and Third Circuits

Additional Biographical Details:

AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®

Mr. Favate is a partner having joined the firm in 1986 following completion of a judicial clerkship in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County. His practice focuses on representing insurers in insurance coverage disputes, representing management and employers in employment practice matters, defense of legal, insurance and other professionals in professional liability matters and complex litigation.

Memberships:

• American and New Jersey State Bar Associations
• Defense Research Institute

Education:

• Saint Peter's College, B.A., 1982
• University of Bridgeport, J.D., 1985

Clerkship:

Law Clerk, Hon. Frank A. Piscatella, Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County

Honors:

Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award

Born: 1960

Paul Daly

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Product Liability
• Fire
• Complex Litigation
• Professional Liability
• Transportation
• Construction Law
• Business Law
• Commercial Law
• General Liability
• Warranty

Admitted

• New Jersey, 1995
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1995

Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. Paul Daly is one of the less than 2% of attorneys in the State of New Jersey to be recognized by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney. Over a career of more than 20 years, Paul has tried both typical personal injury matters and cases involving unusual, complex legal issues. For example: Patio World v. Grand Hall, Paul successfully defended a Taiwanese Grill manufacturer in a dispute with a retailer over the termination of a distribution agreement; Galanty v. Chrysler, Paul successfully defended Chrysler against a claim that it illegally imported and sold a vehicle that had been in an accident; Fernandez v. Elizabethtown Gas, Paul successfully defended a gas utility company in a claim that its failure to terminate gas service led to a house fire; Barrett v. Bergen Regional Medical Center, Paul successfully defended a hospital in a claim that it violated a patient's civil rights when it involuntarily committed her; Inigo v. McDonalds, Paul successfully defended a McDonalds franchise on a food poisoning claim; Bank Tree v. Trust Realty, Paul successfully defended a real estate broker on a claim that she fraudulently concealed defects in the property.

In addition, Paul has accumulated vast experience representing the propane industry in fire and explosion cases. Paul has represented propane companies in multiple fatality and catastrophic injury cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Delaware and North Carolina. He has presented to numerous industry groups on issues related to NFPA 58 (the LP Gas Code), NFPA 54 (the National Fuel Gas Code) and NFPA 921 (the manual on fire and explosion investigation).

Paul has extensive experience in litigating claims of institutional abuse, products liability, liquor liability, accounting malpractice, insurance broker negligence, dental malpractice, legal malpractice, nursing home liability and medical malpractice. Paul was also lead defense counsel in a class action suit that arose from the July 12, 2004, failure of 19 dams in Burlington County, which led to over $55,000,000 in claimed damages.

Paul routinely argues before appellate courts on issues as varied as the cases he litigates and tries. For example, in the matter of Frankel v. St. Paul, 334 N.J. Super. 353 (App. Div. 2000), Paul successfully defended a claim that a carrier acted in bad faith when it settled a case over its policy holder's objection.

Paul has drawn on his background in land use law to volunteer in his hometown (Madison, NJ) as Chairman of the Downtown Development Commission and as a member of the Planning Board. He is currently a Trustee for the Madison Downtown Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the borough's historic business district.

Memberships:

• New Jersey State and Morris County Bar Associations

Certifications:

• Certified Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey

Education:

• Rutgers College, B.A., 1990
• Rutgers College, J.D., 1995

Born: 1968

Stephen J. Donahue

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Civil Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• General Civil Litigation
• Personal Injury Litigation
• Insurance Coverage
• Complex Litigation
• Product Liability

Admitted

• New Jersey, 1995
• New York, 1996
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1995
• U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, 1998

Mr. Donahue graduated from Kean University in 1991 with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science. Mr. Donahue went on to Seton Hall University School of Law where he earned his J.D. in 1995. Also in 1995, Mr. Donahue was admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey, as well as the Bar of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. He was admitted to the Bar of the State of New York as well as the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York in 1996.

Mr. Donahue practices in the areas of civil and commercial litigation including products liability, general negligence, personal injury, and insurance coverage.

Memberships:

• New Jersey State Bar Association

Education:

• Kean University, B.A., 1991
• Seton Hall University, J.D., 1995

Born: 1964

Patrick J. McCormick

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Professional Liability
• Litigation

Admitted

• New Jersey, 2000
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 2000

Mr. McCormick graduated from Seton Hall University School of Law and was admitted to practice in New Jersey in 2000. While at Seton Hall, he was a member of fihe Sefton Hall Law Review and served a judicial internship with the Honorable John W. Bissell of the United Disfirict Court for the District of New Jersey. Following a clerkship in Superior Court of New Jersey, Mr. McCormick joined the firm where he has handled all aspects of civil litigation through discovery, trial and appeal. His practice focuses on Professional Liability defense with an emphasis on attorney malpractice.

Memberships:

• Essex County Bar Association

Education:

• Montclair State University, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1994
• Seton Hall University School of Law, J.D., 2000

Clerkship:

Judicial Law Clerk to Hon F. Michael Caruso, Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County, 2000-2001

Born: 1972

David C. Blaxill

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Personal Injury
• Insurance Defense
• Developmentally Disabled Litigation

Admitted

• New York, 1988
• U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York

Mr. Blaxill graduated from Princeton University in 1983 with a B.A. in English. In 1987, Mr. Blaxill received his J. D. from Temple University School of Law. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1988.

From 1987 to 1993, Mr. Blaxill was an Assistant District Attorney for the Kings County District Attorney's Office in New York City. During that time he was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of major felony cases, with a concentration in high-level narcotics offenses.

In 1993, Mr. Blaxill joined the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for New York City, and was a prosecutor with that office until June of 2004. During that time, he was actively engaged in the investigation and prosecution of numerous large scale narcotic operations. In his career, Mr. Blaxill successfully prosecuted hundreds of such cases.

Currently, Mr. Blaxill is actively engaged in the firm's New York litigation practice, concentrating in developmentally disabled litigation and personal injury defense.

Education:

• Princeton University, B.A., 1983
• Temple University School of Law, J.D., 1987

Arthur A. Povelones, Jr.

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Insurance Law
• Litigation

Admitted

• New Jersey, 1995
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 2005

Mr. Povelones concentrates his practice on the handling of complex insurance coverage matters of all types, principally on behalf of insurance companies. He has substantial experience litigating coverage disputes at the trial and appellate levels in both state and federal courts. He also reviews and analyzes coverage issues as requested by clients. In addition, Mr. Povelones has experience in general civil litigation defense at the trial and appellate levels.

Memberships:

• American and New Jersey State (Insurance Law Committee) Bar Associations

Publications:

• Author: "When The Majority Says You May Die: Aid-In-Dying Initiatives", Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy, 1995

Reported Cases:

Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo, Inc. v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am., 559 F. Supp. 2d 504 (D.N.J. 2008), aff'd, 352 Fed. Appx. 642 (3rd Cir. 2009); RSUI Indem. Co. v. RCG Group (USA), 890 F. Supp. 2d 315 (S.D.N.Y. 2012), aff'd, 539 Fed. Appx. 3 (2nd Cir. 2013); New Jersey Dept. of Env. Prot. v. Dimant, 212 N.J. 153 (2012)

Education:

• Claremont McKenna College, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1992
• University of Notre Dame, J.D. (cum laude), 1995

Law Review:

Executive Editor, Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy, 1994-1995

Born: 1971

James P. McBarron

Springfield, NJ

Practice Areas

• Real Estate
• Construction Litigation
• Employment Law
• Product Liability
• Insurance Coverage & Defense

Admitted

• New Jersey, 1992
• New York, 1993
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1992

Mr. McBarron graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1989 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Finance. He received his J.D. from the Rutgers School of Law, Newark, in 1992 where he served as senior research editor for the Rutgers Law Review.

Mr. McBarron was admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey and to the Bar of the United States District Court, District of New Jersey in 1992 and to the Bar of the State of New York in 1993. His practice is concentrated in the areas of real estate and construction litigation, employment law, products liability, and insurance coverage and defense. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Memberships:

• American and New Jersey State Bar Associations
• Association of Trial Lawyers of America

Education:

• University of Notre Dame, B.S. Business Admin., 1989
• Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, J.D., 1992

Law Review:

Senior Research Editor, Rutgers Law Review