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Christopher R. Blazejewski quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on malpractice across state lines

Christopher R. Blazejewski, partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, was quoted in the September 5th issue of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. The article, “Florida firm can’t be sued for malpractice in Massachusetts,” discusses a federal judge ruling that a Florida law firm can’t be sued in Massachusetts for alleged malpractice in its handling of a trademark dispute involving a Boston restaurant.

Read the full article from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (subscriber content).

From the article:

Christopher R. Blazejewski of Boston found noteworthy Gorton’s statement that even if the firm did transact business in Massachusetts, both the legal malpractice claim and the breach of fiduciary duty claim that Azumi also brought did not arise from any such transaction.

As Blazejewski noted, Gorton relied on the Supreme Judicial Court’s 2017 SCVNGR, Inc. v. PUNCHH, Inc. ruling, which held that the Massachusetts long-arm statute does not extend personal jurisdiction as far as constitutional due process would otherwise allow.

“Potential law firm defendants should be aware that the outcome under these facts may have been different in a state with a long-arm statute extending personal jurisdiction to the fullest extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution,” he said.