Joseph L. Clasen

Partner

  • Overview

    Biography

    Joseph Clasen is a current member and past chair of the firm’s Business Litigation Group. He is known for his ability to help clients develop litigation strategies that meet both their case-specific and business objectives.

    Business Litigation

    Joe has extensive experience in litigating a variety of complex business disputes in state and federal trial and appellate courts, as well as in arbitrations. His cases involve general commercial contractual disputes, along with fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, business torts, unfair trade practices, mergers and acquisitions, eminent domain, intellectual property, and products liability. Joe's representation of managed care clients focuses on significant commercial disputes involving provider fraud and abuse, class actions, drug coverage, insured class actions, and commercial contract disputes.

    Joe has achieved significant results for clients, including winning one of the largest eminent domain rulings ever awarded against the state of New York. He secured a favorable ruling for Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc., when the New York Court of Appeals denied the state’s request to appeal a judgment awarding Gyrodyne more than $125 million in additional compensation for land the state took by eminent domain. Joe also has secured positive results for clients through arbitration, such as obtaining a substantial net cash award for a health insurer in an arbitration involving a contract dispute.

    Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights

    Joe has extensive experience in representing secured and unsecured creditors in bankruptcy cases involving fraudulent conveyance claims, preference claims, plan confirmation disputes, and relief from stay, as well as general claim disputes. He has represented creditors in some of the largest bankruptcy cases in the United States.

    Joe has been selected to the Connecticut Super Lawyers® list from 2006 to 2022.

  • Experience
    • Experience

      Experience

      • Represented plaintiff in action against United States subsidiary of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. for breach of agreement to finance equipment leases negotiated by plaintiff. After two weeks of trial, defendants increased their settlement offer by a factor of 14 and the matter settled.
      • Representation of health insurer in an action in New York Supreme Court in which four plaintiff Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) and individual class members seek a temporary restraining order to prevent health insurer from terminating coverage. Health insurer terminated coverage because the plaintiff PEOs improperly marketed and resold health insurer's products without approval. PEOs claim they received coverage through health insurer as small businesses and are entitled to maintain that coverage and provide it to their clients' employees.
      • Representation of health insurer in an arbitration against a vendor that had been retained to use proprietary software to uncover overpayments to providers. The software vendor claimed that health insurer unlawfully terminated the contract and owed a seven-figure fee to the vendor. Robinson & Cole obtained a favorable decision from the arbitration panel that included a substantial net cash award in health insurer's favor.
      • Arbitrated multimillion-dollar disputes between Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) and their subcontractors relating to federal regulatory and reimbursement issues.
      • Representation of HIP Health Plan of New York in private realtor qui tam action brought by several hospitals alleging that managed care insurers violated New York's health care reform law by failing to pay the state the appropriate surcharge amount on payments made to hospitals for member services. Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint in its entirety based on plaintiff's failure to adequately plead a false claims act claim and a violation of the surcharge statute. Motion to dismiss was granted.
      • Defended Fortune 100 company against preference claims brought by various debtors in bankruptcy. We were able to persuade the debtor’s counsel that the payments, while made within ninety days of the bankruptcy petition, were payments in the ordinary course of business. This resulted in the debtor settling the multi-million dollar claim for less than one-percent of the amount of the alleged preference.
      • Represented client asserting malpractice against major accounting firm resulting in a multi-million dollar tax liability owed to the State of Connecticut.

      • Represented client in all aspects of due diligence, risk management, permitting, site remediation, the transaction, and development of a $250 million global development facility.

      • Served as Connecticut counsel on team of attorneys negotiating with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP), and Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP) concerning wastewater discharges and impact to stream sediments, including required remediation and further investigation of conditions. Negotiations also included resolution of penalty amount and payment of past response costs.
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    • Professional Associations

      Professional Associations

      New York City Bar Association

      Connecticut Bar Association

      Nassau County Bar Association

      Federal Bar Association

      American Arbitration Association
      Large Case Committee

      Long Island Hispanic Bar Association
    • Honors + Awards

      Honors + Awards

      AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated in Martindale-Hubbell™ in the areas of Complex and Multi-District Litigation, Creditors, and Bankruptcy (Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings is a trademark. AV Preeminent is a certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties, Inc.)

      Selected to the Connecticut Super Lawyers from 2006 to 2022.

      Ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the State of Connecticut in the area of Litigation: General Commercial for 2009

      Listed in Benchmark Litigation as a Local Litigation Star for Connecticut in the area of General Commercial since 2013

      Listed as a Future Star in Connecticut in Benchmark Litigation for 2012

  • NEWS + PRESS
    • News

      R+C in the News

      • October 18, 2018

        51 Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • February 24, 2015

        Joseph Clasen Joins AAA's Large Case Committee

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      • January 2, 2014

        Robinson+Cole's Business Litigation Group Receives Top Ranking in Benchmark Litigation 2014

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      • September 11, 2012

        Media Covering Lawsuit Handled By Litigation Attorneys Joseph Clasen and Laura Torchio

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      • December 1, 2011

        Unanimous ruling by Appellate Panel in Eminent Domain Case

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      • July 21, 2010

        Court of Claims Adds $100 Million for Eminent Domain Taking

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      R+C News Releases

      • October 11, 2022

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized in 2022 Super Lawyers®

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      • September 30, 2022

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 14, 2021

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • October 7, 2021

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 15, 2020

        47 Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized in Super Lawyers®

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      • October 8, 2020

        Robinson+Cole Recognized in Benchmark Litigation

      • October 19, 2019

        52 Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • October 2, 2019

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 24, 2018

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 17, 2017

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • September 29, 2017

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

      • October 18, 2016

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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      • November 3, 2015

        Robinson+Cole Recognized in Benchmark Litigation 2016

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      • October 19, 2015

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers®

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        • View article
      • October 30, 2014

        Robinson+Cole Recognized by Benchmark Litigation

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      • October 17, 2014

        Robinson+Cole Lawyers Recognized by Super Lawyers

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      • October 22, 2012

        Super Lawyers® Names 49 Robinson & Cole Attorneys to 2012 List and Recognizes 26 as Rising Stars

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      • June 13, 2012

        Robinson & Cole LLP Wins One of the Largest Eminent Domain Rulings Ever Awarded Against the State of New York in Gyrodyne’s Favor

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      • December 16, 2011

        Benchmark Litigation 2012 Recognizes Six Robinson & Cole Attorneys

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