Gregory E. Peterson

Mr. Peterson is a partner and founding member of Dyer & Peterson. Before starting his own practice, Mr. Peterson was of counsel to the Connell Foley firm and was involved in a wide array of litigation cases, including complex commercial, breach of contract, insurance defense (including Personal Injury Protection/Forthright matters), personal injury, products liability, construction, and professional liability matters.

His insurance practice focuses on all aspects of litigation and specializes in large exposure first party and fraud matters.

Early in his career, Mr. Peterson tried the matter of Bowe v. New Jersey Mfrs. Ins. Co., 367 N.J. Super. 128 (App.Div.2004) and secured a successful verdict based upon a ground breaking causation theory in No Fault litigation.  In a published opinion, the Appellate Division affirmed Mr. Peterson’s defense theory,  utilizing his cross-examination of plaintiff’s expert as the basis for its holding. Bowe remains the seminal case regarding causation in PIP matters and has been cited more than 7,600 times in PIP arbitration decisions.

In 2010, Mr. Peterson gained another successful outcome in Haywood v. Harris , 414 N.J. Super. 204 (App.Div.2010).  There, the Appellate panel affirmed the trial court’s revision of a jury verdict for economic loss based upon Mr. Peterson’s post-trial application. In upholding his position, the Appellate Court recommended a modification to the Model Jury Charge and verdict sheets used in Limitation on Lawsuit matters to accommodate defendant’s position, as advocated by Mr. Peterson.

On January 29, 2019, Mr. Peterson prevailed by the Appellate Division in the matters of New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company v. Specialty Surgical Center of North Brunswick a/s/o Claire Fiore and Surgicare Surgical Associates of Fair Lawn a/s/o Martino Chizzoniti.

The Court considered the critical issue of whether high-billing ambulatory surgery center could be paid by a no-fault insurer for surgical codes without a value listed in PIP. From a jurisdictional standpoint, the Court noted "no published cases have addressed the issue before us; in light of the absence of needed precedent, public policy favors review of the instant matter".

The decisions have been cited in countless matters to curb insurer liability and keep insurance rates low for the public.

Mr. Peterson spearheads fraud investigations and has pursued numerous litigations under Jersey’s Insurance Fraud Prevention Act. Working collaboratively with his clients, Mr. Peterson devises novel approaches to reducing his client’s exposure on false claims.  

Other appellate matters handled by Mr. Peterson 

Kerven v. Smith v. New Jersey Mfrs. Ins. Co.  A-3902-08T1  – Appellate Division affirmed grant of summary judgment in third party defendant’s favor regarding issue of insurance coverage under homeowners policy

USA Chiropractic a/s/o Julie Mendez v. New Jersey Re-Insurance  Co. A-3108-11T1 – Appellate Division agreed with Mr. Peterson’s jurisdictional argument regarding medical provider’s application to upset trial court’s decision affirming mandatory internal appeals based denial of arbitration award

Johnston v. New Jersey Mfrs. Ins. Co. a-1842-08T3 – Appellate Division upheld argument regarding scope of jurisdiction under Alternative Procedure for Dispute Resolution Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:23A-1 to -19 (APDRA)

Background

Mr. Peterson has been named by New Jersey Monthly magazine and New Jersey Super Lawyers “Rising Star” for  2006-2007, 2009-2011, and 2013-2015. Mr. Peterson has been selected as 2019 and 2021 New Jersey Super Lawyer.

Mr. Peterson earned his B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.