Carmody & Torrance’s advocacy skills extend beyond the trial courts. Our appellate lawyers argue before the Connecticut Supreme Court, Connecticut Appellate Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. We represent clients in a wide variety of legal issues on appeal, including constitutional, employment, utility, insurance, personal injury and land use matters. We regularly represent clients in administrative appeals, and appear for amici curiae. Some examples of the notable appeals we have handled include:
- In Katcher Afarian v. Massachusetts Electric Company (Supreme Judicial Court of MA. 2007), we represented several Massachusetts utility companies as amici curiae in an appeal where the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that a public utility does not owe a duty of care to a motorist who loses control of his vehicle and hits a utility pole.
- In Connecticut Light and Power Co. v. Lighthouse Landings, Inc. (Conn. Supreme Court 2006), the Connecticut Supreme Court reversed a trial court’s adverse decision that had reinstated a commercial lease on grounds of equitable non-forfeiture. Our appellate team succeeded in establishing that exceptional circumstances justified the Supreme Court’s hearing of the appeal.
- In Sherbacow v. Anson (2d Cir. 2003), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for our client against a former public employee who had argued that his employment was terminated in violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.
- In Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone v. Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (Conn. Superior 2001), we obtained dismissal of an administrative appeal of the regulatory approval of the sale of a nuclear power plant on the ground that the plaintiff citizen group lacked aggrievement. We also secured the dismissal of the subsequent appeal on mootness grounds.
- In Magnan v. Anaconda Industries, Inc. (Conn. Supreme Court 1984), a seminal case in state employment law, the Supreme Court held that an employee hired under a contract of indefinite duration cannot maintain a claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing based upon a discharge without just cause.
Our appellate team also assists clients well before the appeal by developing legal theories and strategies at the beginning of a lawsuit, preparing and responding to dispositive motions, preparing motions to exclude or admit evidence, spotting and preserving trial court errors, and handling post verdict motions.
Our experienced appellate lawyers understand the importance of concise, compelling writing coupled with clear, powerful oral argument. Several of our team members served as law clerks for federal and state judges. Giovanna Weller, a former law clerk for a Connecticut Supreme Court Justice, serves on the Appellate Rules Advisory Committee.