Gina M.Fortunato, Esq.


Gina M. Fortunato, Esq.

(631)673-6670 Extension 117
fortunato@speyerperlberg.com

Gina Fortunato obtained a Bachelors of Arts degree from Rutgers University in 1989. She received a Juris Doctorate degree from Hofstra University School of Law in 1993. While at Hofstra, she was a member of the Hofstra Law Review and was an intern for the Honorable George C. Pratt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Gina was admitted to practice law in the state of New Jersey in 1993 and in the state of New York in 1994. She also is admitted to practice law in the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districtsof New York and the District of New Jersey.

Gina's areas of practice include:
  • Property/casualty defense litigation (defending companies alleged to have caused property/casualty losses due to negligence);
  • insurance fraud investigations;
  • the prosecution of subrogation lawsuits;
  • insurance defense litigation (defending insurers that have been sued for breach of contract and bad faith, including cases involving building collapses, fire, arson, and floods);
  • commercial litigation on behalf of plaintiff and defendant companies (in cases involving matters such as fraud, breach of contract, Labor Law violations, and civil racketeering); and
  • plaintiff's personal injury litigation (cases involving trips and falls and work-related injuries).
In 2010, Gina completed mediation training and was added to the roster of certified, court-appointed business dispute mediators at the Supreme Court of New York, Suffolk County, Commercial Division.

Representative Recent Cases:

First Party:
  • Defense of a $19 million dollar action for breach of an insurance contract arising from the insurer's denial of a claim for the collapse of a parking garage in lower Manhattan.
  • Defense of an insurer and its special investigator who allegedly defamed a car repair shop during his investigation of a suspected insurance fraud case.
  • Investigation of an insured who alleged the mysterious burning of his boat.
  • Investigation of an insured who allegedly lost a diamond engagement ring by conducting EUO's and further investigation that resulted in the insured's voluntary withdrawal of the claim.
Third Party:
  • Defense of an electrical contractor alleged to have caused in excess of $6 million dollars in damages due to a switchboard fire that resulted in fire and smoke damage in a New Jersey shopping mall;
  • Defense of a trucking company alleged to have negligently loaded and operated its vehicle, purportedly causing in excess of $1 million dollars in damages to a state bridge overpass;
  • Defense of a fire protection company alleged to have negligently caused a fire by failing to properly clean the hoods and ducts above a commercial cooking appliance.
Subrogation:
  • Action for negligent design and manufacture against the manufacturer of a hot-cold water cooler that malfunctioned and caused fire damages to a doctor's office;
  • Action for negligence against the owner of a deli for starting a fire by keeping combustible material above an electric griddle;
  • Action for negligence against a bagel store for starting a fire for failing to turn off a coffee pot before locking up the store for the night.
Commercial Cases:
  • Successfully obtained a temporary restraining order for an international aerospace company against former engineering employees who violated a Non-Compete Agreement;
  • Defense of a sales manager of a high tech software company in an action for a preliminary injunction to prevent him from working for a competitor.