After a three week trial, Bill Keville obtained a jury verdict in favor of his client (a restaurant) on negligence and trespass claims, as well as a ruling allowing a motion to dismiss a G.L. c. 93A claim. The plaintiffs were commercial tenants who alleged that our client, a neighboring business, caused leaks which damaged their businesses. The three plaintiffs claimed personal injuries and property damage. Plaintiffs were able to put $1,900,000 in special damages on the blackboard before the jury. The jury found that our client was not negligent and had not committed a trespass.
The trial judge then conducted further hearings to address plaintiffs’ G.L. c. 93A claims. We prevailed again. Specifically, the judge ruled that our client had not engaged in intentionally wrongful conduct or done anything unethical or unscrupulous. Furthermore, the court agreed, as a matter of law, with our contention that G.L. c. 93A did not provide a remedy to the plaintiffs where the parties were merely neighboring businesses and there were no transactions between them.
