Law Firm Sued For Defamation, After Aggressive Move In Bankruptcy Case

The Massachusetts Court of Appeals has reinstated a defamation case against a law firm, in a ruling denying the law firm’s claim of privilege for some key elements of its defense. Attorney Bruce W. Edmands and his firm, Edmands & Williams LLP, are alleged to have defamed the Patriot Group LLC, a real estate finance company, as part of their defense strategy in the representation of a man against whom Patriot Group had won a judgment in excess of $20 million. The alleged defamation, as explained in this Legal Newsline account, occurred in the guise of what Patriot Group argues was a bogus claim by the defense attorney: that his client had filed a whistleblower claim alleging tax fraud by Patriot. Patriot apparently questions not only the substance of any whistleblower claim, but also whether whistleblower claims were actually filed.