Courtroom Success 2017-6: Morrison Mahoney Partner Ralph Sullivan and Associate Amy Parker

Morrison Mahoney Partner Ralph Sullivan and Associate Amy Parker recently prevailed in a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a wrongful death claim before Judge Karen Green at the Suffolk Superior Court. The plaintiff’s decedent was struck and killed by a car in Fitchburg. At the time of the accident, the decedent was walking in the street, after dark, with his back to traffic. The nearby streetlights had been turned off by the city, as a cost-saving measure. Our client was the owner of an adjacent business who allegedly failed to shovel snow from the sidewalk, which allegedly forced the decedent to walk in the street. The judge ruled that the defendant business owner owed no duty to the plaintiff to remove snow from the public sidewalk, and dismissed the counts against our client.