Related Video
Video Title
Video Content
What can we help you find? Enter your search above.
What can we help you find? Enter your search above.
Communicating with Sugarman Rogers through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship with the firm or any of our attorneys. Our decision as to whether and on what terms we may agree to represent a client involves consideration of a variety of factors, discussion with the prospective client, and, where appropriate, a written engagement agreement.
Please do not use this form of communication to transmit any private, personally identifying, or other confidential information. We cannot guarantee the confidentiality or security of this means of communication.
Sugarman Rogers partners Anthony M. Doniger, Lisa C. Goodheart and C. Dylan Sanders have been recognized by Chambers USA 2020. Doniger received a top âband 1â ranking for his High Net Worth success in the area of family law. Goodheart received a top âband 1â ranking for her work in Environmental Law as well as a âband 2â ranking in the area of General Commercial Litigation. Sanders received a âband 3â ranking in the area of Environmental Law. Chambers USA described Anthony M. Doniger as âa notable litigator who regularly handles sophisticated matrimonial matters, including divorces.â A peer stated that Doniger âis someone we have traditionally referred clients to a lot of the time. He's really well respected in the Boston community." Lisa C. Goodheart âhas a first-class environmental practice and frequently counsels clients on high-profile disputesâ according to Goodheartâs Chambers USA review. One peer commented that Goodheart is âthe…
Sugarman Rogers partners Lisa Goodheart and Dylan Sanders have been recognized by Chambers USA 2019. Lisa received a top âBand 1â ranking for her work in Environmental Law as well as a âBand 2â ranking in the area of General Commercial Litigation. Dylan received a âBand 3â ranking in the area of Environmental Law. âHailed as an âoutstanding environmental litigator,â Lisa Goodheart has an impeccable record serving clients on complex land use and environmental matters. A peer reports: âShe is a terrific environmental litigator; she is very expert in this area, a strong advocate and just a pleasure to work with,ââ reported Chambers USA. In the area of general commercial litigation, Chambers USA stated that âLisa Goodheart is highly sought after for her prowess in contested real estate, energy and commercial matters. Sources praise her âtremendous gravitasâ and say: âShe always does a great job with her case.ââ Additionally, Chambers…
In the Boston Bar Journalâs Summer 2017 (Volume 61, Number 3) issue, Sugarman Rogers attorney Kate R. Cook and Hemenway and Barnes attorney Patrick Moore take a look at Executive Orders in their Legal Analysis entitled "Executive Order: Strike of a Pen, Law of the Land?" An excerpt: The President of the United States and the Governor of Massachusetts have the implied power to issue executive orders that, in certain contexts, will have the force of law. Focusing on the federal system and the Massachusetts state system, this article will address the concept of the executive order, how it has changed over time, and why executive orders are used to further wide-ranging policy goals. The article will also address the judicial scrutiny of executive orders, including, in particular, whether they are owed any deference or presumption of lawfulness. Read the full article here, or contact Kate R. Cook (cook@sugarmanrogers.com) for more information.
In a case with significant implications for the management of the stateâs shellfish industry, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that local conservation commissions, acting under their authority from the state Wetlands Protection Act (WPA), may regulate hydraulic dredging for sea clamsâeven where doing so impinges on rights otherwise granted to fishermen under state permits from the Department of Marine Fisheries (DMF). In Aqua King Fishery v. Conservation Commission of Provincetown (June 16, 2024), the Appeals Court struck down a Provincetown bylaw that regulated hydraulic dredging, after finding the bylaw inconsistent with state law. But the Court also held, in a significant win for local jurisdictions, that Provincetown could regulate hydraulic dredging for sea clams in shallow waters in its capacity as the local enforcement authority under the state Wetlands Protection Act. Hydraulic dredging is a method for harvesting clams from the ocean floor. It uses high-pressure jets of water…
Susan Broh, a previously healthy 57 year-old woman, died in September 2001 of massive liver failure caused by Serzone, an anti-depressant manufactured and sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb, which she had begun taking less than three months earlier for mild depression, on the advice and prescription of a psychiatrist. Shortly after Susan began taking Serzone, BMS sent a letter to doctors in Canada, warning them about reports of severe liver injury associated with use of the drug, and recommending that a number of precautions be followed whenever it was prescribed. BMS provided similar warnings in other countries at the behest of local regulators, but failed to give the same information to doctors in the United States until several months after Susan's death, when the company was ordered by the FDA to place a âblack-boxâ warning on the label for Serzone. Susan was unmarried at the time of her death, and had…
(This article originally appeared on the Boston Bar Association website. Reprinted here with permission.) The Boston Bar Association will honor Edward Barshak with its Lifetime Achievement Award on September 12 at the 2014 Annual Meeting Luncheon. A leader isnât always the first one to speak up. A true leader exhibits command of speech so that when they do speak, their words carry weight. As we interviewed Bostonâs most respected advocates and citizens for this profile, one phrase resonated among countless sound bites. âWhen Barshak speaks, everybody listens.â From Fitchburgâs Finest to One of Bostonâs Best When he joined Mapplebeck, Alberts & Sugarman in 1957, Fitchburg native Edward J. Barshak had already carved out a reputation as one of Bostonâs most promising trial attorneys. As the fifth attorney at what would later become Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, Ed set to work building what would soon become Bostonâs top tier civil…
In one of the first appellate cases where the plaintiff claims to have been harassed by the defendantâs use of a drone, the Appeals Court has held that drone use and videotaping of property, while ânettlesomeâ and perhaps âdisruptive,â could not justify the issuance of a harassment prevention order under G.L. c. 258E. The case, F.W.T. v. F.T., 2017-P-790, clarifies that typical drone use, such as flying it over anotherâs property and videotaping property is an insufficient legal basis to obtain a harassment prevention order. In vacating the Trial Court order against the defendant, the Appeals Court left open the question whether a drone could be used in a more intrusive manner that would satisfy the statutory requirements. The standard used to evaluate applications for harassment orders under c. 258E is well established under Massachusetts law. The plaintiff must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant committed…
A federal judge has ruled in favor of an energy company that seeks to build a natural-gas compressor station in Weymouth, Massachusetts as part of an interstate pipeline construction project. The ruling, in Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC v. Weymouth Conservation Commission, concluded that a ruling by the Weymouth conservation commission blocking the station under a local wetlands-protection ordinance conflicted with the exclusive authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and was therefore preempted. This ruling is an important development in an increasingly hard-fought area of litigation over expansion of natural-gas pipelines in the Northeast and nationally. The Weymouth compressor station at issue in the case was proposed by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, a recently acquired subsidiary of Enbridge, Inc., as part of its âAtlantic Bridge Project,â a plan to expand natural-gas pipelines and related facilities serving the Northeast and Canada. (Enbridgeâs marketing page for the Atlantic Bridge Project is here.)…
Citrix Remote Access https://remote.srbc.com You will need to download the Citrix client software before accessing the server. Clicking on this link should automatically detect your operating system and download the appropriate client for your computer: http://receiver.citrix.com **after installing on a MAC, click on this link to configure client settings: citrixreceiver://createprofile?pname=SRBC%20Citrix%20Applications&s=https%3A%2F%2Fremote.srbc.com&gw=0 Once you have the client software installed, point your browser to: https://remote.srbc.com If you have not installed the software prior to your first visit, you will be prompted to do so automatically. It is recommended you install the client from one of the above links prior to visiting the remote server. If you have installed the software, you will see a login screen. Simply enter your username and your network password. Once logged in, you may select individual applications to launch, or you may launch a desktop session. After you're done with your work, please make sure you log off…
Majority members of a limited liability company cannot rely upon the âexclusive remedyâ provision in the Massachusetts Limited Liability Company statute (M.G.L. c. 156C) to prevent minority members from recovering certain equitable remedies in cases where the majority has breached its fiduciary duties to accomplish a merger that the minority opposed, according to the Supreme Judicial Courtâs recent decision in W. Robert Allison v. Elof Eriksson. Indeed, the SJC held that trial courts have discretion to fashion equitable relief for minority LLC members wrongfully âfrozen outâ by majority members seeking to consolidate their control through mergers. Such relief may include rescission of the merger or, more commonly, modification of the new entityâs operating agreement to provide greater minority member protections. Here, Robert Allison and Elof Eriksson were the founders and sole members of Applied Tissue Technologies (ATT-MA), a Massachusetts LLC. Eriksson controlled roughly 75% of the company and Allison controlled…
By visiting and using this website, you are deemed to consent to the following terms of use. Do not use this site if you do not accept these terms. 1. Disclaimer. Please see our disclaimer here. 2. Availability and Changes. Sugarman Rogers reserves the right to make changes to all or any portion of this website, and to suspend, disable or discontinue all or any portion of the site, at any time, for any reason, and without notice. We also reserve the right to revise these terms of use at any time, for any reason, and without notice. 3. No Warranties; Limitation of Liability. This site is provided on an âas isâ and âas availableâ basis. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, reliability, suitability or usefulness of any portion of the site. We do not guarantee that this site will be uninterrupted or error-free. We do not guarantee…
The firm offers a variety of access points for remote access to resources. The preferred methods are either using your firm-issued laptop, or the remote desktop service, as these provide a more complete remote working experience. Individual services are accessible directly as well, and links have been provided below. VPN (for laptop users) Remote Desktop (remote access to virtual desktop) https://remote.srbc.com Outlook Web Access (email) https://outlook.com/sugarmanrogers.com Mimecast Personal Portal (manage messages on hold and backup access to recent mail in the event of a Microsoft outage) https://webmail-us.mimecast.com/ NetDocuments (document management system) https://vault.netvoyage.com/ Rippe LMS+ (time & billing) https://sugarmanrogers.rippe.com/ iTimeKeep (time entry) https://services.bellefieldcloud.com/newdesktop/#/login Rippe LMSV (for admin/billing) https://lms.rippecloud.com/rdweb Nextpoint (litigation support/document review and productions) https://sugarman-rogers-barshak-cohen.nextpoint.com/login LoopUp (conference calls) https://account.loopup.com/
In Esler v. Sylvia-Reardon and Massachusetts General Hospital, SJC-11899, 2015 WL 10435938 (Mar. 9, 2016), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (âSJCâ) revived a verdict in favor of an employee who claimed that her employerâs refusal to reinstate her after she exhausted all available FMLA leave constituted unlawful retaliation. In doing so, the Court highlighted the distinction between the FMLAâs âprescriptiveâ and âproscriptiveâ provisions, reminding employers that providing an employee with all required leave under the statute does not insulate an employer from potential liability for retaliation. Esler, a dialysis nurse at MGH, requested and received four weeks of FMLA leave for anxiety, during which her treating physician advised her to engage in âpleasurable activities and light exerciseâ to help relieve her stress. While on leave, she traveled to New York to visit friends and fractured her wrist while ice-skating. Shortly thereafter, Esler received a ârather nastyâ call from her supervisor…
Chambers USA: Americaâs Leading Lawyers for Business 2014 has recognized Sugarman Rogers partners Lisa Goodheart and Jean Musiker as leaders in their fields. In the 2014 directory, Lisa is described as âabsolutely one of the top environmental litigatorsâ and is recognized in the areas of Environmental Law (Band 1) and General Commercial Litigation (Band 3). Jean is named a leader in Labor & Employment (Band 4) and is regarded by her clients as âthe ace in the hole.â Chambers USA is an annual publication distributed to general counsel of leading global and national businesses. Chambers researchers conduct in-depth interviews with in-house counsel and law firms, in an effort to systematically rank reliable and capable business lawyers. Full rankings and editorial commentary are available at http://www.chambersandpartners.com/.
Lisa C. Goodheart has been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America. The induction ceremony took place on September 29, 2018, at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the College, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, and attended by over 1,000 people. Lisaâs litigation practice spans a broad range of complex environmental, energy, land use, real estate, insurance, and business matters. On behalf of private and public sector clients, she has practiced for more than 30 years in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. Lisa chairs the Environmental and Energy Law and Real Estate Litigation Practice Groups at Sugarman Rogers, and has been consistently recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Whoâs Who Legal, and Super Lawyers. She is a past President of the Boston Bar Association and has served…
As the nation absorbs the tremendous scale of the damage caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, a federal judge in Massachusetts this week kept alive a lawsuit charging that ExxonMobil has failed to adequately prepare an oil terminal in Everett Massachusetts to withstand storm surges, heavy rainfall and flooding. These are all effects that scientists warn will worsen and intensify with climate change. The succinct order, in Conservation Law Foundation v. ExxonMobil Corporation, permits CLF to seek a remedy against ExxonMobil for harms in what the court refers to as the ânear future,â while barring litigation now over harm that may occur âfar in the future.â The decision begs the question: Just what harms from climate change are sufficiently imminent to warrant granting judicial relief to litigants, and which are those that are âfar in the future,â such that the courts should find that plaintiffs lack standing to sue? The…
The 2012 edition of the legal directory Chambers USA recognizes SRBC partners Edward Barshak and Lisa Goodheart as leaders in their fields. The annual publication conducts in-depth interviews with a lawyer's peers and clients, and asks for assessment of a lawyer's technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by clients. In this year's guide, Ed is recognized in the area of general commercial litigation, and is described by his peers as a "titan of the bar." Lisa, who is described as "a very strong practitioner with tremendous litigation skills and experience," is recognized for her work in the area of environmental law.
Sugarman Rogers partner Lisa Goodheart has been recognized in two different practice areas by Chambers USA 2018. Lisa received a top âBand 1â ranking in the area of Environmental Law, and a âBand 2â ranking in the area of Litigation: General Commercial. With respect to her environmental work, according to Chambers, Lisa is âwidely recognized for her extensive expertise in land use and environmental matters. She is experienced across permitting, cost recovery and enforcement issues.â In the area of commercial litigation, Chambers states that Lisa âis highlighted for her particular skill in real estate, commercial and environmental disputes.â Lisa has been honored with recognition in both of these practice areas for a number of years. Chambers is an annual publication distributed to general counsel of leading global and national businesses. Chambers researchers conduct in-depth interviews with in-house counsel and law firms, in an effort to systematically rank reliable and capable lawyers. Established…
Our medical-malpractice team is highly skilled, trial-tested, and ready to assist you with every aspect of your claim, from initial investigation through final resolution. We have won trials and obtained settlements for our clients from doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers in actions involving a wide range of injuries. We devote personal attention to each client, and we understand the importance of keeping you informed and responding quickly to your questions and concerns. Our wide experience in this area includes cases of: Failure to timely diagnose and treat cancer and other medical conditions Mismanagement of maternal labor and delivery, including birth injuries Failure to perform adequate prenatal testing or monitoring Improper interpretation of x-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, and other mishandling of diagnostic procedures Anesthesia errors Medication errors by physicians and pharmacies Failure to obtain informed consent for medical procedures Negligent surgery and post-operative care Improper treatment by emergency-room medical…
The First Circuitâs recent decision in Full Spectrum Software, Inc. v. Forte Automation Systems, Inc., 858 F.3d 666 (June 2, 2024) addressed two important issues for parties engaged in the negotiation of commercial contracts in Massachusetts. The court upheld a jury verdict awarding nearly $500,000 in actual and punitive damages under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 93A against a software-development company in what began as a billing dispute with another developer. In affirming the verdict, the First Circuit held that even in dealings between such sophisticated business entities, the defendant was properly found liable for acting unfairly or deceptively, in violation of chapter 93A, when it âstrung alongâ the other party by delaying the signing of a contract. The court also held that the trial judge properly permitted a jury to decide the defendantâs liability under chapter 93A, notwithstanding the defendantâs objection and uncertainty as to whether a plaintiff has a…
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court this week significantly expanded state constitutional protection for parks and other open public spaces. In doing so, the court came down on the side of conservationists in a common dispute with public officials over potential use of municipal land for public improvements, including roads and schools, but also including other newer uses of municipal open space, such as for wind turbines and solar arrays. The SJC ruled, in Smith v. City of Westfield, that the defendant city could not, without a super-majority vote of the state legislature, build an elementary school on city land that had long been used as a public park, even though no written restriction was ever recorded designating the land for protection under Article 97 of the Massachusetts constitution, the stateâs âEnvironmental Bill of Rights.â Reversing a decision of the Appeals Court, the SJC held that no such recording in the…
Sugarman Rogers has decades of experience representing stakeholders in complex real estate litigation. The breadth of our practice encompasses disputes involving commercial leases, local zoning, development-related permitting, facility siting, condominium issues, design and construction claims, brokerage claims, tittle issues, valuation disputes, and a broad range of other issues arising out of real estate transactions, property development, and land use regulation. Our clients include developers, owners, managers, investors, buyers, and sellers of commercial, industrial, mixed use, and residential properties. In addition to representing a range of business clients, we handle complex real estate disputes for public authorities, municipalities, schools and universities, land conservation groups, and other non-profit organizations. We are recognized as trial and appellate lawyers of the highest caliber. But our clients also value our ability to understand their objectives and, where appropriate, resolve disputes outside the courtroom. In each case, we collaborate with our clients to develop strategies tailored to achieve…
In a decision published on February 29, 2016, Bulwer v. Mount Auburn Hospital (473 Mass 672), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court clarified the evidentiary burden a plaintiff must meet to overcome a motion for summary judgment in an employment discrimination claim under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, § 4. The Court held that where a reasonable jury could infer from evidence presented by a plaintiff that an employer's justification for terminating the plaintiff was false, the question of whether the given justification was a pretext for discrimination must be presented to a jury. The plaintiff in Bulwer, a black male from Belize who held a medical degree from a foreign medical school, practiced medicine outside the United States for thirteen years. Plaintiff came to Mr. Auburn Hospital to complete a residency program so that he could practice in the United States. The residency agreement was for a one-year term, renewable…
Two federal appeals courts have recently issued opinions in key social engineering fraud coverage cases, in both instances finding that the policies in question provided coverage for the insuredsâ losses. The decisions stand in contrast to certain earlier cases, including one from the Fifth Circuit, in which no coverage was found for similar types of scams. In American Tooling Center v. Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of America, 2018 WL 3404708 (6th Cir., July 13, 2024), the Sixth Circuit reviewed whether there was âcomputer fraudâ coverage for a spoofed e-mail scheme in which thieves impersonated one of the insuredâs overseas vendors in order to divert vendor payments. The insured, a tool and die manufacturer, outsourced some of its work to a Chinese company, which periodically invoiced the insured via e-mail. Cybercriminals were able to intercept e-mails between the insured and the vendor and began to e-mail the insured, posing as…
Massachusetts's Earned Sick Time law, passed by voters via ballot initiative last November, will take effect on July 1, 2015. The Office of the Attorney General has released proposed regulations to implement and clarify the scope of the new law. The proposed regulations will be discussed at six public hearings during May and June. The Boston hearing will take place on May 18, 2015, from 10:30 a.m. â 1:30 p.m. at 100 Cambridge Street, Boston. The proposed regulations include the following key provisions: At the outset, the proposed regulations state that they do not affect any âpolicy or practice of any employer that provides for greater, additional or more benefits or sick leave than those requiredâ by the law. (940 CMR 33.01(4)). This is a partial restatement of the text of the statute itself, which specifically states that employers with unrestricted âPTOâ policies do not have to provide additional sick time over…
Sugarman Rogers partner David Barry has obtained a $975,000 medical-malpractice settlement for a 18-year-old male plaintiff who fractured his leg during a soccer game and developed âacute compartment syndrome,â a condition that can develop after trauma and results in insufficient blood supply to muscles and nerves. In the lawsuit he claimed that the doctor treating him for the leg injury failed to diagnose the compartment syndrome, requiring multiple surgeries and resulting in harm to a promising college sports career as well as permanent muscle loss and scarring. The doctor denied any deviation from acceptable standards of care, and disputed other aspects of the patient's claim. Please click here to read the full case report in the Jury Verdict Review.
Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen is proud to announce that all of their female partners have been named "Top Women Attorneys in Massachusetts" by Super Lawyers and were featured in the April issue of Boston magazine. Lisa C. Goodheart and Christine M. Netski both made the "Top 50 Women Attorneys in Massachusetts" list; Goodheart for her work in Environmental Litigation, and Netski for her work in Business Litigation. In addition, managing partner Regina E. Roman was recognized for her work in Insurance Coverage, along with Susan A. Hartnett. Alisa L. Hacker was featured for her work in Family Law, and Andrea Studley Knowles made the list for her work in Product Liability Defense. "We are so proud of this accomplished group. Their recognition further validates our long tradition at Sugarman Rogers of recruiting, hiring, promoting and supporting first-rate women lawyers," said William L. Boesch a partner and member of Sugarman…
The Massachusetts Appeals Court has confirmed that private parties may not use litigation to seek enforcement of âpublic trust rightsâ in tidelands governed by M.G.L. c. 91 (âChapter 91â) outside of the Chapter 91 licensing program. In its July 10, 2024 decision in Commercial Wharf East Condominium Assoc. v. Boston Boat Basin, LLC, the Appeals Court rejected a landownerâs claims that certain legal and contractual restrictions that had been placed upon its use of its waterfront marina property violated the public trust doctrine because they limited the publicâs access to that property. At issue in this case was Boston Boat Basinâs marina on the seaward side of Commercial Wharf in Boston Harbor. The marina is accessible to the public only by way of an easement over the Commercial Wharf East Condominium Associationâs (âCWCAâ) propertyâwhich encompasses the landward portion of the wharf. The party that owned the land prior to Boston…
On April 13, 2018, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state Attorney General can proceed with her investigation into whether Exxon Mobil Corporation (âExxonMobilâ) violated the state consumer protection law (G. L. c. 93A) by concealing its knowledge about whether and how fossil fuel emissions contribute to global warming and climate change. Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, as a result of the SJCâs decision in Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Attorney General ExxonMobil will now be required to disclose reports, communications, and other materials concerning the companyâs understanding of climate change risks, its potential failure to inform the public about those risks, and its efforts âto undermine the evidence of climate change altogether, in order to preserve its value as a company.â The events leading up to this case began in April 2016, when the Attorney General served a civil investigative demand (C.I.D.) seeking a wide range of…
