Chiaia v. Pepperidge Farm, Inc.,
24 Conn. App. 362, cert. denied, 219 Conn. 907 (1991)
Application of objective attendance policy pursuant to which an employee absent due to a work-related injury was terminated does not constitute a violation of Connecticut statute prohibiting discharge of an employee because of a workers' compensation claim, Conn. Gen. Stat. §31-290a.

Barnett v. Fairfield Board of Education,

232 Conn. 198 (1995)
Board's procedure employed in connection with termination of tenured teacher upheld.

Sabetay v. Sterling Drug, Inc.
69 NY 2d 329, 506 NE2d 919, 514 NYS 2d 209 (1987)
New York Court of Appeals declines to adopt "public policy" exception to employment at-will.

General Electric Co. v. New York State Department of Labor,
89 F.2d 25 (2d Cir. 1989)
Second Circuit finds ERISA preemption of State prevailing wage law.

II. Cases in Which The Firm Secured Judgment For The Defendant Without The Need For A Trial

C v. Norwalk Board of Education
(U.S. District Court)
Dismissal of Special Education matter under IDEA seeking attorney's fees in connection with due process proceedings. Firm also secured award of attorney's fees to the Board.

Stronkowski v. St. Vincent's Medical Center
(U.S. District Court)
Summary judgment on ADA and pendent state law contract and emotional distress claims.

Harriman v. Windham Hospital
(U.S. District Court)
Summary judgment on sexual harassment claim against Hospital and its President.

Nucifora v. Bridgeport Board of Education
(U.S. District Court)
Summary judgment on ADA claim brought by tenured teacher.

Hoyt v. National Commission on Compensation Insurance
(U.S. District Court)
Summary judgment on employment contract claim.

Shields v. Bridgeport Board of Education
(CT Superior Court)
Dismissal of claim under Connecticut statute prohibiting discharge due to mental disorder based upon Plaintiff's failure to exhaust remedies under the Teacher Tenure Act.

Bassetti et al. V. East Haven Board of Education
(CT Superior Court)
Dismissal of claims brought under Early Retirement provisions of Teachers Retirement statute. Firm successfully argued that statutes provided no private right of action for damages.

III. Favorable Results After Trial

The Firm acted as defense counsel in the trial of a civil action brought by a former employee of one of our clients; the employee had a written contract providing for commissions on products he designed if sold by the Company and a proviso for payments to him as an outside consultant in the event of the termination of his employment by the Company. Based on these provisions, the former employee claimed payments due in excess of $1 million. At trial, the Firm argued and the Court found that the employee had not designed any products actually sold by the Company and, further, that he was not entitled to payments as a consultant because he had effectively abandoned his job, thus constituting a quit as opposed to an involuntary termination.

The Firm obtained a favorable jury verdict in favor of one of its Board of Education clients in a suit brought by a student for alleged injuries by a teacher.

IV. Other Favorable Results Obtained

The Firm defended an anesthesiologist who was part of a group of doctors providing services on an exclusive basis to a large Hospital. When he sought to establish his own practice, the group and the Hospital both challenged his right to practice at the Hospital and his right to practice at any other Hospital within the same county or bordering counties under a restrictive covenant which subjected him to "liquidated damages" of $15,000 per month in the event of a violation. The Firm filed a Complaint in Superior Court pointing out the Hospital's misinterpretation of the restrictive covenant as well as potential antitrust violations. The Hospital quickly dropped its challenge to the physician establishing a practice in the county or bordering counties. Based upon the Complaint filed by Durant Nichols, the intervention of the Attorney General was obtained and the physician's privileges at the Hospital were reinstated as well. The Firm also secured the physician's severance and shareholder benefits in excess of $100,000 which had been withheld by his former group.

In a class action ERISA suit claiming that the Defendant Company had unlawfully discontinued lifetime payment of Medicare Part B supplement on behalf of retirees, where the law was indefinite as to whether vesting had occurred, the filing of a strong motion for summary judgment led to a settlement involving a capped payment for a limited number of years for class members, avoiding protracted litigation and potentially crippling liability for continued payments.