Presentations

Patrick Kingsley focuses his practice on surety litigation. His recent experience includes: securing the dismissal of a surety from a multi-million dollar suit which assisted the principal in obtaining a $36m verdict for wrongful discharge; in a case of first impression in PA, persuading a court that a non-damage-for-delay provision necessarily defeated joinder claims against a surety; defending performance claims related to a catastrophic accident at the Kingdom Center Project, the largest building ever built in Saudi Arabia; obtaining a $3.1m judgment on an indemnity claim brought by a surety against its indemnitors; convincing a federal court in NJ that surety cannot be liable under state law for the bad faith denial of a bond claim, thereby reversing NJ law on the subject. He has also represented owners, contractors, subcontractors, design professionals and building product suppliers in construction disputes involving claims for delay, unforeseen site conditions, poor workmanship, defection materials, design errors, liquidated damages, mechanics’ liens, disputed change orders, post productivity, bid protests, warranty claims and indemnity claims.

Mr. Kingsley has tried more than three dozen cases involving diverse legal claims and fact patters in several different forums across the country. He has tried both jury and non-jury cases and has represented clients in arbitrations, mediations and hearings before administrative law judges and referees. In addition to surety litigation, Mr. Kingsley handles a variety of complex commercial disputes. He serves as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University School of Law instructing students on trial advocacy skills.

Matthew Horowitz is a partner in the Hartford, Connecticut Law Firm of Wolf, Horowitz & Etlinger, LLC. Mr. Horowitz graduated from Tufts University in 1973 and New York University School of Law in 1976. He is a member of the Connecticut, Massachusetts, District of Columbia and Texas Bars. Over the last 35 years, he has engaged in a varied litigation practice. For approximately 23 years, his practice has focused primarily on fidelity and surety claims and litigation in Connecticut and Massachusetts. He has co-chaired the surety presentation at the ABA Fidelity and Surety Mid-Year Meeting and presented papers at the ABA Fidelity and Surety Mid-Year Meeting, the Northeast Surety and Fidelity Conference, the National Bond Claims Association Conference and the Surety Claim Institute. He is a co-editor of the TIPS Law of Performance Bonds Manual and the TIPS CGLlBuilder’s Risk Monograph and he is a contributor to numerous TIPS publications, including the Miscellaneous Bond Monograph, the Law of Commercial Surety and Miscellaneous Bonds and the Law of Payment Bond Manual.

John W. Dreste, a Partner with the law firm of Ernstrom & Dreste, LLP, concentrates his practice on complex commercial construction litigation. He focuses on matter involving suretyship, fidelity bonds, general construction and other areas impacting the surety, fidelity, and construction industries. Mr. Dreste’s practice, though litigation oriented, involves extensive claims analysis and investigation and includes negotiation, mediation and other informal methods of dispute resolution. Mr. Dreste regularly defends sureties on issues involving bonds that are fraudulently induced or are otherwise unenforceable. Mr. Dreste has lectured, and has authored various articles, on subjects pertinent to the surety and construction industries.

Thomas K. O’Gara, an associate with Ernstrom & Dreste, LLP, works with sureties, corporations and contractors on a wide array of surety, commercial and construction issues. Mr. O’Gara has extensive litigation experience in state and federal courts relating to surety law, construction matters and complex commercial litigation. Mr. O’Gara is a frequent author and speaker on current issues impacting the surety and construction industries.