Scarlett M. Rajbanshi

Scarlett M. Rajbanshi is an experienced civil litigator focusing her trial practice on employment law, construction litigation, professional liability defense, condominium disputes, and insurance coverage.

Representative Accomplishments

On behalf of a movie theater chain, Ms. Rajbanshi persuaded a jury to reject the claim of a Massachusetts woman who suffered dental and facial injuries after striking a hand rail mounted in the center of an aisle of a darkened stadium-style auditorium during the showing of a movie. The woman denied tripping, and alleged that the movie theatre chain negligently failed to illuminate the hand rail. However, the jury denied her claim and returned a verdict in favor of the move theatre chain, which maintains the facility.

Ms. Rajbanshi played a significant role in persuading a panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court that a “designated premises” clause in her insurance client’s commercial general liability insurance policy precluded coverage for an accident that occurred miles away from the policyholder’s place of business. The clause stated that coverage was limited to bodily injuries arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the restaurant’s premises, and operations necessary or incidental to the premises.

She successfully persuaded a Massachusetts Superior Court judge to grant summary judgment to an insurance carrier in a coverage dispute involving a crime insurance policy. The judge ruled that the policy excluded coverage related to the loss of an organization’s registration fees collected by an online payment company but not turned over to the organization.

Ms. Rajbanshi in a premises liability case persuaded a Massachusetts trial court judge to rule that a movie theatre owner was not deemed to have notice of an alleged slippery floor in its public restroom just by virtue of it normally making a restroom available to patrons. Ms. Rajbanshi distinguished the case from a previous landmark ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that a grocery store was deemed to have notice of a slippery floor condition because of its “mode of operation” as long as the condition was reasonably foreseeable, such as a crushed grape on the floor of the grocery store.

Ms. Rajbanshi recently obtained an order in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court dismissing a woman’s claims alleging negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the firm’s client, a personal financial management company. The judge ruled that the firm’s client did not owe a legal duty to the woman as a matter of law because it had no direct client relationship with her. She also recently persuaded a Massachusetts Superior Court judge to dismiss a breach of contract claim filed against the firm’s condominium trustee clients.

Ms. Rajbanshi obtained the dismissal of an adverse possession claim, arguing that the claimant had no standing to pursue the lawsuit. She also defeated a request for preliminary injunction made by a condominium owner who was seeking unspecified repairs to the building’s heating system.

Clerkships

Ms. Rajbanshi served as a law clerk to Justice R. Malcolm Graham on the Massachusetts Appeals Court in 2006-07.

Professional Affiliations

Ms. Rajbanshi is a member of the Massachusetts Women's Bar Association.