PSD Brings Constitutional Challenge Against DCF for Undermining Parents’ Efforts to Provide Medical Care for Ill Child

On May 29, 2014, PSD filed a lawsuit in Federal court against Massachusetts DCF stemming from its practice of limiting certain parental choices and access to second opinions. the case is framed as a civil rights action, seeking declaratory relief.

PSD partner Barry Pollack earned ranking honors from Chambers USA for 2014:

Barry Pollack of Pollack Solomon Duffy LLP is a recognized expert in white-collar crime and government investigations. An admiring source states: “He’s probably the best attorney at understanding jurisdictional issues I’ve ever met. He’s very good at understanding what should be removed to federal court, and what state to choose to bring a case in.”

For more information, see:  http://m.chambersandpartners.com/person/473197/5

On April 4, 2014, a decision and order of the New York Supreme Court granted summary judgment dismissing a breach of contract claim against PSD client AMERRA Agri Fund, LP. Plaintiffs in the case included Federated Project and Finance Core Fund (a Federated Investors fund) and GML Agricultural Commodity Trade Finance Fund, LLC. PSD previously obtained the dismissal of claims against AMERRA Capital Management LLC.

The dispute arose from investments in commodities financing for a large Mexican grain company known as Covadonga. While AMERRA and the plaintiffs ultimately faced issues concerning the collateral that Covadonga had pledged, the court found it indisputable that AMERRA had relied “on repeated confirmations and detailed reports from General and Gomez, Mexican-government regulated and licensed warehouseman, who were hired to store and monitor the grains.” During the relevant time period, “Gomez and General confirmed existence of all grains represented on AMERRA’s CDs.” On top of that, AMERRA “relied on reports from Maloney [Commodities Services], its expert inspector, independent from the warehousemen, confirming that the grain Repo Collateral in the warehouses conformed to the CD values assigned by Covadonga and routinely confirmed by the warehousemen.” The court explained that “Suresh Advani, a principal of plaintiff GML, testified that plaintiffs routinely rely on ‘experts’ like Maloney for commodities inspections.” Under such circumstances, the court concluded that an “exercise of due diligence will not always guarantee a lack of wrongdoing or harm caused by others.”

AMERRA Capital Management LLC is a registered investment adviser based in New York managing funds and accounts offering customized agriculture finance solutions.

Matthew B. Arnould, formerly of Ropes & Gray, has brought his law practice to PSD. Matt is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law, where he was a Senior Articles Editor of the Law Review. He will practice in the areas of commercial litigation, criminal defense, government misconduct, securities litigation, and insurance coverage.

PSD partners Barry Pollack and Peter Duffy prevailed on a preemption defense in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia where a Federal Judge decided that state law breach of contract and tort claims against a risk retention group are preempted under the Federal Liability Risk Retention Act, 15 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq., to the extent that they are based on state insurance laws and regulations.

PSD partner Peter Duffy will serve as a panelist at the upcoming Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) seminar “Modification & Contempt Proceedings in Divorce Cases” on October 31, 2013 at MCLE Conference Center, Ten Winter Place, Boston. The seminar will also be available via live webcast. The seminar will focus on strategies for prosecuting and defending modification and contempt proceedings and will include a review of pertinent case law and legislation. The seminar will conclude with an “ask the experts” Q&A session.

The October 21, 2013 issue of Lawyers Weekly features PSD Partner Barry Pollack prominently in a cover story titled “DOJ lets AUSAs earn money sitting on boards of directors,” and in a sidebar titled, “Lawyer: FBI director’s guilty plea supports claim.” Among other things, Pollack described how US Attorney Carmen Ortiz was “off the mark” when denying the existence of government misconduct “until it stared her in the face” when a Connecticut federal prosecutor brought charges in Massachusetts. Pollack also explained that the US Attorneys Office does “not own a monopoly on justice,” and criticized the government’s failure to police itself better,

On October 21, 2013, a jury returned a complete defense verdict in favor of PSD clients Amity Insurance and a former employee who were sued by a competitor. Peter Duffy led the trial efforts, which lasted about two weeks in Norfolk County Superior Court. The jury also found that the plaintiff had defamed PSD’s client. A jury determined that the Amity employee did not breach an employment contract with her former employer and that Amity did not interfere with the contract. The judge refused to give a Chapter 93A award to the plaintiff. The jury needed to deliberate for only about a single day.

The lead story in PI Magazine discussed the application of The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. PSD partner Barry Pollack discussed his experience and typical challenges that parties have to face and overcome.