Boston, MA Feb. 15, 2022 – Morrison Mahoney Partner Tory A. Weigand has been recognized as a ‘Lawyer of the Year’ by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in its 2021 edition. The honor was presented in recognition of his work in changing the causation standard in Massachusetts tort cases.
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly featured an interview with Tory (page 14), in which he discusses his role in Doull, et al. v. Foster, et al.
In that case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a landmark 52-page decision addressing causation in tort and opting to depart from long standing precedent and practice in a concerted effort to bring greater clarity and more certainty to an area that has long been confusing and confounding. “The decision changed the law that had been in place for 100 years in Massachusetts, providing further clarity and precision to an area that has always caused confusion with judges and practitioners.”
Tory goes on to say, “To have the opportunity to argue this position and prevail is very meaningful, part of my practice over the last 30 years has been looking at issues and seeing if they need adjustment to stay with the times. It’s very important for practitioners to be able to look at a rule of law and be open-minded about whether it needs to be changed in a principled way, and not be afraid to present that as part of the case. This was one of those cases.”
Both Tory and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly noted the stellar trial work of Boston Partner Noel Dumas who presented and prevailed on the issue before the trial court preserving the issue for SJC consideration.
