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Areas of Practice
Automobile Accidents -- The firm represents victims in automobile accidents and defendant operators when insurance issues arise. An exemplary case is Derosia v. Verboom, 169 Vt. 593 (1999). In this case the jury awarded Ms. Derosia a significant amount as compensation for her neck injuries.
Business Torts -- Jennison v. Bierer, 601F. Supp. 1167 (D.VT. 1984) is a case tried in the Federal District Court in which the federal judge adopted the standard for good faith and fair dealing between partners and awarded damages in a substantial amount.
Another case involving business issues is DCPP v. Town of Lebanon, a case tried in the Federal Court in the District of New Hampshire in which the jury awarded damages in a contract dispute over engineering services provided during the construction of the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
Corporate -- The firm represents individuals and families in their corporate and business matters. The responsibilities involve the creation of corporations and other business entities and the conduct of their normal and extraordinary affairs.
Criminal Defense -- The firm represents individuals charged with a violation of the criminal statute. These cases range from homicides to traffic related offenses and generally involve jury trials. An example of this work is the jury verdict on June 24, 2004 for the defendant on the false felony charge of lewd and lascivious conduct.
Divorce & Family Matters -- The firm represents spouses, partners and children in the family court on issues of separation and divorce and the parenting and financial circumstances associated therewith.
Employment Law -- Frappiea v. Vermont Medical is a case of discrimination tried to verdict in the Windham Superior Court. The jury awarded the woman employee substantial compensatory and punitive damages plus attorneys’ fees.
Estate Planning and Probate -- The firm is engaged in the drafting of trusts and wills and the probating of the estates of its clients.
Industrial Accidents -- Over the years the firm has represented a number of victims of industrial accidents and has defended its corporate clients on occasions of the injury or death of an employee. An example of this is the Lyman and Gertrude Derosia cases which arose out of an accident at the Book Press in Brattleboro and culminated in a jury verdict in a significant amount in the Windham Superior Court. This verdict was affirmed on appeal. Derosia v. Duro Metal Products Co., 147 Vt. 410 (1986); Derosia v. Book Press, Inc., 148 Vt. 217 (1987); Derosia v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 155 Vt. 178 (1990).
A more recent example of this work is a jury verdict in June of 2002 in a significant amount in a slate mining case by an employee against his employer. Although the Supreme Court reversed this jury verdict in the spring of 2004, the case opens the way for potential liability against employers for personal injuries in certain circumstances involving intentional misconduct. Mead v. Western Slate, 2004 VT11 (2004) Rutland Superior Court, Docket No.: 672-11-01Rdcv.
Insurance Bad Faith -- Pelletier v. Farmers’ Cooperative Insurance Company is a case in the Superior Court and settled during trial for a significant sum. The case involved a barn fire in which the carrier defended on the grounds of arson.
Medical Negligence -- The firm represents victims of medical and dental negligence. An example of this work is the very significant jury verdict against the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in the case of Curtin v. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. In Curtin the jury awarded this sum on account of the death of an unborn child at the time when the baby's mother was past term and the defendant had misread the fetal monitoring test.
Another medical negligence case of note is Short v. U.S.A., 908 F. Supp.227 (1995) a case tried under the Federal Court Tort Claim Act. The case involved the failure to diagnose prostate cancer by a physician at a Veterans’ Administration hospital. The court adopted the “lost chance” theory and awarded damages.
Products Liability -- The firm has represented victims who experienced injury due to the faulty design of various products. An exemplary case is Gillman v. Towmotor Corp. , 160 Vt. 116] (1993). This case arose from an accident in a Brattleboro manufacturing facility and was tried to verdict in the Windham Superior Court. The judgment was substantial and was affirmed on appeal. The verdict was based on proof of a design defect in a Caterpillar lift truck which caused a forward tip-over.
Real Estate -- The firm represents individual buyers and sellers in residential and commercial transactions, and represents its corporate and business clients in real estate acquisition, development and sales. These transactions often involve out-of-state parcels and lending institutions, and significant permitting and financing issues.
Workers’ Compensation -- The firm will represent a victim of an industrial accident who has workers’ compensation issues, which are not readily resolved with the insurance carrier. Often these cases also involve employment discrimination or product liability matters.
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