Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
  Following the resolution of their wrongful death claims, we have continued to pursue justice for the families of those who perished in the September 11, 2001 attacks following the successful strategy we employed in suing the government of Libya on behalf of the families of the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. We filed lawsuits on behalf of our clients against the government of Saudi Arabia, members of the royal family, banks and various charities seeking to hold them accountable for civil damages for financing al Qaeda. In doing so, it is our goal to seek complete justice for our clients and other victims of terrorism, and deter others from promoting future terrorist acts against Americans. Our lawsuits, which were consolidated with those filed by hundreds of other surviving family members in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, continue to make their way through the litigation process to this day.
• Sex Crimes
  A renowned trial attorney for more than 35 years, Mitch Baumeister has concentrated his practice in the field of aviation accident and complex tort litigation. Prior to his entry into private practice, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan. During his tenure in this office, he handled dozens of major trials including several high visibility cases involving murder, robbery and rape. Following his term as a trial attorney at the state prosecutor's office, Mitch was appointed an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. While serving as a federal prosecutor, he conducted an international investigation that resulted in the first successful tax fraud indictment and verdict in the commodity futures field.
• Fraud
• Robbery
• Murder
  Baumeister & Samuels was retained to represent several of the families of the victims. The lawsuits were consolidated and assigned to be managed by a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida. As discovery proceeded in the civil lawsuits, our lawyers worked with our clients to bring pressure on prosecutors to bring criminal charges against SabreTech and two of its employees who improperly packed and loaded the generators on board the plane. In 1997, a federal grand jury indicted SabreTech and the two employees. Two years later, SabreTech was found guilty of mishandling hazardous materials and improperly training its employees. The company was fined $2 million dollars. One of the workers failed to appear and remains a fugitive today. SabreTech appealed its conviction and while the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed its conviction on charges that it mishandled hazardous materials, it upheld the conviction for improper training. Following remand back to the federal court, the company was indicted on 110 counts of manslaughter and third degree murder by state prosecutors. In a plea deal, SabreTech settled the state charges by pleading no contest to a state charge of mishandling hazardous waste and agreed to donate $500,000 to an aviation safety group and a Miami-based charity.
• Homicide
  On July 30, 2013, a commuter jitney bus careened out of control on John F. Kennedy Boulevard East near 57th Street in West New York, veering onto the sidewalk, striking a lamppost. The lamppost crashed onto a baby stroller, fatally injuring the eight month old baby girl lying inside, and nearly smashing into her mother who was standing on the sidewalk waiting for the traffic light to change so she could push her daughter across the street. The bus continued on striking a second lamppost, a traffic light, a tree and four parked cars. Resuscitation efforts failed and the baby girl died. The driver of the bus was indicted for vehicular homicide, and is awaiting a criminal trial.
• Manslaughter

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Baumeister & Samuels represented a woman on board the flight who survived the crash but suffered severe and life altering burns. As a result of the firm’s work, we were successful in securing for her and her family the largest personal injury settlement in an aviation case.
• Medical Malpractice
  Baumeister & Samuels has handled complex medical malpractice claims involving physicians, hospitals and other health-care providers who failed to diagnose or treat a variety of medical conditions or have rendered improper, inadequate or inappropriate medical care. In addition, we have represented individuals and/or their families in lawsuits brought as a result of catastrophic surgical errors which have occurred due to medical negligence during brain, spinal and other major surgeries. The firm has extensive experience dealing with individuals who have been rendered paraplegic as a result of medical errors.

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
  During the discovery phase of these cases, documents began to surface which suggested that the world’s largest manufacturers had engaged in a decades-long coverup of the hazards of asbestos. In 1982, Johns-Manville filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to stay the litigation proceeding against it despite the fact that it was financially healthy, and was listed on the Forbes 500 list. In 1982, Mitch Baumeister met with Charles Roemer, a former attorney who lived in New Jersey, to discuss with him documents that had been discovered in the litigation which suggested that the dangers of asbestos were well known more than forty years earlier. At that time, Mr. Roemer was already in his eighties and in frail health. Upon learning of the history of the industry practice from Mr. Roemer, Mitch asked him to sit for a deposition on behalf of the plaintiffs to discuss his knowledge about the industry practices. Anticipating that the defendants would strongly object to any deposition of Mr. Roemer and concerned about his frail health and advanced age, Mitch asked him to prepare an affidavit stating the facts which formed the basis of his knowledge.
• Tax Law