News and Cases
Selected Trial Verdicts and Decisions
Published Decisions Involving BHPK Cases

• BHPK partner Rick Brody’s work as a “mediator’s mediator” was highlighted in Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly’s Hearsay column, 33 M.L.W. 1356 (Feb. 14, 2005). Brody represented Arlington mediator Ericka Gray in a personal injury case in which she was the plaintiff. The case was resolved through mediation, and the column outlined the insights Gray gained from experiencing the process from the client’s perspective. Gray also highlighted her lawyer’s work, saying Brody’s “calming influence…helped procure an effective settlement after one session.”

• BHPK partners Richard Brody, Larry Hardoon, Sam Perkins, Lenny Kesten, and Jocelyn Sedney were recently named “Super Lawyers” for the year 2004 by the publishers of Boston Magazine and Law and Politics magazine.

• Brody, Hardoon, Perkins and Kesten was featured in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s article, “Boston’s Power Matrix,” 33 M.L.W. 620 (November 8, 2004). The article particularly hailed the “terrific no-pretense reputations” of partners Sam Perkins and Rick Brody.

• BHPK partner Rick Brody’s representation of a Buddhist monk and his followers was featured in Boston Magazine’s November, 2004 article, “The Battling Buddhists: a Bitter Feud Between Two Monks Divides a Community and Its Temple -- Literally.” The article can be found by clicking on “archives” at www.bostonmagazine.com.

• Rick Brody, Larry Hardoon and Djuna Perkins recently obtained a substantial settlement for a young woman who had been molested by a counselor at camp when she was twelve and thirteen years old. The camp also agreed to revamp its child abuse prevention policies.

• BHPK associate Djuna Perkins authored an article in the Summer, 2004 issue of Massachusetts Law Review titled, “Rethinking the Fresh Complaint Rule in Sexual Assault Cases: A Response to Commonwealth v. Montanez.” The article can be found at 89 Mass. L. Rev. 2 (Summer 2004).

• BHPK Partner Laurence E. Hardoon secured awards totaling $2.3 million from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston on behalf of thirteen victims of clergy sex abuse.

• BHPK Partners Rick Brody and Lenny Kesten won a $1.79 million award in one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Top Jury Verdicts for 2003 on behalf of a pedestrian struck by a bus. Click here to read the full article.
  

• BHPK Partners Lenny Kesten and Jocelyn Sedney won a $2.5 million award for a mentally ill teenager whose counselor engaged in a sexual relationship with her and made her pregnant. The case received significant coverage in the media and was the subject of two Boston Globe columns.

• BHPK Partner Larry Hardoon was featured in “The Boy Who Cried Rape,” Boston magazine, November, 2002. The article told the story of a Groton School student who exposed sexual abuse at the school. Now represented by Mr. Hardoon, the student is suing the school for negligence.

• BHPK Partner Lenny Kesten earned one of Massachusetts’ top jury verdicts of 2001 on behalf of a client. “Top Jury Verdicts of 2001: Employer’s ‘Terror Campaign’ Led to Civil Rights Verdict,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, January 14, 2002.
  Click here to read the full article.
  
  

• Partner Lenny Kesten was named one of the “Lawyers of the Year 2001” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, December 24, 2001.
  Click here to read the full article.
  
  

• Partner Lenny Kesten and associate Tom Campbell were featured in the November, 2001 issue of Boston magazine. The article, titled “Injustice for All,” described their representation of a police officer injured in a shootout with a parolee. Kesten and Campbell were also featured in a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article about the case: “Recalling a Lawyer’s Worst Nightmare” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, June 4, 2001.
  Click here to read the full article.
  
  

• Having tried six cases with favorable verdicts for his clients, partner Lenny Kesten was the subject of “Boston Lawyer Looks Back on an Eventful 1999,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, January 24, 2000.
  Click here to read the full article.
  
  

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Selected Trial Verdicts and Decisions

• Telecommunications Act

  BHPK represented a Town sued by Cellco Partnership for denying Cellco’s application for a special permit to place a wireless telecommunications facility at a location that would have made the cell tower visible from the town’s historic district. Cellco claimed the Planning Board’s denial of its special permit violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
  
  

  RESULT:	The Court granted the Town’s Motion for Summary Judgment finding that substantial evidence existed to support the Planning Board’s finding that the tower had a negative visual impact on the historic green.
  BHPK Counsel:	Deborah Ecker and Leonard H. Kesten

  
  

• Wrongful Discharge, Handicap Discrimination

  BHPK represented a town sued by an employee who was terminated after numerous staff members complained about his behavior. The employee had a history of outbursts in his relations with staff and had been sent to anger management training, but claimed he was fired because the Selectmen hated him and/or because he was handicapped because of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
  
  RESULT: Jury verdict for the town.
  BHPK Counsel: Leonard H. Kesten

• BHPK Defeats Claim of Excessive Force With Pepper Spray

  A belligerent motorist arrested for OUI sued police for excessive force when they used pepper spray to subdue him when he kicked a holding cell door open. Representing the police, BHPK argued police, who required assistance from a second town to subdue the motorist, used reasonable force.
  
  RESULT: Verdict for the police.
  BHPK Counsel: Leonard H. Kesten

• BHPK Wins $2.2 Million in Breach of Trust Case

  BHPK represented three brothers who sued a fourth brother for misappropriating trust assets over a twenty-year period.
  
  RESULT: $2.2 million award for plaintiffs.
  BHPK Counsel: Laurence E. Hardoon

• BHPK Defeats Racial Profiling Claim

  An African-American DEA agent stopped by police for driving with an expired inspection sticker sued the police, accusing them of racial profiling and claiming they stopped him because he was African-American. On behalf of the police, BHPK argued that the stop was appropriate and not race-related where police stopped the agent only after they discovered his registration had been suspended.
  
  RESULT: Verdict for the police.
  BHPK Counsel: Leonard H. Kesten

• BHPK Wins Substantial Settlement for Student Raped in College Dorm

  BHPK represented a college student raped in her dorm room, BHPK negotiated a large financial settlement for the student. In addition, the university agreed to make significant changes to security equipment and procedures, and established a hotline for rape victims.
  
  RESULT: Substantial award for student and crime prevention measures
  BHPK Counsel: Richard E. Brody

• BHPK Defeats Wrongful Termination Claim

  A reserve police officer sued his department for breach of contract after he was terminated for dishonesty. Representing the department, BHPK argued termination was appropriate.
  
  RESULT: Verdict for the department.
  BHPK Counsel: Leonard H. Kesten

• BHPK Wins $635,000 in Psychotherapy Malpractice Case

  BHPK represented a woman and her family in a lawsuit against a psychologist who engaged in non-therapeutic treatment methods.
  
  RESULT: $635,000 award for the plaintiffs.
  BHPK Counsel: Laurence E. Hardoon

• BHPK Wins $208,000 in Defamation Case Against Attorney for British Nanny Louise Woodward

  BHPK represented a state trooper who sued a female Boston lawyer after she claimed he had fondled her breast and asked her for sex during a drunk driving arrest. The woman made the claim after receiving the trooper’s incident report. The report included an incriminating statement the female lawyer denied making during the arrest about her client, British nanny Louise Woodward, who was convicted for the murder of 18-month-old Matthew Eappen. The female attorney’s allegations of sexual misconduct received international publicity.
  
  RESULT: Verdict and judgment for trooper of $208,000.
  BHPK Counsel: Leonard H. Kesten

• BHPK Secures $75,000 - $875,000 for Clergy Sexual Abuse Victims

  BHPK has represented scores of individual victims who were sexually molested between 1966 and 1990 by clergy members, securing individual awards of between $75,000 and $875,000 for each victim.
  BHPK Counsel: Laurence E. Hardoon

• BHPK Prevents Web Site Theft

  A disgruntled web site consultant for a public relations firm represented by BHPK took control of the firm’s web site and associated email system. The consultant sent falsified email messages and posted defamatory materials in an attempt to destroy the business of the public relations firm.
  
  RESULT: BHPK successfully blocked the consultant from misappropriating the site.
  BHPK Counsel: Samuel Perkins and Thomas P. Campbell

• BHPK Defeats Retaliatory Discharge Claim

  Two teachers who participated in a sexual misconduct investigation of a third teacher filed complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination claiming the School Department retaliated against them for their involvement. BHPK filed a comprehensive position statement on behalf of the School Department setting forth the details of the underlying investigation and stating that it took no adverse job action against either teacher because of their participation in the investigation.
  
  RESULT: One claimant voluntarily dismissed her complaint with no payment on behalf of the school district. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination found no probable cause supporting the claim of the second teacher.
  BHPK Counsel: Maria DeLuzio

• BHPK Wins $4.85 Million for Clients Harassed by Landlord

  An employee filed criminal charges against his employer, who was also his landlord. In retaliation, the employer orchestrated a terror campaign against the man, his wife and their two children. Represented by BHPK, the employee sued the employer. On appeal, the First Circuit Court of Appeals recognized the jury’s verdict as the largest award of its kind in the country.
  
  RESULT: $4.85 million award for the plaintiffs
  BHPK Counsel: Leonard H. Kesten

• BHPK Defeats Claim of Excessive Force for Police Use of Canine During Arrest

  A motorist who failed to stop for police crashed his car and continued to flee on foot. A police officer and his canine partner, “Shadow,” chased the man. After issuing three warnings, the officer released the dog, who caught the man by biting his leg in the “bite and hold” method. The man sued the police, claiming the police used excessive force by allowing the dog to bite him.
  
  RESULT: After a jury returned verdicts in favor of the motorist, BHPK appealed on behalf of the police. On appeal, the First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the police officer was entitled to qualified immunity for releasing the police dog trained in the “bite and hold” method.
  BHPK Counsel: Leonard H. Kesten and Deidre Brennan Regan

• BHPK Wins Settlement for Women Harassed for Their Sexual Orientation

  Two women were harassed on the job by a supervisor because of their sexual orientation. The harassment forced them to leave their jobs. BHPK represented the women in a suit against the employer and supervisor.
  
  RESULT: Six figure financial settlement for the plaintiffs.
  BHPK Counsel: Richard E. Brody

• BHPK Convinces MCAD that School Took Appropriate Action to Remedy Racial Harassment

  African-American high school student called racial epithets by fellow students filed complaint with Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination claiming the school had failed to remedy the situation. Representing the school, BHPK argued the school had acted appropriately by providing counseling to the student and taking other measures to punish the offenders and prevent future harassment.
  
  RESULT: Judgment for the school.
  BHPK Counsel: Jocelyn M. Sedney

• BHPK Secures $610,000 Against College for Negligent Security

  BHPK represented a college student raped in her college dorm room by an intruder who gained access through an inadequately secured window.
  
  RESULT: $610,000 award for plaintiff.
  BHPK Counsel: Laurence E. Hardoon

• BHPK Wins Settlement for Victim of Anti-Palestinian Discrimination

  BHPK represented a Palestinian national who sued his employer when he was demeaned, threatened and vilified at work by co-workers and the general manager because of his ethnicity.
  
  RESULT: Large settlement for plaintiff.
  BHPK Counsel: Samuel Perkins

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Published Decisions Involving BHPK Cases

• Wilson v. Town of Mendon, 294 F.3d 1(1st Cir. 2002)
• Larch v. Mansfield Mun. Elec. Dept., 272 F.3d 63 (1st Cir. 2001)
• Kemper Ins. Companies v. Federal Express Corp., 252 F.3d 509 (1st Cir. 2001)
• Udemba v. Nicoli, 237 F.3d 8 (1st Cir. 2001)
• Logue v. Dore, 103 F.3d 1040 (1st Cir. 1997)
• Ferrara v. A. & V. Fishing, Inc., 99 F.3d 449 (1st Cir. 1996)
• Fontneau v. Town of Sandwich, __ F. Supp. 2d __, 2003 WL 1216918 (D. Mass. 2003)
• Boston & Maine Corp. v. Town of Ayer, 206 F. Supp. 2d 128 (D. Mass. 2002)
• Mandel v. Town of Orleans, 233 F. Supp. 2d 147 (D. Mass. 2002)
• Russell v. Town of Reading, 208 F.R.D. 24 (D. Mass. 2002)
• Davignon v. Clemmey, 176 F. Supp. 2d 77 (D. Mass. 2001)
• Ciulla v. Rigny, 89 F. Supp. 2d 97 (D. Mass. 2000)
• Clauson v. Town of West Springfield, 46 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 69 (D. Mass. 2000)
• Lemire v. Silva, 104 F. Supp. 2d 80 (D. Mass. 2000)
• Cellco Partnership v. Town of Douglas, 81 F. Supp. 2d 170 (D. Mass. 1999)
• Howes v. Hitchcock, 66 F. Supp. 2d 203 (D. Mass. 1999)
• Leisure Time Cruise Corp. v. Town of Barnstable, 62 F. Supp. 2d 202 (D. Mass. 1999)
• Welch v. Paicos, 66 F. Supp. 2d 138 (D. Mass. 1999)
• Welch v. Paicos, 26 F.Supp. 244 (D. Mass. 1998)
• Brayton v. Monson Public Schools, 950 F. Supp. 33 (D. Mass. 1997)
• LaSota v. Topsfield, 979 F. Supp. 45 (D. Mass. 1997)
• Budnick v. Ajay Investigative and Security Services, 1996 WL 288921 (D. Mass. 1996)
• Budnick v. Baybanks, 921 F. Supp. 30 (D. Mass. 1996)
• Landry v. Mier, 921 F. Supp. 880 (D. Mass. 1996)

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