Robert Zaffrann

Partner

  • Robert Zaffrann
  • Phone: +1 857 488 4282

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  • Duane Morris LLP
    100 High Street, Suite 2400
    Boston, MA 02110-1724
    USA

Robert Zaffrann practices in the areas of health care and commercial and complex tort litigation. Mr. Zaffrann is a 1997 graduate of Boston College Law School and a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany.

Areas of Practice

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Complex Tort Litigation

Representative Matters

    Healthcare Litigation

  • Represented group of 80 hospitals in case before the Provider Reimbursement Review Board challenging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' calculation of the percentage of low income patients served and the hospitals' allowable DSH adjustment.

  • Represented emergency room physicians in class action against health care insurer for underpayments based on state statute proscribing basis for reimbursement to non-participating physicians.

  • Represented emergency room physicians group in arbitration of a contract dispute with a managed care discount network. Dispute involved the propriety of network's extension of provider group's agreed-upon discounts to third party administrator client.

  • Represented physician group in contract dispute with healthcare insurer over interpretation of CPT codes for hydration and infusion services in a facility setting.

  • Represented pathology groups in a number of class actions against healthcare insurers over disputes involving payment for clinical pathology services.

  • Represented company involved in establishing protocols for study of new drug under evaluation by FDA in medical malpractice action brought by study participant.

  • Commercial Litigation

  • Obtained a default judgment after establishing defendants' fraud on the court in Middlesex County Massachusetts Superior Court on behalf of Pacific Packaging Products, Inc. in a misappropriation of trade secrets case concerning several former employees who left the company to form a competing venture.

  • Represented benefactor in a high-profile case involving dispute with other family members for control over various family trusts. Case included claims of breach of fiduciary responsibility, as well as associated claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and other tort claims.

  • Handled case involving dispute among siblings over alleged management "freeze out" in close corporation engaged in carpet and tile distribution and sale.

  • Handled appeal of case involving dispute between automotive parts maker and distributor over purchase price adjustments for parts returns and defective parts, warranty claims, re-shipping allowances and other terms. Obtained significant reduction of jury verdict against client on appeal.

  • Represented a Taiwan-based holding company in a dispute with a professional services provider over issues involving contracts, benefits, and professional malpractice.

  • Represented freight carrier in contract dispute with a clothing retailer over freight charges. Texas Freightways, Inc. v. Marshalls of MA, Inc.
  • Handled suit by trustee in bankruptcy for a wood manufacturing company suing its former landlord for wrongful eviction. Case involved allegations related to asbestos, environmental damage, insurance coverage for water damages and failure to pay claims. In re: Crickshank, Trustee in Bankruptcy for Northeast Store Fixtures, Inc.
  • Appellate

  • Represented patient in medical malpractice case against a private hospital management company that went to state supreme court and established new law on the standard for vicarious liability for the patient care decisions of a healthcare provider. Hohenleitner v. Quorum Health Resources, Inc.

Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • Supreme Court of Massachusetts

Education

  • Boston College Law School, J.D., 1997

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2007-present
    - Associate, 2003-2006
  • Schneider Reilly LLP, Boston, Massachusetts
    - Associate, 1997-2003

Professional Activities

  • Massachusetts Bar Association
  • Boston Bar Association
  • The Association of Trial Lawyers of America
  • Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys