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Edward S. Cheng quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article about in pari dilecto

Edward S. Cheng, partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, was quoted in the article, “‘In pari delicto’ doesn’t spare college’s auditor,” published by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on October 4, 2018.  The article refers back to the 2006 case Baena v. KPMG.

From the article

Boston attorney Edward S. Cheng said he was struck by the pains the SJC took to make clear that the BLS judge had not made some kind of legal error but rather that the SJC was making new law.

The court’s justification for the rule it announced is that there always has been a separate test for imputing liability as opposed to assigning blame, and the “punitive part” has always been limited, Cheng said.

“As a practitioner, I’m not thrilled with two tests when one would suffice,” he said.

Cheng added that he struggled with the court deciding that the financial aid director was not a member of senior management, when she had considerable power, including the authority to bind the college to contracts.