Michael T. Sullivan

• 2017 – present:  Recognized by “Best Lawyers in America®” in the field of Litigation – Construction
• Named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer (2015-present)

Michael has handled a number of significant legal matters including:

Construction

• Defended an engineering firm in a jury trial involving alleged property damage, obtaining a jury verdict against the plaintiff, and legal fee reimbursement from a co-defendant construction company.
• Defended an engineering firm against multiple lawsuits arising from the alleged failure of a municipal sewer system and $40,000,000 in repair-and-replacement damages, securing a modest settlement on the eve of trial.
• Defending an international engineering-design firm against multi-million dollar federal lawsuit alleging damages arising from foreign construction project.
• Representing a major university in a lawsuit seeking repair-and-replacement damages arising from a defective artificial turf playing field.
• Represented mechanical engineering firm against federal lawsuit alleging over $10MM of design errors, securing a modest settlement on the eve of trial.
• Defended a general contractor in a lawsuit alleging multiple catastrophic injuries arising from the same worksite incident, securing a settlement that involved no payments by (and legal fee reimbursement to) his client.
• Obtained a $1MM-plus recovery from a real estate developer in a lawsuit brought by a design-engineering firm to obtain compensation for unpaid services.Filed suit and obtained very substantial settlements for (1) a housing cooperative that suffered extensive damages from hundreds of defective windows installed during a construction-rehabilitation project, and (2) a major professional services firm whose world headquarters was not sufficiently sound-proofed during its new office fit-out.

Real Estate

• Prosecuted claims for two property owners against tenants who misused the owners’ properties, obtaining in each case a trial verdict for and legal fee reimbursement to his client.
• Represented a supermarket in a lawsuit against a restaurant tenant who wrongly claimed that it was entitled to a lease extension, obtaining a trial verdict mandating the tenant’s eviction and legal-fee reimbursement to the client.
• Represented property owners presenting and opposing applications before various local-regulatory boards and commissions.

Business Litigation

• Represented group of business owners in lawsuit deciding applicability of Governor’s COVID-19 pandemic orders.
• Prosecuted a defective software claim, handling the resulting arbitration hearing in Japan, on behalf of a Massachusetts technology company against its Japanese subcontractor.

Professional Liability

• Defended a podiatrist against a lawsuit alleging negligence resulting in an amputation, obtaining a jury trial verdict after a week-long trial.
• Defended numerous medical, legal, and other professionals against wrongful-death, unfair trade practice, and other serious claims.

Appeals

• Argued and briefed numerous appeals, including state Supreme Court matters involving issues of first impression regarding statutory expert-witness, settlement-payment, and insurance-priority requirements, and a Massachusetts Appeals Court matter addressing the Housing Court’s subject matter jurisdiction.

• Chairman, Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea Board of Zoning Appeals
• Trial Courts of Rhode Island, Law Clerk (1992-93)
• Catholic University Law Review, Member (1990-92)