Christopher B. Block

Chris actively defends matters in jurisdictions throughout New Jersey and New York. His practice includes matters involving premises liability, product liability, amusements, sports and recreation, construction accidents, automobile, condominium/community association law and dram shop/liquor liability. Chris defends professional malpractice matters brought against lawyers, real estate professionals, insurance agents and brokers, appraisers, architects and engineers. He also has also defended a wide range of employment matters including the defense of gender and race claims. Chris works with a variety of clients from individuals to small business people to medium sized and large insurance companies.

In his career, Chris has defended product liability lawsuits brought against one of the nation's largest crane manufactures and freezer manufacturers. His representation extends to some the nation's largest insurance companies as well as a large brokerage firm.

Chris received his juris doctor from Widener University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Pittsburgh. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.

Honors & awards

Litigation Management Institute, Graduate 2019 (CLMP)

Year joined

2012

Results

Rock Climbing Liability Waiver Found Enforceable.

General Liability
April 11, 2019

We obtained summary judgment on behalf of a rock climbing center. The plaintiff, a certified climber, was injured when she fell from a 25-foot rock-climbing wall at our client's facility. After reaching the summit of the wall, she pushed off to begin repelling down, only to realize that she forgot to connect to the auto-belay system. She fell to the ground and fractured both ankles and underwent open reduction internal fixation surgery.

NY Supreme Court Sides With Defense in Home Inspection Case

Professional Liability
June 8, 2015

Obtained summary judgment in the Supreme Court of Westchester County, New York, on behalf of our client, a home inspection company. The case involved claims for negligent home inspection, gross negligence and fraud as a result of the plaintiffs' discovering over $1.4 million in actual damages from mold and vermin following their purchase of a home in Armonk, New York. The plaintiffs executed a home inspection agreement and hired the defendant company to perform the pre-sale home inspection.

Thought Leadership

Marshall Dennehey Announces New Shareholders and Special Counsel

January 4, 2016
Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin is pleased to announce that 14 attorneys were elected shareholders of the firm at the annual shareholders' meeting held December 8 in Philadelphia.

Christopher Block Elected Chair of Real Estate Committee at Professional Liability Defense Federation

Professional Liability
January 8, 2014
Christopher B. Block, special counsel in the Roseland office of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, has been elected Chair of the Real Estate Committee of the Professional Liability Defense Federation (PLDF).

Guide to Expert Testimony in Malpractice Cases Against Real Estate Professionals

Roseland
Real Estate E&O Liability
October 21, 2019

On the Pulse...Culturally Speaking

Roseland
September 1, 2019
By Christopher E. Dougherty, Esq., Chairman of the Board of Directors Defense Digest, Vol. 25, No. 3, September 2019. Defense Digest is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers.

Playing Outside: N.J. Landowners’ Liability Act Protects PI Defendants

Roseland
General Liability
September 18, 2014

Classes/Seminars Taught

Anatomy of a Real Estate Transaction: How Actions of Participants Give Rise to Claims, Client Presentation, July, 2019

Defending Real Estate Agents, Title Agents and Home Inspectors, PLDF Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, October, 2018

Expert Witnesses - Using New Jersey Court Rules To Your Advantage, National Business Institute, Newark, NJ, November 2015

Top Ten Ways to Keep Your PL Claims Professional Happy , PLDF Annual Conference and CLE/CEU Presentation, Washington, DC, September, 2014

Ethical Claim Negotiations, CEU Institute, Parsippany, NJ, January 2014

Primer on Claims and Risk Management Issues for Real Estate Agents and Home Inspectors, PLDF Annual Conference and CLE/CEU Presentation, Chicago, IL, October 2013

Liabilities and Obligations for Real Estate Professionals, Lorman Education Services, September 2012

Publications

Guide To Expert Testimony in Malpractice Cases Against Real Estate Professionals, New Jersey Law Journal, October 21, 2019

Playing Outside: NJ Landowners' Liability Act Protects Personal Injury Defendants, New Jersey Law Journal, September 18, 2014