Representative Results

Priority number one at Taylor Duane Barton & Gilman is delivering winning results to our clients in every case – whether it’s a victory in the courtroom or a favorable settlement. That’s how we define success.

If a case requires a “leave-no-stone-unturned” approach we’ll do it, but Taylor Duane attorneys are always mindful that litigation can be costly. This means we relentlessly seek to handle cases in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Avoiding litigation altogether is often the best result. Our training and skills as trial lawyers allow us to effectively help clients assess and manage risks. In the courtroom and beyond, we are proud of the results we’ve helped our clients achieve.

Below is a sampling of some of our successes:

Accountant Liability

Persuaded a Massachusetts Business Litigation Session judge to dismiss a consumer protection claim against an accounting firm early in the case before discovery had taken place
Obtained dismissal of a negligence claim against an accountant for tax advice
Obtained summary judgment dismissing various claims against an accounting firm related to its forensics investigation of fraud

Broker Liability

Successfully defended at trial a real estate brokerage firm and individual broker facing a Massachusetts consumer protection (Chapter 93A) claim

Business and Commercial Litigation

Persuaded the Massachusetts Appeals Court to uphold summary judgment in favor of a commercial landlord on the basis that the landlord had no contractual duty to repair commercial property leased to an employer of a man who claimed he was injured while working at the site
Persuaded a panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court to uphold an arbitrator’s ruling that the firm’s client was entitled on the basis of equitable subrogation to a $450,000 setoff for its payment of a commercial mortgage pre-payment penalty
Successfully persuaded the Massachusetts Superior Court Business Litigation Session to dismiss a woman’s claims alleging negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress against a personal financial management company on the basis that the financial advisors did not owe a legal duty to the woman as a matter of law because they had no direct client relationship with her
Successfully defended an international corporation sued for alleged breach of a software lease agreement
Successfully pursued federal bench trial on behalf of Fortune 500 Company seeking to enforce an arbitration clause
Achieved fair distribution of partnership assets to a departing general partner in a federal court action under the Uniform Partnership Act

Employment Law

Successfully defended retailer in federal court employment action brought by terminated employee
Obtained lack of probable cause findings in dozens of employment discrimination cases in various administrative agencies, such as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, Rhode Island Human Rights Commission, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
On behalf of an employer, successfully dismissed a personal injury claim brought by an employee who was attempting to invoke exceptions to the exclusivity provision of the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act

Insurance Coverage

Persuaded the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule in favor of client, who insured a general contractor on a major construction project. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh v. Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co., 385 F.3d 47 (1st Cir. 2004). The decision, frequently cited by courts and in legal treatises, examined an “additional insured” endorsement routinely seen in liability insurance policies in the construction context
Successfully argued before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of an excess insurer involving a claim by the insured's primary insurer for over $5 million in attorneys' fees
Persuaded a Massachusetts Appeals Court panel that a “designated premises” clause in an insurance carrier’s commercial general liability insurance policy -- stating that coverage was limited to injuries arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the premises -- precluded coverage for a personal injury accident that occurred at a music concert promotional event hosted by a restaurant about 60 miles from its place of business
On behalf of a large commercial insurer obtained summary judgment from a U.S. District Court judge denying a claim brought by a large HMO for $28 million in insurance coverage
Persuaded an arbitration panel to reject a claim brought by an architectural firm for $1 million in insurance coverage under a professional liability claims-made and reported policy
Obtained summary judgment from a Massachusetts Superior Court judge enforcing an insurance policy’s "independent contractor" exclusion against a restaurant owner seeking coverage for an electrician’s claim he was injured while working at the restaurant during renovations
In a complicated case involving workers' compensation premiums, successfully prevailed at trial against a breach of contract counterclaim for money damages, and a claim under the Massachusetts consumer protection statute, and also recovered unpaid six-figure premium payments on behalf of our insurance carrier client
Successfully defended a major insurer in a $200 million declaratory judgment action
Handled a major reinsurance arbitration resulting in a favorable $77.5 million settlement

Medical Professional Liability

Our lawyers have successfully defended medical professionals in a wide variety of jury trials, including:

a nurse practitioner in a wrongful death lawsuit involving allegations that she didn’t recommend a colonoscopy to a 40-year-old man with a family history of colon cancer
two obstetricians who allegedly failed to timely deliver an unborn infant at risk, which the mother claimed resulted in the child’s stillbirth during the 37th week of gestation
an ophthalmologist in a product liability/personal injury trial involving patient who was blinded as a result of phacoemulsification equipment malfunction
a vascular surgeon in a wrongful death case tried in federal court involving an alleged failure to diagnose an ascending aortic dissection
a cardiac surgeon in a case alleging ventricular damage as a result of emergency cardiac surgery
an obstetrician who allegedly failed to timely perform a cesarean section
a physician corporation in a wrongful death case alleging a failure to diagnose lung cancer
a nephrologist who allegedly failed to diagnose pancreatitis resulting in kidney failure
a certified nurse midwife who allegedly failed to diagnose breast cancer
a physician assistant in a case alleging wrongful birth (defense verdict upheld on appeal)

In a groundbreaking appellate case, we persuaded the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to uphold summary judgment on behalf of a Massachusetts organ bank based on good faith immunity under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (Carey v. New England Organ Bank, 446 Mass. 270 (2006)). The SJC’s opinion established new law in Massachusetts on applying the good faith immunity standard.

Real Estate and Land Use Litigation

Successfully pursued multi-jurisdiction litigation against a commercial tenant for breaching a commercial lease, resulting in a pre-trial settlement payment to our client
Prevailed at a trial on behalf of defendants against a claim alleging breach of a contract to purchase real estate
Successfully obtained a jury verdict following a two-week trial dismissing a commercial lease claim against our client in excess of $1 million based on an affirmative defense of waiver

School Law

Persuaded the Rhode Island Supreme Court in a groundbreaking ruling to uphold the decision of the Rhode Island Board of Regents of Elementary and Secondary Education to order a local school district to reimburse a local independent public charter school client for tuition payments the district had wrongfully withheld under a mistaken interpretation of state law