Case Highlights

David’s practice focuses in a wide range of areas of law.  He’s passionate about protecting individuals who have been wronged and keen on setting people up for success in their long term plans.

Consumer Protection

My clients contacted me upset and confused.  They believed they were victims of wire fraud.  In the process of buying a home in Florida, without a mortgage, they were wiring money to the title company. 

The first two payments went fine.  The final payment, in the amount of more than $200,000, was the problem. 

When they contacted me, they knew that their title company had not received their final payment but that the money had left their account.  Upon inspection, they realized the final email they received was from a fraudulent email account.

Under my guidance, we contacted their bank to get information on where the money had been transferred.  Then we were able to contact the receiving bank, provide the appropriate information about the fraudulent action and after much conversation, put a hold on that account, so their money couldn’t be withdrawn.  I worked back and forth with my clients, the two banks, and the South Kingstown police.  In the end, we were able to get ALL of their money safely returned within 2 days time.  Working with the South Kingstown police, I then filed an IC3 complaint with the FBI, who are actively pursuing a criminal investigation.

Estate Creation

I worked with two clients who were newly married, both having gone through a recent divorce and each having children from their previous marriage.  I was happy they were addressing their estate plan, as these situations can be tricky.

In working with them, I was able to create the appropriate documents so that their new spouse would have financial and health care rights in the event that the other spouse was incapacitated.  This was important as their current documents had their divorced spouse in charge.

I was then able to create a Trust to meet their specific needs.  We allocated a specific sum of money that would be available to their new spouse, in the case of one’s passing.  We were also able to allocate a portion of money that would be set aside for each of their children; accessible once they turned 18.  Additionally, we setup money for the children’s use while they were under 21.  This pool of money was to be accessible to their divorced spouse, for the benefit of the child, but only for very specific reasons.  Arranging this pool of money allowed my clients to feel comfortable that their children’s everyday needs would be taken care of even if they were no longer around.   We assigned a “gate keeper” for that final pool of money, to ensure their wishes were carried out.  We worked through all their other specific assets to ensure those were distributed as they intended.

I advised them that it was vitally important we had met. If we hadn’t, under the letter of the law, their assets would not have been protected for their children.

Animal Advocacy

Recently I worked on an animal custody case that involved my clients and a southern dog rescue. 

My clients are RI residents and agreed to foster a small dog, for a southern based rescue, for a few days, while the rescue did final reviews of an adoptive home. 

My clients, never having fostered before were happy and excited to open their home to help.  What they thought would be an enjoyable experience turned into a large mess. 

Their new foster puppy, unknown to them,  was carrying PARVO.  Within the first day of having their new addition, their foster puppy was deathly sick.  Over the next month, they fought back and forth with the rescue to get this poor puppy the care he needed.  There were disputes and negotiations over where the puppy would receive care and who would be responsible for the medical bills.  After a month’s time, when the puppy was finally feeling a bit better, the rescue (after my client had paid thousands of dollars in medical bills, without reimbursement) threatened to not allow my clients to adopt the dog and to take him back. 

I worked with my clients to negotiate with the rescue.  Given the terrible situation, we ended up with an air tight, 4 page contract, which included language to protect my clients.  It included items like outstanding bill responsibilities, payment methods, slander language, breach language, mediation language, ownership rights, indemnification clauses, timelines for legal performance and much more. Emotions were high, but in the end, my clients were able to gain legal ownership of the puppy.

It was a long and draining process, but in the end, I was able to get the results I hoped for my clients.

Equine Legal Support

One of the most fascinating trusts I created to date was for the owner of a competition horse.

I was able to work with the owner to leave money specifically for the care of her horse.  We determined the amount to leave in trust for the horse based on his age, training regiment, boarding costs, and anticipated medical issues.  We assigned a specific individual to control the release of funds from the trust for the purposes the owner detailed out in our document.  This ensured that my client’s money would be used exactly as she intended.  

In addition to clearly laying out the monetary uses and restrictions, we worked together to set up a detailed plan for her beloved horse.  We assigned trainers, boarders, veterinarians, and the like, to ensure her best friend would continue to get the same care, even if she wasn’t around.  We even discussed at what age he would stop competing and a plan for end of life care.  We assigned one individual to make health care decisions and detailed out my client’s wishes about end of life decisions.

The set-up of this trust allowed my client to feel like her beloved friend would be taken care of, to her standards, even if she wasn’t there to do it herself.     

Don't see the answer to your question? Feel free to contact David directly.