Litigation

Representation of a healthcare products and medical supplies company against multimillion dollar claim for breach of contract in connection with a supply agreement.

Representation of the limousine industry in numerous independent contractor-employee misclassification disputes including class actions, individual lawsuits and enforcement proceedings by state regulators.

In November 2019, a Nutter trial team received a jury verdict in their favor for Nutter’s client, a Big Four accounting firm. Nutter’s client was alleged to have committed accounting malpractice for not detecting a fraud during the course of its annual audits. The plaintiff was seeking approximately $30 million in alleged actual and punitive damages. After a three-week trial in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Nutter’s client and the judge dismissed all remaining claims. Nutter’s trial team included Ian Roffman, Nelson Apjohn, and Melanie Woodward, and they tried the case with co-counsel George Salter of Hogan Lovells (NY).

Nutter represented a class of insurance companies in RICO litigation filed against one of their competitors.

Nutter obtained summary judgment in an age discrimination suit filed against a large financial services company.

Nutter defended a Fortune 100 insurance company in multistate litigation arising out of the hiring of agents from a competitor, including claims relating to non-competes, breach of contract, and tortious interference.

Nutter represented and counseled a Fortune 100 medical device company in non-compete, non-solicit, and trade secret strategy and litigation throughout the country.

Nutter represented and counseled a Fortune 100 medical device company in non-compete, non-solicit, and trade secret strategy and litigation throughout the country.

Nutter represented a health insurance plan in a qui tam lawsuit alleging billing improprieties, and prevailed at motion to dismiss stage.

Nutter represented a laboratory in qui tam litigation alleging fraudulent billing practices, and secured a key court opinion favorable to the entire industry.

Nutter represented a major medical device manufacturer in defending multiple whistleblower claims brought by former employees in several jurisdictions.

Nutter represented a medical device manufacturer in multiyear non-compete litigation involving significant sales representatives who made multiple moves between competitors.

Nutter persuaded the Department of Labor to reestablish its rule against extraterritorial application of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 806, resulting in dismissal of a retaliation claim filed against a multinational corporation filed by an employee of an Asian subsidiary.

Nutter successfully defended a North Dakota manufacturer before the National Labor Relations Board against the union’s unfair labor practice claims after the manufacturer withdrew recognition of the union.

Nutter represented a wealth management group in pursuing non-compete and non-solicitation claims against a Fortune 100 company and three former employees. We obtained a favorable pre-litigation settlement.

Nutter advised Cali’flour Foods, the developer and manufacturer of low-carb, gluten-free cauliflower products, in a Series A financing round led by Sunrise Strategic Partners, with participation from CircleUp Growth Partners.

Nutter serves as national coordinating counsel to a manufacturer of specialized industrial and technical paper products, named as a defendant in asbestos cases across the country.

Nutter represents a consumer product manufacturer and retailers in multi-district litigation and other coordinated national litigation involving talcum powder. Roles on the team range from serving as local counsel to leading national science teams responsible for identifying and preparing experts and developing defense strategies related to the medical, scientific, and technical issues relevant to each case.

Nutter advises food and beverage companies on some of the common areas of litigation and regulatory risk faced as they design and implement their product packaging and marketing plans.

Nutter repeatedly represents medical device companies in multi-district and “one-off” product liability litigations involving orthopaedic implants. The team has served as both national counsel and as part of a “virtual law firm” responsible for such diverse tasks as analysis of the science (including orthopaedics, biomechanics, biomaterials, epidemiology, and pathology), retention of expert witnesses, analysis of company documents, and development of narrative themes for company witnesses. Nutter also works with the company’s in-house and outside counsel in Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific on these related issues.

Nutter represents a distributor of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in coordinated national litigation involving opioids.

Nutter has represented and is representing major corporations in lawsuits involving diverse pharmaceutical and medical device products, such as surgical instruments, contact lenses, contraceptive patches, pediatric painkillers, quinolone antibiotics, migraine medication, and tissue morcellators.

Nutter filed a successful amicus brief on behalf of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce in Calixto, et al. v. Coughlin, et al. that warned against expanding the Massachusetts Wage Act beyond earned wages. According to the brief authors, doing so would have created uncertainty for employers and have had a detrimental effect on distressed businesses.

Secured Veterans Board of Appeals remand for veteran’s widow in the appeal of her claim for death benefits for the veteran’s suicide.

Nutter defended several shorefront owners in litigation concerning access to the waters of Cape Cod Bay. The courts ruled that the original developers did not reserve beach rights for the inland owners and further confirmed that the shorefront owners owned their land out to the mean low water line.

Nutter recently secured a victory in the Massachusetts Appeals Court in an opinion that upheld the granting of a special motion to dismiss a suit that sought to enforce an alleged contract for the sale of a multi-million dollar water-view property in Chatham. The Appeals Court also ruled that the property owner was entitled to recover its appellate legal fees from the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that the defendants’ failure to countersign the plaintiffs’ written purchase offer breached a promise that had been made by the defendants’ local attorney and real estate broker, and that the defendants became legally obligated to sell the property when the plaintiffs submitted a signed written offer and tendered a deposit check. On appeal, the plaintiffs changed their theory and claimed that an email from the defendants to their real estate broker discussing terms that the defendants wished to see in any deal could be combined with the plaintiffs’ later purchase offer to create a contract and satisfy the writing requirement of the statute of frauds. The Appeals Court rejected the theory, affirmed the lower court decision granting the defendants’ special motion to dismiss the case, and ruled that the plaintiffs would have to pay the defendants’ legal fees on appeal. The key holding was that, even though the unsigned form of the purchase offer came from the defendants’ attorney, it always remained an offer to purchase that the defendants were free to accept or reject, and that it was never an offer to sell. 

Nelson Apjohn represented The Commerce Insurance Company, the largest vehicle insurer in Massachusetts, in a putative class action claiming that its policy and Massachusetts regulations required Commerce to pay sales tax when settling a total-loss claim made by a third-party claimant, who fails to show that he or she incurred a sales tax purchasing a replacement vehicle. He argued the summary judgment motion before the Superior Court, which granted the motion and entered judgment in favor of Commerce.  Nelson also successfully argued on behalf of Commerce the plaintiff’s appeal before the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, which affirmed the judgment. Ramirez v. Commerce Ins. Co., 91 Mass. App. Ct. 144 (2017).

After an approximately two-week trial in April 2011, a Barnstable Superior Court jury awarded damages of $2,100,000 to the plaintiff landowners in an eminent domain trial resulting from various takings at the former Sagamore Rotary. Nelson Apjohn and Robyn Maguire represented the plaintiffs. According to Lawyers Weekly, the verdict was among the top ten verdicts in Massachusetts in 2011.

The takings were made in October 2004 in connection with the Commonwealth’s construction of the Sagamore Flyover Highway Project. The plaintiffs’ land consisted of approximately seventeen acres just west of the former Sagamore Rotary, which had historically been used in part for residential housing. The plaintiffs presented evidence at trial that the highest and best use of the land was a residential housing development pursuant to G.L. c. 40B, along with a commercial development on the commercially-zoned eastern portion of the property. The Commonwealth contended that the highest and best use of the property was for a nine-lot residential subdivision.

Represented insurance companies that wrote workers compensation insurance in class action litigation involving the entire workers compensation industry. This litigation, brought in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in Chicago), involved claims of hundreds of millions of dollars of premium underreporting that affected the contributions of all class members to state-mandated reinsurance pools.

After an approximately two-week trial in October 2010, a Barnstable Superior Court jury awarded damages of $4,150,000 to the plaintiff landowner in an eminent domain trial resulting from various takings at the former Sagamore Rotary. Nelson Apjohn represented the plaintiff. According to Lawyers Weekly, that verdict was among the top ten verdicts in Massachusetts in 2010.

This case involved the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ takings of commercial property near the former Sagamore Rotary in Bourne, Massachusetts. The takings were made in connection with construction of the Sagamore Flyover Highway. The property consisted of approximately eleven acres of commercial property, a portion of which had been used as a gas station since the 1960s. The Commonwealth took approximately 2.5 acres in fee and approximately an additional 7.5 acres of property as a five-year easement, for use as a commuter parking lot during construction.

After a client’s competitor acquired a client’s exclusive supplier and threatened to terminate the client’s supply of a key component, we sued the competitor and supplier. In a month-long trial, we obtained a jury verdict holding the competitor and a supplier liable for breach of contract, tortious interference, and misappropriation of trade secrets, ultimately leading to a favorable judgment for declaratory and injunctive relief, double damages, and a multimillion dollar legal fee award under Massachusetts’s unfair trade practices statute.

Nutter lawyers served as Special Assistant Attorneys General representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in connection with all claims arising from construction defects from the alleged “sick building” status of the Ruggles Center, the former home of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. These matters involved extensive claims resulting from construction defects at the building in question, along with a $30 million claim against the Commonwealth for breach of its lease agreement. After several years of litigation, the matters were successfully resolved with a multimillion dollar payment to the Commonwealth.

Sarah Kelly was part of the Nutter team that represented many engineers involved with civil and criminal litigation arising from a major Boston construction project.

Sarah Kelly was part of a team that secured a defense verdict for its client after a four-week jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. A major European luxury hotel brought suit against Nutter’s client based on the client’s alleged connection to a significant fire at the hotel. The hotel claimed that the client was responsible for this fire because one of the client’s guests, a customer, negligently discarded a cigarette in her hotel room.

After four years of discovery and motion practice, Nutter presented its case to a jury, demonstrating not only that its client was not negligent but that the hotel’s fire safety practices were inadequate. The trial lasted four weeks, while the jury deliberated for less than a day before rendering a verdict entirely in favor of Nutter’s client. 

Sarah Kelly has successfully represented a managing director of a private equity firm against breach of fiduciary duty claims. The claims, brought by various plaintiffs, have been litigated before both state and federal courts in California, and Nutter has successfully defended its client before all of them, including the Supreme Court of California. They arose out of the client’s position as an outside director of a California health-care company that eventually went bankrupt. The cases have all been resolved in the client’s favor, as a result of successful motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment.

Nutter obtained a jury defense verdict for a large printing company on a multimillion dollar claim arising from allegations of widespread hazardous exposure to lead dust.

Our client was sued for allegedly infringing a patent pertaining to the method by which our client’s product was packaged. Though the client denied any infringement, the client was able to settle the matter on favorable terms, including an advantageous license arrangement.

One of the country’s largest retailers sued our client for millions of dollars in alleged damages and for an injunction based on a claimed breach of an easement agreement. After a jury-waived trial, we obtained a judgment dismissing the case. The court credited our client’s interpretation of the agreement and found there was no breach. In a related case, our client sued the retailer and a local permitting authority in a different court to overturn a decision that granted the retailer a permit to develop its property in a manner that would have been detrimental to our client’s adjoining property. After a jury waived trial, we obtained a judgment overturning the permit on the ground that the permitting authority abused its discretion. The combination of these two decisions later enabled the client to make an advantageous sale of its property to a third party.

After our client and her children had received one-third of a large estate through distributions of a relative's will, the executor decided that he had misread the will and that our clients were entitled to only a one-seventh share. The executors requested instructions from probate court to distribute the estate in sevenths; our clients opposed and counter-sued for breach of fiduciary duty. The court ruled that our clients were entitled to only one-seventh of the estate under the will’s clear language, but after a day of trial the executor’s insurer agreed to pay our clients the full amount they were required to return to the estate.

Nutter represented a company that develops AI solutions for a wide range of commercial applications in copyright litigation against a former business partner. The firm prepared a strong non-infringement case based on a deep analysis of the software’s source code. The case settled favorably shortly before trial.

Nutter served as legal counsel to Eastern Bank Corporation, the mutual holding company of Eastern Bank, in its conversion to a fully public stock holding company known as Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: EBC).

Nutter served as legal counsel to Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (Nasdaq Global Select Market: EBC), the stock holding company for Eastern Bank, in connection with its acquisition of Century Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNBKA), the stock holding company for Century Bank and Trust Company, in a transaction valued at approximately $642 million.

Nutter served as legal counsel to Eastprint Incorporated, a printed electronics solutions provider, in connection with its acquisition by East West Manufacturing, LLC, an integrated design, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution services partner for original equipment manufacturers and distributors throughout North America and Europe.

Nutter represented retirement plan service providers in multiple ERISA class actions resulting in dismissal or settlement, and advised plan fiduciaries on issues arising in ERISA litigation. 

Nutter successfully obtained a settlement on behalf of its client Fidelity Bank in connection with a multi-district litigation class action relating to the TelexFree international Ponzi scheme. The Court approved the $22.5 million settlement and entered judgment dismissing the claims with prejudice. The legal team was led by Ian Roffman, chair of Nutter’s Securities Enforcement and Litigation practice, and included Joe Toomey, Ken Ehrlich, and Tom Curry.

Nutter represented a company that designs and sells a GPS-based pet containment and tracking collar in asserting multiple patents against a competitor (who brought counterclaims relating to, among other things, alleged false marketing statements). Litigation spanned district court and PTAB (IPR proceedings). Nutter obtained a favorable claim construction ruling and numerous discovery-related rulings. Nutter’s IP Litigation team completed fact and expert discovery and obtained key concessions from witnesses. Within a few months of trial, the court granted our motion to expand infringement allegations to allow the assertion of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. Shortly thereafter, the case settled favorably.

Nutter advised numerous business clients, and handled claims filing and negotiations, on claims for insurance coverage of potential liability, defense costs and other losses, under professional liability, directors and officers, and comprehensive general liability insurance policies, and financial institution bonds.

Nutter represented a major financial institution in successful negotiations with multiple excess insurance carriers of full coverage for 8-figure class action settlement and litigation defense costs.  

Mike Leard, Ben Stern, and Sara Lonks Wong represented Professional Audio Design (PAD) in a successful resolution to a multi-year litigation brought in response to attacks by certain third parties on PAD’s premier brand of recording-studio speaker—Augspurger® Monitors. PAD has manufactured and sold Augspurger® Monitors for decades and its brand is synonymous with high end audio.

Nutter successfully represented a former public company CFO in an SEC investigation of financial disclosures made before the company’s bankruptcy filing, with no charges filed. 

Nutter represented registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, and investors in many investigations by the SEC and state regulators involving a full range of regulatory issues, including registration, conflict of interest disclosure and supervision, resulting in settlements or no charges filed. 

Nutter successfully represented a major retirement plan service provider in an SEC investigation into marketing practices involving school district plans, with no charges filed. 

Nutter served as legal counsel to Shepley Wood Products, the premier building supply company for Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Southeastern Massachusetts, in its acquisition by Kodiak Building Partners, a Denver-based building products distribution platform.

Nutter represents shorefront owners in litigation on Cape Cod.