Eric P. Magnuson

Complexity is the common denominator of Eric’s practice. He has litigated cases involving an array of allegations, including (among many others) bank fraud, unfair competition, tortious conduct, contractual breach, unfair insurance practices, infringement of constitutional rights, negligent product design, violations of export-import laws, infringement of intellectual property, and breaches of data privacy laws. Eric has also litigated bankruptcy matters, and he has served as a Special Assistant Attorney General.

Eric’s skillset goes beyond the direct sphere of litigation. Clients regularly rely on Eric’s expertise when negotiating the “front end” of business deals, including mergers and acquisitions. Eric also spearheads internal investigations on behalf of financial institutions and other clients. As a member of Nutter’s Privacy and Data Security practice group, Eric helps clients respond to data breaches and network intrusions. 

Representative matters include:

• Unibank for Sav. v. 999 Priv. Jet, LLC, 31 F.4th 1, 3 (1st Cir. 2022). Eric served as counsel for Unibank in a case before the First Circuit. The dispute arose from claims by Unibank in connection with a promissory note secured by a Gulfstream aircraft. SBK Holdings USA intervened, asserting an alleged superior security interest in the aircraft. After the district court entered summary judgment in favor of Unibank, SBK appealed. Prevailing on appeal, Unibank secured an affirmance from the First Circuit.
• Chamberlain v. Montoya, 1:19-cv-00509-PB (D.N.H 2019). Eric successfully represented the POW/MIA Network in First Amendment litigation over a “Missing Man Table” at the Manchester Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Hampshire.
• Formulatrix, Inc. v. Rigaku Automation, Inc., No. CV 15-12725-JGD, 2018 WL 5723149 (D. Mass. Nov. 1, 2018). The litigation arose out of a customer support agreement between the parties and involved complex contractual (and other) claims. Eric successfully represented the defendants/counterclaimants at the motion-to-dismiss stage (decided by Judge Wolf) and summary-judgment stage (decided by Judge Dein).
• Ramirez v. Commerce Ins. Co., 91 Mass. App. Ct. 144 (2017). Eric successfully represented an insurer against a putative class action. At issue was a provision of a Massachusetts automobile policy requiring reimbursement of “applicable sales tax.” Affirming summary judgment, the Appeals Court held that the plaintiff had to establish that sales tax was an element of the damages he incurred or would incur before he could recover applicable sales tax from the insurer.
• OpenRisk, LLC v. Roston, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 1107 (2016). Eric represented defendants sued in Massachusetts for alleged misappropriation of trade secrets. Despite having forum-related contacts, the defendants sought dismissal of the case based on lack of personal jurisdiction. The Superior Court (Kaplan, J.) dismissed the case, rejecting the theory that a defendant can be subject to personal jurisdiction based on the forum contacts of alleged co-conspirators. The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed.
• Reading Co-operative Bank v. Suffolk Construction Company, Inc., 464 Mass. 543 (2013). Eric served as trial and appellate counsel to a bank pursuing claims against a construction company arising under Article 9 of the UCC. Prevailing at trial and on appeal, the bank was awarded a nearly $8 million judgment. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named the decision one of the most important commercial decisions of the year.

Other notable engagements include:

• Defending one of the nation’s largest defense contractors against claims for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty and receipt of fraudulent transfers totaling tens of millions of dollars. 
• Defending an insurer in a $40-plus million dispute over property-damage claims arising from Hurricane Maria.
• Representing a financial institution in connection with internal investigation into matters relating to a portfolio of hundreds of millions of dollars in international loans.
• Representing insurance companies pursuing claims for hundreds of millions of dollars of premium underreporting in connection with workers’ compensation risk pools.
• Defending a bank against claims for alleged breaches of a data contract.
• Defending a company sued for hundreds of millions of dollars arising from the alleged failure to disclose patent litigation to another party.
• Defending a company in federal litigation product-liability claims arising from the use of a SWAT vehicle.
• Representing a developer seeking to recover millions of dollars in damages arising from an architectural firm’s errors and omissions in the design process.
• Representing a company seeking to recover millions of dollars in damages arising from construction defects in a modular building.
• Defending high-tech company in trademark matters, including actions pending before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
• Defending companies in bankruptcy-preference litigations across the country.
• Representing directors and officers of defense contractor seeking coverage under D&O insurance.
• Representing a financial institution pursuing coverage claims under export-import insurance.
• Representing a company pursuing claims arising from a guarantor’s failure to pay millions of dollars on defaulted loans.

Eric is involved in numerous professional organizations, including the Boston of Inn of Court, the Boston Bar Association, the Federalist Society, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and the Defense Research Institute. He serves on the Massachusetts Advisory Council of the New England Legal Foundation (NELF).

Eric serves as the Senior Editor of the BLS Blog. His blog posts include, among many others:

• Massachusetts’ Highest Court Affirms Ruling Against Restaurants Seeking Insurance Coverage for Losses Arising from COVID-19 Dining Restrictions
• Massachusetts Court Rejects Attorney General Healey’s Attempt to Shield Identities of Uber and Lyft Drivers Under Investigatory Privilege
• Court Denies lululemon’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees Under Fee Shifting Provision
• Practice Pointer: Under Massachusetts Procedure, There’s No Right to Expert Depositions
• Court Denies Facebook’s Motion to Stay Order Compelling Production of Documents

Besides his posts published there, Eric’s published articles include “ATM Nuisance Suits Should Be Thrown Out of Court,” American Banker; “Apple v. Samsung Electronics: The Perils of Email Auto Deletion,” Nutter Advisory; and “Supreme Court Avoids Deciding Consumer Standing Issue,” Nutter Advisory.

During law school, Eric served as Executive Note Editor of the Arizona Law Review.

Outside the office, you may find Eric riding his mountain bike in the New England woods or racing in the National Ultra Endurance Bike Series somewhere in the United States.