Personal Injury & Property Damage Defense

Count on attorneys who have “been there, done that” to defend your business in the face of a claim.

Downs Rachlin Martin’s litigators represent a wide range of businesses, from large national companies, to some of the most well-known companies in Vermont, New Hampshire, and northern New England, to small “mom and pop” companies, and represent them all with the same diligence, skill, and thoroughness.

We are committed to the aggressive and cost-effective defense of claims. The practice is led by Walter Judge, an experienced trial attorney engaged strictly in the defense of claims for insured and self-insured clients.

The team has tried hundreds of cases to verdict in the state and federal courts of Vermont and northern New England in cases involving:

• Premises liability
• Retailer liability
• Automotive liability
• Trucking liability
• Dram Shop liability
• Products liability and/or breach of warranty, including automobiles, consumer goods, household appliances, food products, toy and recreation equipment, and construction materials.

Recent Personal Injury and Property Damage Defense Accomplishments

Walter Judge and his team have defended supermarkets and other retail establishments in numerous slip-and-fall type claims in the last 15 years and obtained predominantly defendant’s verdicts in courtrooms throughout Vermont.  Additionally, the team:

• Defended a national food manufacturer against a class-action lawsuit alleging false labeling of products as “all-natural.”
• Defended a regional granite quarry company against a shareholder derivative class action strike suit as a result of a going-private transaction;
• Defended an airline company in a high-profile discrimination claim involving a breast-feeding mother;
• Defends insurance agencies against allegations of professional negligence in failing to procure proper or adequate insurance coverage for customers;
• Currently defends a helicopter medi-flight company in a high-profile negligence claim involving an injured infant.

Walter and his team also represent national and local businesses in enforcing non-competition and confidentiality agreements, and protect against intellectual property theft by ex-employees and by other businesses, including trade secret misappropriation; copyright, trademark, and patent infringement; solicitation; and unfair competition.