Erickson Sederstrom Attorneys Make 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America

Erickson Sederstrom is excited to announce that two of our lawyers have been recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. 

 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America acknowledges associates and other lawyers early in their careers for their exceptional professional excellence in private practice in the United States. 

 Lawyers recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America are categorized by geographic region and practice areas. Candidates can only be considered for one recognition at a time, either “Ones to Watch” or traditional Best Lawyers awards. All hopeful candidates must be nominated, vetted by their peers, and undergo an authentication process before they are recognized by Best Lawyers. The rigorous selection process ensures that recognition by Best Lawyers is considered a singular distinction. 

 Erickson Sederstrom is proud to congratulate the following lawyers recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America: 

• Matthew D. Quandt - Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and Transportation Law 

• Matthew B. Reilly - Construction Law and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants 

About Best Lawyers 

Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected lawyer ranking service in the world. For 40 years, Best Lawyers has assisted those in need of legal services to identify the lawyers best qualified to represent them in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. Best Lawyers awards are published in leading local, regional and national publications across the globe. 

Lawyers who are nominated for consideration are voted on by currently recognized Best Lawyers working in the same practice area and located in the same geographic region. Our awards and recognitions are based purely on the feedback we receive from these top lawyers. Those who receive high peer reviews undergo a thorough verification process to make sure they are currently still in private practice. Only then can these top lawyers be recognized by Best Lawyers. 

2 ES Lawyers recognized as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ 2024

Erickson | Sederstrom is proud to announce Matt Quandt and Matt Reilly were recognized by Best Lawyers® again. They were both selected by their peers and included in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ 2023 and 2024. These awards are recognitions given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in America. Matt Quandt was selected for his work in Transportation Law and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. His practice concentrates on trucking accidents, including wrongful death and personal injury; he represents some of the biggest motor carriers and insurers in the nation. Matt Reilly was selected for his work in Construction Law and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants. His practice focuses on representing contractors across Iowa and Nebraska in construction disputes and defending complex and severe personal injury claims.

ES Recognized For 2022 Courtroom Victories by Harmonie Group

Our experienced trial attorneys have a history of success where it really counts - the courtroom. Read about some of our top cases of 2022, as recognized by The Harmonie Group.

37 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT INVOLVING SCHOOL VAN AND UNBELTED PASSENGERS 

Matt Reilly, Counsel

School Not Liable for Passenger’s Failure to Wear an Available Seatbelt Defense represented a school district in a claim by a high school student who was injured as a passenger in an automobile collision involving a school van during a summer activity. There was no dispute that the school van driver was not at fault for the accident, as another driver crossed the centerline on the highway and was impossible to avoid. The passenger—himself, a licensed driver aware of the rules of the road—sued the school, claiming that the van driver failed to ensure that the passenger secured his own seatbelt. Plaintiffs refused to consider any settlement offers below policy limits. After almost ten years of litigation—including a two-week trial, two directed verdicts in favor of the school district, and two different appeals— ruled in favor of the school district, holding that Nebraska statutes do not provide a passenger with a negligence claim against a driver when the sole basis of the claim is a failure to ensure the usage of a seatbelt.

■ RESULT: Defense Verdict Upheld on Appeal.

TRIP AND FALL IN A PUBLIC PARK 

Matt Reilly, Counsel

Political Subdivision Immune in Fall in Public Park Defense represented a sanitary improvement district against a claim by two parents that their son was injured when he stepped into a hole on the grounds of the playground within the district’s boundaries. Defense asserted immunity on behalf of the district against the significant damage claims in reliance upon statutes that provide that a political subdivision cannot be sued for claims arising out of “recreational activities.” The lower court ruled in favor of the district on the asserted grounds and dismissed the parents’ claims against the district. 

■ RESULT: Summary Judgment Granted.

LLC DISSOLUTION 

Bonnie Boryca, Counsel

Business Partner Accusing of Withdrawing From LLC A bifurcated jury trial was held on the issue of whether one of four business partners in a real estate development LLC had withdrawn as a member of the LLC. If it had, then any liability and value of its percentage ownership of the LLC was capped as of the date of withdrawal. All business partners testified, as well as non-party witnesses. The jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the business partner accused of withdrawing, finding that there was no withdrawal or dissociation. 

■ RESULT: Jury Verdict and Court Ruling That Partner Had Not Withdrawn From LLC.

GAS EXPLOSION, INSURANCE SUBROGATION ACTION 

Matt Reilly, Counsel

Gas Explosion in Historic Downtown Building Counsel represented a subrogation carrier with a $2.6MM claim arising out of a fire in Omaha’s downtown Old Market area. The fire occurred when an underground gas line was struck in the course of a contractor performing directional boring work. The one remaining defendant at trial was the gas utility operator, Metropolitan Utilities District (MUD). MUD denied all liability and claimed that it properly marked its buried gas line. After a 2-week trial, the court ruled in favor of the subrogated carrier and found that MUD was 50% at fault (the remaining 50% was assigned to a settled party.) 

■ RESULT: Subrogation Win $2.6MM.

Quandt and Reilly recognized by Best Lawyers® in America 2023

Matthew Quandt and Matt Reilly of Erickson | Sederstrom

Erickson | Sederstrom is proud to announce Matt Quandt and Matt Reilly were recognized by Best Lawyers® in America 2023. They were both selected by their peers and included in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ 2023. These awards are recognitions given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in America. Matt Quandt was selected for his work in Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. His practice concentrates on trucking accidents, including wrongful death and personal injury; he represents some of the biggest motor carriers and insurers in the nation. Matt Reilly was selected for his work in Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants and Construction. The two main focuses of Mr. Reilly’s practice are in representing contractors across Iowa and Nebraska in construction disputes and in defending complex and severe personal injury claims.

Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies Political Subdivision Appellate Rights

Under Nebraska law, political subdivisions may not be sued without an express grant of power because they maintain sovereign immunity. The Nebraska Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act (“PSTCA”) provides a limited waiver of sovereign immunity with respect to some types of tort claims against political subdivisions. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-901 et seq. One of the newest features of the PSTCA is that political subdivisions enjoy an immediate right to appeal when a request for immunity is denied by a trial court on summary judgment. The Nebraska Supreme Court was recently presented with an issue of first impression as to the limitations of that right to immediate appeal.  

In Clark v. Sargent Irrigation Dist., 311 Neb. 123 (2022), the Nebraska Supreme Court analyzed whether a district court’s denial of a political subdivision’s pretrial motion was a final order under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1902(1)(d). In Clark, an irrigation district employee prepared a mixture of herbicides and sprayed the mix on several trees along a canal, which damaged the crops of nearby landowners. The landowners filed suit in the District Court for Custer County, alleging that the district’s employee was negligent in preparing the herbicide. The irrigation district moved the district court for summary judgment, arguing that the employee’s actions of preparing the herbicide fell within the discretionary function exemption of the PSTCA. The exemption states that the performance or nonperformance of a discretionary function cannot be the basis of tort liability of the political subdivision under the PSTCA.

The district court denied the irrigation district’s motion, reasoning that the discretionary function exemption does not apply when a statute, regulation, or policy specifically describes a course of action. The irrigation district sought an interlocutory appeal on the district court’s Order denying its motion for summary judgment.

The Nebraska Supreme Court concluded that it had appellate jurisdiction to review the irrigation district’s assignment of error under § 25-1902(1)(d) because the motion at issue was based on the assertion of the district’s sovereign immunity, the denial of which does constitute an appealable order. Clark v. Sargent Irrigation Dist. stands for the proposition that a district court’s denial of a political subdivision’s motion for summary judgment asserting the PSTCA’s discretionary function exemption was a final appealable order under § 25-1902(1)(d).

E|S attorneys have vast experience and a deep understanding of the Nebraska Political Subdivision Torts Claim Act. Matt Reilly and E|S litigators can be reached at 402-397-2200. 

Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies the Common Fund Doctrine

The common fund doctrine is a long held common law principle that allows recovery of reasonable attorney fees when legal services are used to recover money to which multiple people share an interest. The doctrine is typically applied where an insurance company makes a payment to its insured to cover certain out-of-pocket expenses. Then, when the insured files suit against the responsible party and recovers these out-of-pocket expenses, the insurance company has a right to recoup its earlier payments made pursuant to the policy, less the fees that the insured incurred to make that recovery.

While the doctrine has been around for decades, there still remain some gray areas in its application. One such gray area is whether the doctrine applies to an insurer's subrogation claim for medical payments under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-3,128.01. The Nebraska Supreme Court recently addressed that gray area and has provided some clarity.

In Hauptman O’Brien v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., the insurer argued that an insurer who makes medical payments under an automobile liability policy is entitled to full reimbursement upon settlement of the case, without reduction for the attorney fees of the insured's lawyers. The basis for this argument was the insurer's position that § 44-3,128.01 preempts the common fund doctrine because the statute and doctrine were inconsistent and incompatible. The Court disagreed.

Applying rules of statutory construction, the Court found that is silent as to recovery of reasonable attorney fees under the common fund doctrine, and that by giving the insurer the right to recover medical payments in subrogation, the legislature did not necessarily rule out a reduction for attorney fees under the common fund doctrine. The Court decided that the legislature's silence in this regard meant that the common fund doctrine applies to allow for a reduction to account for attorney fees where a law firm secured a common fund in a pretrial settlement. The insurer was thus entitled to recover its $1,000 medical payment, less the 1/3 ($333) fee, to which the insured's counsel was entitled.

Thanks to law clerk Ross Serena for assistance in drafting this article. Matt Reilly and Erickson | Sederstrom’s litigation attorneys are ready to assist with a range of civil disputes and can be reached at 402-397-2200.