Jill Harmacinski | Eagle Tribune METHUEN — A federal judge threw out police Sgt. Larry Phillips’ lawsuit alleging he was slandered, harassed and retaliated against for cooperating with a 2006 FBI investigation involving police Chief Joseph Solomon. As a result of the decision, Phillips could be held responsible for attorney’s fees for the city, Solomon and other officers named in the case. In a 20-page
In January 2011 Sgt. Larry Phillips of the Methuen Police Department filed a federal civil rights complaint against a number of his supervisors and co-workers in the department and against the City, his employer. He claimed that the individual superior officers deprived him of his procedural due process rights when he was placed on suspension in August 2007 and again when he was removed as
Additional Information: There was loose carpeting and several other guests tripped over the carpet before me. Other diners and servers were witnesses. I’ve since had knee surgery and continue with medical treatment and therapy. Do I have a personal injury case against the restaurant and can I sue for damages as I will probably have permanent pain in my knee? ANSWER: Whether you can recover
Additional Information: We are being sued for more than we have on our insurance policy. I’m worried we will lose everything, our home and everything we have saved. Can we protect our home and our assets in a personal injury lawsuit? ANSWER: While it is obviously too late to increase the limits on your insurance policy to protect against this accident, it is not too
Attorney Michael J. Akerson has been selected by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the leading legal periodical in the state, as a “Lawyer of the Year” for 2011. The prestigious award follows Attorney Akerson’s successful defense of a Lynn police officer who was terminated by the City based upon allegations of excessive force and improper conduct. Appealing the termination through arbitration, Attorney Akerson secured an award that
Additional Information: I’ve raised money for a large nonprofit organization in Shrewsbury, MA. The organization is owned by a private person. Now she has breached our contract and refuses to pay my commissions. We have a written contract and witnesses as well. What should I do? ATTORNEY ANSWER: Inasmuch as commissions are considered wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act, you should file a complaint with
By Brian Messenger | Eagle Tribune METHUEN — Lawyers for Joseph Solomon have filed a motion to throw out the city’s appeal of the state Civil Service Commission decision that cleared his return as police chief. Solomon was fired in 2008 but returned to work last fall, after the commission reduced his termination to a one-year suspension. Methuen appealed the decision in Lawrence Superior Court
RJA does what other attorneys could not do and obtains the dismissal of a lawsuit against two Lowell police supervisors For any who believe that experience in representing police officers does not matter, and any licensed attorney can handle the job, a recent case involving RJA demonstrates the flaw in that thinking. In this case, a plaintiff sued various persons and entities, including two police
Worcester law firm Reardon, Joyce & Akerson, P.C. announces that Attorney Andrew J. Gambaccini has been selected by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as a 2011 “Up and Coming Lawyer.” The award recognizes twenty lawyers from across Massachusetts who have been in practice for ten years or less and “who have already distinguished themselves in some manner and appear poised for even greater accomplishments.” Gambaccini was honored
A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Beverly police by the mother of a 19-year-old woman who committed suicide in 2005 after leaving a hospital where officers had left her hours earlier. Judge Nancy Gertner ruled that Danielle Tarsook was not in custody when she died, so police had no duty under federal law to protect her at the time, the
