Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
  In a wrongful death case against an assisted living facility, Rick Connelly and Michael Griffin obtained a defense verdict after a six-day trial in Suffolk Superior Court in July 2013.
• Sex Crimes
  Zurich American Insurance Company v. Baez, 2022 WL 392824 (D. Mass. Feb. 9, 2022) (Summary judgment for insurer holding sexual assault not covered under commercial auto policy because intent to harm was inferred as a matter of law).
• Fraud
  XL Specialty Ins. Co., et al. v. AR Capital, LLC, 2021 WL 353853  (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Feb. 2, 2021) (summary judgment for insurer in declaratory judgment action regarding coverage for securities fraud and derivative litigation)
• Assault

Employment Law

• Wrongful Termination
  In an insurer’s declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration as to its obligation, if any, under and EPL policy to prosecute a counterclaim insured asserted against a former employee who had sued the insured for wrongful termination, James, Jennifer and Scarlett successfully moved for summary judgment against the insured on the basis that, under MA law, the EPL policy only provided coverage for claims first made against the insured, and that the insured’s misappropriation counterclaim against the former employee was neither necessary to defeat his age discrimination claim nor would automatically offset insured’s potential liability.
• Employment Discrimination
• Employment Contract
  Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) continues to grow in acceptance and importance. The vast majority of civil litigation cases resolve before trial, usually with the assistance of ADR professionals. Furthermore, arbitration provisions are found in an increasing number of contracts and employment agreements as a way to avoid litigation. Peabody & Arnold’s ADR partners have had active practices as mediators and arbitrators for decades.
• Employment Litigation
  Peabody & Arnold’s employment lawyers are known for their breadth of knowledge of employment law, their trial skills, and their practical and thoughtful approach to resolving employment disputes. Our clients value our passionate, efficient, and cost-effective representation.
• Non-compete Agreement
  Our litigation expertise also includes defending employers in cases alleging common law claims including violation of non-compete agreements, breach of contract, defamation, and intentional interference with an advantageous business relationship.
• Sexual Harassment
  Members of the Employment Law and Litigation Practice are regularly retained by employers and their counsel to conduct independent investigations and assessments of employment-related issues including complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination, and other unlawful, inappropriate, or problematic workplace behaviors.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  Real estate and property disputes relating to easements, encroachments and adverse possession. We have tried a number of cases in Land Court and Superior Court, representing plaintiffs and defendants.
• Premises Liability
  Peabody & Arnold has defended premises liability and related tort claims since its founding and has deep experience in taking cases – including “slip and fall” matters and complex claims involving serious personal injury — from inception through trial. We partner with you to achieve desired goals, whether by trying cases or reaching a mutual resolution.
• Construction Litigation
  Defense of owners, general contractors and subcontractors in claims for property damage and personal injury arising out of construction accidents, construction defects, OSHA violations and breach of contract. We have developed close relationships with the leading experts in the field.
• Easement
• Property Damage

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  From products liability to personal injury, Peabody & Arnold is well known for its trial experience. We represent individuals and organizations in a wide range of disputes in state and federal court through the mediation process and jury trials. In addition, our attorneys have substantial appellate experience.
• Medical Malpractice
  In a wrongful death medical malpractice case against a long-term acute care hospital, Jennifer Burke and Scarlett Rajbanshi obtained a defense verdict after a two-week trial in February and March 2016 in Suffolk Superior Court.
• Auto Accidents

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  As this year draws to a close, it seems fitting to recall the various clients to whom we owe so much over the years, through wars, economic downturns, and booms, and through three world pandemics. The firm was founded in 1899 by General Francis Peabody when he was just 45 years old, joined with Admiral Edmund K. Arnold. As was common for the day, the firm’s early clients were predominantly families for whom the firm handled their trust and estate matters. Peabody & Arnold worked hard to build a reputable general service law firm. The firm grew and endured through the great depression and moved toward a more corporate practice of representing large banks, insurance companies, and other businesses. In so doing, the firm developed a strong reputation in the areas of fidelity, insurance, and commercial law despite the financial and other challenges of the times. In the 1950’s and into the 1960’s, various lawyers in the firm handled bank and ancestral trust work, while also strengthening the firm’s expertise in real estate, surety and fidelity, insurance, and litigation matters. From the 1970’s to the 1980’s, Peabody & Arnold’s client base grew with its insurance defense litigation practice. And from the late 1980’s into the early 1990’s the firm doubled in size with tremendous growth in its business and insurance practices.

Finance Law

• Debt Collection
  Litigation related to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and other consumer-protection provisions is on the rise. As national leaders in consumer financial services law, Peabody & Arnold’s FDCPA/FCRA/TCPA Defense Group has decades of experience representing attorneys, collection agencies, debt buyers, financial institutions, and their employees throughout New England in such matters. Group members are admitted and regularly practice in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.