BLF attorneys Simon H. Bloom and Stephanie A. Everett recently defended the corporate vice president of land development in a lawsuit over water run- off issues. Three downstream neighbors not only sued an area developer claiming that their development caused an excessive amount of water, silt and sedimentation to improperly enter their property – they also sued the company’s corporate vice president individually. Generally, corporate officers are not liable for a company’s torts unless the plaintiff can show that the officer participated in or directly supervised the tortuous activity. After a three week trial, the jury returned a verdict finding BLF’s client not liable for any of the company’s actions.

“The jury got it right—there was no reason to ever name a corporate officer as a defendant in this lawsuit.  This legal tactic was just the plaintiff’s attorney trying to put undue pressure on the company and one of its hard working employees.”  Simon Bloom said. He also conveyed that he believed the company did try to solve the problems and clean up any alleged damage the neighbors experienced, but that the case quickly turned into one about attorneys’ fees. “This case was 5 percent about real injury and the rest was about attorneys’ fees,” said Bloom.