Other Complex Litigation

Unlike many firms that prosecute class actions, Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP does not simply handle the same type of case over and over again, following some rote formula. We approach each case as unique and carefully analyze the facts and law to develop a litigation strategy that takes into account all relevant circumstances.

With highly talented and well-trained lawyers with extensive experience in a variety of practice areas, we pride ourselves on our ability to handle all types of cases, and represent individuals and businesses in disputes that are not class actions.  For example:

  • We have represented individuals who entrusted their funds to an attorney/trustee that were stolen by his secretary.  In addition to seeking redress from the attorney and his secretary, we were able to successfully obtain recoveries from numerous financial institutions that released funds pursuant to forged documents, and from many recipients of the stolen funds, which required extensive forensic analysis.  After a lengthy bench trial, Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP partners Thomas V. Urmy and Michelle Blauner also successfully obtained a judgment against the attorneys’ insurance carrier, which had disclaimed coverage.  The judgment was affirmed on appeal.  Chicago Insurance Co. v. Lappin, 58 Mass.App.Ct. 769 (2003). 
  • We have represented partners in partnership disputes alleging various breaches of fiduciary duty.  In one such dispute, Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP partners Edward Haber and Michelle Blauner successfully tried the breach of fiduciary duty claims to a jury in the federal court in Boston, which returned a verdict in favor of our client for 100% of the damages claimed at trial. The jury verdict was upheld on appeal.  Wartski v. Bedford, 926 F.2d 11 (1st Cir. 1991).
  • We have represented a Canadian lumber company, which did business in Massachusetts, and had nearly $1 million in lumber stolen.  After tracing the proceeds of the stolen lumber through a web of sham entities, we were able to recover 100% of the losses.
  • We have defended individuals who were accused of fraud by an airline because they obtained numerous travel vouchers by repeatedly volunteering to be bumped from overbooked flights.  This involved complex legal issues concerning the preemption of state fraud laws by the federal Airline Deregulation Act.  

The lawyers at Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP are capable of handling any number of complex legal matters.  If you have an inquiry regarding a potential case, please contact us.  In the appropriate circumstances, we will represent individuals and businesses on a contingent basis.