Judith Perritano is presenting “Product Liability Litigation – Significant Issues to Watch For in 2017” in a live Webinar sponsored by The Knowledge Group on April 27, 2017. Ms. Perritano has more than twenty years of experience in the defense and trial of complex personal injury cases. She has handled a wide variety of multi-party cases, […]
Gregory Smith v. Town of North Andover, Essex Superior Court, C.A. No. 2016-00407-A (October 25, 2016) The Essex Superior Court recently granted a Motion to Dismiss in favor of the Town of North Andover and three current/former town officials. The case stemmed from a 1997 lawsuit between the plaintiffs and the Sutton Pond Condominium Trust […]
Nicole Algeri v. Town of Reading, Middlesex Superior Court, C.A. No. 2014-00281 (February 14, 2017) PDP prevailed on a motion for judgment on the pleadings on behalf of the firm’s client, the Town of Reading, when the Middlesex Superior Court ordered dismissal of a negligence claim brought by a former student who was struck in […]
Pierce Davis & Perritano (PDP) recently obtained a defense verdict in an almost six-week toxic tort trial in Connecticut. After three weeks of jury selection, three weeks of trial and nearly five hours of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict in favor of PDP’s client on all counts. PDP’s client manufactured “matrix” circuit board and […]
John Davis is presenting “Hot Topics in Employment Law” at the 15th Annual MCLE-MMLA Municipal Law Conference on March 15, 2017. Mr. Davis is head of the firm’s Governmental Liability and Civil Rights Practice Group. His practice focuses on the defense of cities, towns, and other public employers in suits alleging civil rights violations, discrimination, harassment, […]
Lopez-Erquicia v. Weyne-Roig, 846 F.3d 480 (1st Cir., Jan. 25, 2017) The First Amendment protects government employees against politically-motivated removal. “[F]reedom to associate with others for the common advancement of political beliefs and ideas is a form of ‘orderly group activity’ protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.” Kusper v. Pontikes, 414 U.S. 51, 56-57 […]
Chase v. U.S. Postal Service, 843 F.3d 553 (1st Cir. Dec. 14, 2016) The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently declined to resolve an outstanding issue over the appropriate causation standard to apply in Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) retaliation cases, thereby leaving the question for another day. The FMLA prohibits an employer from […]
Cristo v. Evangelidis, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 585 (Oct. 28, 2016) Government employees do not lose their rights to free speech upon entering the public workplace. But as the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently confirmed, the First Amendment does not protect a government employee for statements made pursuant to his or her official duties. For several […]
Lawson v. North Berkshire Vocational Regional School District, Pittsfield Sup. Ct. PDP successfully argued a Motion to Dismiss based upon inadequate presentment under M.G.L. c. 258. The litigation stemmed from an injury which occurred during school hours at a regional vocational technical high school in western Massachusetts. The Plaintiff, who was a junior in high […]
John & Mary Ellen Rose, Trustees of the John T. Rose Family Trust v. Town of Pepperell, Middlesex Sup. Ct. PDP successfully argued a Motion for Summary Judgment in a case involving homeowners who had an underlying water line on their property burst. In the late 1990’s the Town of Pepperell installed the water line […]
