Courtroom Success 2014-31: Boston Partners Brent Tingle and Noel Dumas

Boston Partners Brent Tingle and Noel Dumas obtained summary judgment in a very contentious case involving the construction and expansion of the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. The case was brought by a resident whose home abutted hospital property. The plaintiff led a very vocal group of abutting property owners in opposition to a planned expansion of the hospital. After losing that battle, he filed suit against the hospital and its senior executives ( including the CEO) for alleged property damage caused by the construction of the new hospital. He also alleged public nuisance in connection with the movement of an access road that ran through the hospital grounds and connected to the plaintiff’s neighborhood. The case was complicated by the fact that in retrospect the access road at issue was not properly discontinued by the hospital / town and the new access road was not accepted by the town following construction. The plaintiff argued that this gave rise to an ongoing public nuisance. Judge Moriarty heard summary judgment arguments two days before Christmas last year on the Vineyard and issued a decision this week granting summary judgment on all of the claims against the hospital and its executives.