Representative Cases

A bank director was accused of violating his fiduciary duties, and various professional liability claims were asserted against him after six banks on whose boards he served failed. Patricia Beaujean Lehtola successfully defended him and obtained a judgment in his favor before the case was turned over to the jury. The presiding federal judge determined that the evidence negated any wrongdoing by the director.

A commercial roofing company was accused of racial discrimination by a former employee. The plaintiff claimed that he was discriminated against by the project foreman because of his race, and that the company fired him after he reported the foreman's actions. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the roofing company after Patricia Beaujean Lehtola showed that the company had taken prompt remedial measures to avoid and cure any past or future potential for discrimination, as soon as it learned of the reported incident.

After a young man had been missing for several years, one of his creditor beneficiaries sued an insurance carrier for failure to pay under a life insurance policy. The insurance company had denied the claim because the insured had not been declared dead by a court and his body had not been found. The jury agreed with Patricia Beaujean Lehtola's presentation of evidence confirming that the evidence did not confirm the man had died, but that it was just as likely that he ran away from a gang that had threatened his life, and that the insurance company actions were proper.

A restaurant was sued by a customer who claimed that she had suffered severe stomach pains after swallowing glass from a broken mug in the restaurant. The forensic evidence established, and the jury agreed, that while the mug in question did have a crack, no glass was missing. Further, Patricia Beaujean Lehtola persuaded the jury with the medical evidence that showed that the customer's medical symptoms were not consistent with those of a person who had swallowed glass.

The family of a nursing home patient sued the facility, alleging that the nursing staff allowed the patient's condition to deteriorate until she was hospitalized and died. Phillip Cannatti convinced the jury that the nursing staff's treatment met the requisite standard of care. The jury found that the facility had not been negligent.

The Department of Aging & Disability Services conducted full-book surveys and cited a facility for numerous deficiencies, including several 'Immediate Jeopardy' level tags. Phillip Cannatti prepared an informal decision review (IDR) challenging the state surveys and successfully reduced and eliminated the cited deficiencies, including all 'Immediate Jeopardy' level tags. The facility's survey rating is improved and CMPs are dramatically reduced.

On many occasions, a nursing faculty administrator has been cited by the Department of Aging & Disability Services and/or a nurse has been cited by the Board of Nursing in connection with a negative patient outcome. Phillip Cannatti works with health care professionals, successfully defending their professional licenses and good standing in these proceedings.

A commercial property owner hired Phillip Cannatti to stop a competitor from interfering with leasing efforts. Phillip was able to obtain an injunction that allowed the property owner to lease the property, and thereafter, sell it at fair market value.

A lender faced with a nonperforming secured loan retained Phillip Cannatti to help preserve its collateral. Phillip forced the borrower into bankruptcy and ensured that the borrower's operations were changed but continued, which in turn, preserved the lender's valuable security.