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An article authored by Constance M. McGrane entitled "Deal carefully with employee complaints" which provided practical tips on how to avoid employee retaliation claims was published in Mass High Tech, The Journal of New England Technology. |
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After a five-day jury trial in Worcester Superior Court, Michael T. Sullivan obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a client of the firm who was alleged to have committed medical malpractice. The plaintiff alleged that the firm's client breached the applicable standard of medical care and failed to obtain the plaintiff's informed consent, and that these actions caused serious injuries and required the plaintiff to undergo an amputation. After deliberating for only 45 minutes the jury returned a complete defense verdict for our client. |
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James Gray Wagner completed a three-day trial in Land Court, representing pro bono a grandmother who asserts that her son forged a deed to the family home and now seeks to evict her. Results of the trial will not be known for a matter of months. |
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Ronald M. Jacobs was elected a partner in the firm. |
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Carol A. Starkey was notified that the Boston Bar Association's Diversity Committee has been reconvened for the year. The Committee develops recruitment and retention programs for Massachusetts first year ethnic minority law students. Ms. Starkey was initially appointed to the Committee in 2006. |
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Massachusetts Superior Court judge has found that a developer's refusal to repair a subdivision in the Town of Hopkinton constituted unfair business practices, and ordered the developer to pay the Town double damages and its attorneys' fees. With interest, the final judgment in favor of the Town of Hopkinton is expected to exceed $740,000. The Town was represented by Kurt B. Fliegauf, who on November 1, 2006 secured a jury verdict in favor of the Town in excess of $260,000. |
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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has appointed Erin K. Higgins to a three-year term as a member of the Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct, effective as of December 1, 2006. The Advisory Committee reviews issues and proposals concerning the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, and reports on its findings to the three justices on the Supreme Judicial Court's Rules Committee. |
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Ten Conn Kavanaugh attorneys were named Massachusetts Super Lawyers in the November 2006 edition of Boston Magazine. Russell F. Conn and James F. Kavanaugh, Jr. were named Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers. George M. Ford, Thomas J. Gallitano, Erin K. Higgins, Thomas E. Peisch, James B. Peloquin, Bob B. Rosenthal, James Gray Wagner and Carol A. Starkey were named Massachusetts Super Lawyers. |
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After a four day trial in Middlesex Superior Court, Kurt B. Fliegauf secured a jury verdict in excess of $260,000 in favor of a municipality against the developer of a subdivision. The developer had abandoned its obligations to complete the subdivision, and failed to repair and maintain the subdivision roads and drainage system. As a result, the municipality undertook to complete and repair the subdivision at its own expense. The case was tried on a breach of contract theory. After deliberating for only two hours, the jury awarded the exact sum requested. |
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After a seven day trial, a Middlesex County jury exonerated a doctor client of the firm in a wrongful death case. The plaintiffs alleged that the firm's client negligently failed to diagnose a cancerous tumor on the bottom of their 11 year-old son's foot. The youngster subsequently died of metatstatic cancer. The jury found no negligence on the part of the firm's client. The case was tried by founding partner Thomas E. Peisch. |
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Neil R. Schauer was quoted in the Boston Business Journal, September 22-28, in an article entitled "Valuating your biz? Leave emotion out of the equation." Neil discussed the emotional ties small- and mid-size business owners have toward their business, making it particularly hard for them to have a realistic handle on what the business is worth. He also talked about the use of a good business plan to offer the business to potential buyers. |
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George M. Ford has again been selected by his peers to be in the upcoming 2007 edition of the Best Lawyers in America, in his specialty of family law. Mr. Ford is one of a distinguished group of attorneys who have been listed in Best Lawyers for 24 years, since its inception in 1983. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer review survey conducted by the publishers of the book and inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor as the book is considered by many publications as the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice. |
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Russell F. Conn and Erin K. Higgins obtained a favorable summary judgment ruling in an insurance coverage action, resulting in the dismissal of claims against the firm's client that presented an exposure in excess of $3 million. In the decision, a federal district court judge held that Conn Kavanaugh's client had been entitled to disclaim coverage under a professional liability policy for claims that did not arise out of the rendering of "professional services." |
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George M. Ford has been requested to serve, for the 29th year, as Chairman/Moderator of the Family Law Judicial Forum 2006 sponsored by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE). Mr. Ford will be moderating the panels which are presented in Boston, Taunton, Worcester and Peabody in November and December. Judges from the Probate and Family Court sit on the panel and deliver the "view from the bench" on hypothetical fact patterns prepared by Messr. Ford.
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James B. Peloquin chaired an MCLE forum on Massachusetts construction law, as he has done several times in the past. On this occasion, MCLE introduced its first ever compendium on the subject, titled "Massachusetts Construction Law and Litigation, for which Mr. Peloquin served as editor. Constance M. McGrane authored a public construction law chapter in the book. |
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Thomas E. Peisch was featured in an article in the Boston Business Journal about a Massachusetts lawsuit brought against Deloitte & Touche (Deloitte) by the Bank of America. The lawsuit arises from the bankruptcy of DVI Inc., which allegedly engaged in illegal accounting practices. Deloitte was their auditor. Bank of America claims that Deloitte's failure to force changes in questionable accounting practices contributed to DVI's ability to obtain $150 million in loans from Bank of America and other lenders. Mr. Peisch noted that normally an auditor's obligations runs to the company and its shareholders, and that it is unusual for a lending bank to look to an auditor to recover damages caused by loan losses. He noted that this is an ominous claim for the Big 4 accounting firms. |
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Constance M. McGrane was interviewed by the National Law Journal regarding retaliation claims, wage and hour cases and a recent tip-pooling case involving waiters at the Boston restaurant, Locke-Ober's. She emphasized that employers need to be well aware of the risk of retaliation claims arising from employee' complaints about the work place. These retaliation claims can survive, even if the underlying complaint fails. |
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Russell F. Conn was interviewed on radio station WBUR and television station New England Cable News regarding construction litigation and the legal ramifications of the Big Dig investigations. He was also featured in a Boston Globe article on July 24, 2006 entitled "Probes May Test Bechtel's Clout
" where he provided his views on the likely legal battle between the Big Dig's construction manager, Bechtel/Parsons, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. |
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Thomas E. Peisch was quoted in the Boston Business Journal of June 23-29, 2006 in an article entitled “Post-bankruptcy, co. must pay $8.8M of debt." A recent Bristol Superior Court judge ruled in favor of a trade creditor with pre-petition debt against a company which reorganized with the same ownership team after bankruptcy. Mr. Peisch stated that the case is a major ruling in the successor liability arena and an object lesson for corporate buyout players that scheme to duck trade credit obligations. |
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Erin K. Higgins was a panelist at a Boston Bar Association seminar titled "Navigating Conflict Issues in Transactional and Litigation Matters." Ms. Higgins spoke about conflict issues that arise in the representation of companies with large corporate families, and in particular conflicts resulting from corporate mergers and acquisitions. |
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