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History buffs will remember a famous expression that grew out of a disastrous Liberty Digest magazine poll in 1936. That poll predicted a landslide for Republican Alf Landon over Democrat Franklin Roosevelt. I say disastrous not to express support for one or the other candidate but to describe how far off the mark the poll was. When Landon carried only two states, the expression became, “As Maine goes so goes Vermont.”
In a recent case I was hired to represent a passenger in a motor vehicle accident where the driver and passenger both came from Massachusetts but the injury occurred in a western state. This presents interesting choice of law questions. The auto insurance rules are governed by Massachusetts because it was a Massachusetts policy on the vehicle. The rules of the road, however, would be those of the state in which the accident occurred. Moreover, since the accident is brought in Massachusetts, where the parties reside, the Massachusetts court will have to use the laws of the state of the accident.
Practically speaking, the rules of the road do not vary much between the states. However, the fact that jurisdiction can be brought in Massachusetts is a big plus to the parties. That is not always the case as jurisdiction has to be where the defendant has sufficient minimum contacts. If the driver were from out-of-state and the accident occurred out-of-state, the action could not be brought in Massachusetts despite the plaintiff’s living here. In this instance, we do not have that problem and the action was filed in Massachusetts. But, as for the rules of the road, as Massachusetts goes, so goes Oregon.
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I had the pleasure of working with Attorney Colleen Santora after I was involved in a car accident. She was very attentive, professional, and courteous throughout our entire case involvement. I appreciate everything she did to help me. She is wonderf...
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I was in a terrible car accident. I was referred to Colleen by a friend. She is amazing! Answered my every call, text and fought for me. Being a hairdresser for 40yrs it was horrible trying to cut hair with a broken hand, but in the end Colleen got m...
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Colleen Santora is an outstanding attorney. I reached out to her after I was hit by a car as a pedestrian and she walked me through every step of the process with clarity and patience. She’s a fantastic communicator, extremely responsive and alway...
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