Media Mentions
Feb 22, 2010
Brigitte Duffy Quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly “Judge: 'Tip Law' Not Retroactive”
Brigitte Duffy was quoted in the February 22, 2010 Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article, "Judge: 'Tip Law' Not Retroactive." The article reported on recent rulings by two influential trial judges who have found that the treble damages provision of the tip statute does not apply retroactively, which is an issue that courts in Massachusetts have been split on for nearly two years. The two cases discussed were Hernandez, et al v. Hyatt Corp (Feb. 2010) and DiFiore, et al. v. American Airlines, Inc. (Dec. 2009). According to Brigitte, who represented the defendants in Hernandez, "There was a point in time [when] the plaintiffs' bar had some authority on their side that made them feel they had leverage over us during settlement discussions. There's no question that now having the chief of the [BLS] and a former presiding judge of the federal court saying what they've said here carries some extra weight." She added that DiFiore and Hernandez are "evidence of a definite trend which swings the pendulum back in our direction. It's been a good couple of months for defense attorneys in Massachusetts - and we don't always get good months in wage and hour litigation."