Michael C. Barbarula is a partner with the firm and handles litigation in the state and federal courts of Connecticut. Mike’s areas of practice include the defense of automobile, premises liability, construction, and professional liability lawsuits. He has defended against product liability claims involving exposure to PFAS, benzene, and asbestos, as well as losses caused by household appliances and outdoor tools. Mike has experience in commercial litigation and was involved in a multi-day pre-judgment remedy hearing involving a multi-million dollar real estate fraud. He has taken and defended depositions in cases with potential exposures in the tens of millions of dollars. Mike also has experience with underinsured motorist, invasion of privacy, civil assault, and mold exposure claims.
Mike has an active construction law practice, representing owners, general contractors, construction managers, design professionals, and subcontractors in disputes involving construction projects, property damage/subrogation matters, and workplace accidents. He also has experience consulting on construction contracts.
Although Mike is prepared to take any case to trial, he frequently obtains favorable results for his clients through motion practice, settlement negotiations, mediations, and arbitrations. For example, Mike was part of a defense team that successfully obtained a withdrawal of action by a plaintiff who alleged that he contracted a form of leukemia from occupational exposure to benzene. Mike has obtained dismissals and summary judgment dispositions in premises liability, defamation, and professional malpractice cases. He aggressively pursues contractual indemnity and additional insured obligations for his clients.
Mike is active in several legal organizations and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association.
Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Mike worked as a Temporary Assistant Clerk at Bridgeport Superior Court and uses that experience to advise on legal strategy and Connecticut’s rules of practice while serving as local counsel to a number of nationally-recognized law firms.
Mike received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Connecticut in 2009. While in college, Mike was inducted into the national political science honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha. He was a member of the UConn baseball team in 2006 and was named a Big East Conference Academic All-Star. Mike received his Juris Doctor from Penn State University in 2012 and was inducted into the Order of Barristers for his achievements in trial advocacy. He also served as Senior Editor of the Penn State Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation and had two of his case reviews selected for publication.
