PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
OF
JOSEPH F. TRINITY

PRIMARY AREA OF PRACTICE

Mr. Trinity's primary area of concentration is general liability insurance defense, with particular emphasis in the defense of catastrophic personal injury, Title 59, §1983 civil rights and complex construction actions. Mr. Trinity also frequently represents carriers in the defense of fraudulent first and third party claims, as well as with respect to environmental and automobile coverage issues. Mr. Trinity is an Assistant Prosecutor for East Amwell Township, New Jersey.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Mr. Trinity has successfully handled numerous general liability and prosecuted plaintiff personal injury matters through trial. Included in these trials was a case involving the expansion of permissible damages to the aggravation of a multiple sclerosis condition in a breach of contract action. Mr. Trinity has successfully represented dozens of public entities with respect to a wide variety of claims defended via application of Title 59, which provides certain immunities for public entities. He most recently obtained summary judgment for a New Jersey county, which was upheld on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in a complex case involving personal injury, §1983, Title 59 and Fifth Amendment "takings" claims.

Mr. Trinity has also successfully litigated and tried numerous first party insurance coverage actions including matters involving the interpretation of automobile policies and fraud issues.

Mr. Trinity also routinely handles both federal and state court appeals. Most recently, he argued a matter before the New Jersey Supreme Court involving interpretation of the uninsured motorist clause present in New Jersey standard automobile insurance policies. In addition, Mr. Trinity recently successfully defended the granting of a summary judgment motion involving qualified immunity in an alleged wrongful arrest case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Mr. Trinity graduated magna cum laude from Seton Hall University in 1984 with a B.A. in English after having obtained Dean's List First Honors for all semesters. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University Law School in 1987. He is admitted to the bars of New Jersey, Federal District Court for the District of New Jersey, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Civil Trial attorney.

After graduating law school in 1987, Mr. Trinity was employed in Livingston, New Jersey where he specialized in the defense of multi-hundred million dollar environmental insurance coverage actions on behalf of Lloyds of London.

In 1991, Mr. Trinity joined Gebhardt & Kiefer as an associate with his practice focusing primarily on the defense of general liability insurance defense matters. Mr. Trinity became a partner in 1998.  

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

Mr. Trinity is an officer of the Hunterdon County Bar Association and a member of the New Jersey Defense Association.